“Touch the mat!” the operator of the Iron Man obstacle course quickly shouted to the two girls laughing at the bottom of the inflatable slide. They both tumbled off of the inflatable, one falling face-first onto a mat and her friend falling into her.

“I’m really glad that I attended Bounce Madness because it was a fun group activity that allowed me to be competitive,” said freshmen exercise science major Abri Dubler, still laughing about her face-first fall.

Her roommate, freshman exercise science major Stephanie Low, agreed with Dubler about attending the event. “I had fun, even though I lost every event we did,” Low said.

Bounce Madness was hosted Wednesday night in the Student Center Ballroom from 7 to 10 p.m. Attendees received free cotton candy and had six inflatables to choose from, including a jousting inflatable, an obstacle course and a mechanical bull.

“The mechanical bull was more complicated to stay on than I thought it would be,” said freshman psychology major Megan Lawrence.

Along with the music playing in the ballroom, the only other audible sound was laughter and friends cheering each other on.

“It was really good bonding time with my friends,” Lawrence said. “We laughed at each other just as much as we cheered each other on.”

The event was hosted in honor of Homecoming, giving people a reason to celebrate a little early. Students who attended were able to enter into a drawing to receive free t-shirts and received 500 FlashPerks.

Erin Zaranec is a news correspondent for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].