Three years. That’s what it has taken for March Mammal Madness (MMM) to become a spring tradition. Different from past years, however, individual competitions have evolved into advisory contests.

Originally inspired by The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) College Basketball tournament, Arizona State University Professor Katie Hinde invented March Mammal Madness for animal combats in 2013. Replacing the basketball players, the MMM bracket is filled with organisms from different habitats. Each year, scientists worldwide put together a new list of animals to fight. MMM is a competition that spans further than mammals alone. This tournament invited participants to learn about each animal’s endurance in battling others, encouraging imaginations for organisms living in different habitats.

Students and staff from each advisory group submitted their predictions for the survivor of each battle. Each correct hypothesis based on the individual advisory’s submission will earn them points as the rounds proceed. The final price of the winning advisory is awarded a paid trip to Caribou.

With nearly 150 participants, the title of “winning” and the award changed SPA into a fierce yet passionate environment. Sophomore Connor Overgaard said, “I think it is a super fun thing that we got to actually do as like a class activity in terms of class activities. We haven’t done very many this past year.” MMM has helped students connect within their advisories and built a more supportive atmosphere.

In addition to that, junior Clea Gaïtas Sur said, “I think it’s very funny and very entertaining to see people’s different theories each year. I think that friendly competition is always healthy for SPA. And I think that it really does. It creates more of a community, especially once the results start being announced. People are excited to learn them.”

Not only are the ones winning checking the results of MMM, but everyone else in the community also seemed to be involved.

Junior Julia Colbert said “It is kind of time-consuming, which you wouldn’t expect. But it’s fun to research the animals. We kind of worked on it for one day, and then if you finished, then you’re done. But if you didn’t, you could do it on your own time, which is what I’m doing.”

While some advisories decided to complete the competition in small groups to increase the chance of winning, other advisories researched these animals an entire class. Colbert also added, “[t]here was definitely positive peer pressure from the advisory. And I think we’re pretty competitive. We want the title of winning.”

The final prize — a gift card to Caribou — bonds advisories and drives them to pursue the same goal.

While other schools assign organism research as formal assessments, MMM at SPA is only meant for interesting, relaxed, and optional activities for people to get involved.

Biology teacher Kathleen Drilling said, “I think we already have a lot of serious things that happen at SPA, and students do things rather intensely. We just really wanted to make sure it stayed light and fun and a little bit silly. It just gets people talking about nature.”

The healthy competitiveness and team bonding within the community has set this year’s MMM off to another great success with numerous advisories participating. The results of every round in the tournament will be released throughout the month of March, with the final championship announced Apr. 6.