The competition is fierce and the players are determined. They're also naked.
Though Hamilton College and Princeton University rarely face each other on the basketball court, a new rivalry is brewing between the two schools in the form of "varsity" streaking.
The two streaking teams display their skills -- and bodies -- in public locations such as dining halls, athletic fields and even large lecture halls.
Although there are no official rules, the streakers consider themselves victorious when they have a large turnout. In competitions between schools, whichever team has more streakers wins.
Members of Princeton's streaking team decided to form the group after learning of Hamilton's new form of recreation.
"When we heard that this upstate New York tiny little school had a streaking team ... we were not going to let them show Princeton," junior Scott Welfel said.
But at Hamilton, members still claim their team is "the single greatest varsity streaking team in America and possibly the world," senior Craig Moores said.
"They can't textbook their way through streaking," Moores said of Princeton, calling the New Jersey team "kind of a joke."
Moores and about 15 other Hamilton streakers went on a five-day tour last semester to 12 colleges in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, including Tufts, Amherst and Williams.
Sean Tice, a Hamilton junior, declared that his team was "undefeated," although it did encounter some setbacks when three of its members were arrested at Wellesley College and had to pay a $200 fine at Colgate University.
Princeton's team is still relatively new. It has not competed against other schools but has had "a lot of training sessions," according to Welfel.
The members' experience includes streaking a 200-person abnormal psychology class and one of Princeton's eating clubs.
Team members from both Hamilton and Princeton are extremely passionate about their "sport."
"We streak to win, and that's the bottom line," Tice said.
Welfel echoed Tice's sentiments.
"We treat ourselves as varsity athletes. We take our trade seriously," Welfel said.
Danny Brome, a senior at Princeton, said he streaks "to make people laugh and mostly to win. ... It's much more amusing to see people running naked than running with clothes on."
In addition, Brome said he finds streaking invigorating, liberating and exciting.
Carolyn Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the American Association for Nude Recreation based in Kissimmee, Fla., said she thinks that "it's great that students feel comfortable with their bodies." However, she does not recommend streaking.
"We always go with 'Nude when possible and clothes when practical,'" Hawkins said. "If you're in college, the logical thing would be clothes."
But Janine Jaffe, a Princeton senior who created a documentary for her film class about the streaking team, disagrees.
"Personally, I think that it's a worthy endeavor," Jaffe said. She believes that the streaking team will benefit the campus.
"The fact is a lot of people at Princeton have sticks up their asses. It's the truth. I think a lot of this activity is geared towards loosening people up, making people more comfortable with things that are fun and free," Jaffe said.
For Eileen Hwang, a senior at Princeton, streaking is not about winning. "I'm just there for fun," said Hwang, who joined the team after much persuasion from several male friends.
Members emphasize that streaking is purely about streaking and not about making a statement or being sexual in any way.
"There's no endorsements, there's nothing political about it, or social even," Tice said. "All we really yell is, 'Naked time is special time.' ... It's a special time because most people keep their naked bodies to themselves."
But Penn students have not yet been able to experience the "special time" that Tice describes-- at least not formally.
No streaking team currently exists on campus, although people have been known to streak as part of some Penn traditions.
Andrew Pollen, a freshman in the College, streaked the night before his first microeconomics midterm last semester.
"Streaking is a wholesome practice. ... It's liberating and healthy," Pollen said, adding that he would definitely join a streaking team if it existed.
Although only time will tell if Pollen will have a team to call his own, some Princeton team members have already set the challenge.
"We look forward to competing against Penn," Brome said.
