Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) have jointly showcased their best sport style once again, winning the adidas Student Style Battle for the second year in a row.

The competition sees 19 universities and colleges from across Canada compete to win the ultimate prize of $30,000 for their school’s athletic department.

Initially, students, staff, faculty and alumni vote on student-created adidas clothing styles showcased on the adidas’ website, with the 16 schools with the most votes (based on a percentage of their student population) moving on to the next round of the competition.

Following that, the schools continue to battle head-to-head in a weekly competition for the most votes until only two schools remain in the final round. 

Durham College and UOIT continually beat out their competition week after week, coming out as the winner and claiming the $30,000 grand prize.

This year’s win builds on last year’s success when the college and university won the $25,000 prize. The improvements to be implemented based on last year’s win were recently announced including new and improved scoreboards for the athletic community, replacing the 20-year-old scoreboards found in gyms 1 and 2 of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre with more energy-efficient, light-emitting diode technology, which will eliminate the need to change the old-fashioned, individual light bulbs previously used.

 A new electronic scoreboard will also be installed at Vaso’s Field, the soccer field located at the Oshawa campus, and a set of 10 Monarch team training stationary bikes are being added to the Campus Ice Centre for use by the UOIT Ridgebacks.

Although the Department of Athletics for the college and university has yet to decide where this year’s $30,000 will be spent, Ken Babcock, athletic director for Durham College and UOIT said he’s hopeful all students in the college and university will benefit from the changes made.  

“We’re really excited about this type of thing,” said Babcock.