Perhaps inspired by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, 177 students, 7 faculty members and 59 members of the Georgetown Law staff signed up to compete in this year's Dean's Challenge. The Challenge, held every February at the Law Center, encourages fun and fitness through events like a triathlon, yoga and even a ski workout workshop - which likely came in handy this year when Snowmageddon hit and Washingtonians couldn't even reach their cars on foot.

Dean's Challenge participants earned points for exercising as well as such things as meditation, donating blood (double points!) and collecting healthy recipes. Karen Pierce, director of Wellness Promotion and Club Athletics at the Law Center, predicts that the week of blizzards in the middle of the Challenge will probably result in lower exercise scores this year, at least for students with no cars to dig out. (As of March 2, the scores were still being tallied.)

But challengers who spent the month shoveling their driveways might have gotten a slight competitive edge. Five points were awarded for each 30 minutes of exercise, with 10 points for an hour or more, so those who got moving - and it's an honor system, folks - likely did better than those who spent the blizzard week on the couch.

"Shoveling snow gets a great cardio workout and core conditioning," says Pierce, who donned a pair of snow shoes to log some exercise time during the storm.

And there's always eating. While they didn't exactly gain points for consuming calories, Dean's Challengers got 10 bonus points per week if they met the triple goal of 1) exercising 30 minutes three times a week, 2) meditating twice a week and 3) eating at least one healthy option per day. They also got points for sending calorie-laden recipes to Bon Appetit Executive Chef Ronde Murphy, who suggested ways to trim the fat.

Dean's Challenge events were held indoors, there being no halfpipe or ski jump on the Tower Green. Given the many classes that had to be rescheduled due to the storm, the popular dodge ball tournament, will now take place in April - but the so-called "Extreme Triathlon" was booked to capacity, consisting of a 300 yard swim, a 2.9 mile bike ride and 1 mile run, all in the school's Sport and Fitness Center.

Julia Follick (G’11, L’11), who won the triathlon this year in the under-40 women’s category, was happy to see that they’d added swimming to the mix — since she’d recently joined the Georgetown Law swim club. (Follick also won the triathlon in 2008 and 2009, when the third event was done on the rowing or stepping machines, rather than in the pool.)

"Law students are just so busy, it can be really hard [to do the Dean’s Challenge] — but getting the points for working out on your own, it can encourage people to exercise more,” she said. “It’s fun for the people who do it.”

Interim Dean Judy Areen - who, by the way, was a driving force behind the Fitness Center - will present the winners with prizes in a ceremony after Spring Break.

The Dean's Challenge was co-sponsored by the Law Center's Sport and Fitness Center and the Center for Wellness Promotion.