The 30th annual “Carolina-Clemson Blood Battle” is taking place this week, Nov. 17 to 21. While the rivalry never changes, this year’s event is the beginning of a new way to decide the winner.
“The winner was determined by number of donors in years past. The winner will still be decided that way when we hold the game but the winner is now decided by donors as percentage of undergraduate totals when Clemson holds it,” fourth-year nursing student Mary McGuinness, a volunteer for a third straight year, said.
For years, when Clemson held the game, the number of donors for each school was divided by the total number of undergraduates enrolled at each school to get a percentage. The school with the higher percentage won. However, when Carolina held the game, the winner was determined simply by each school’s number of donors.
The reason for this is to provide a home-field advantage to the school hosting the game. Mathematically, it is easier for Clemson to win by percentage because they have a smaller student population, so each donor equates to a higher percentage for them than for Carolina. For Carolina, the bigger school, it is harder to win by percentage because we need more donors than Clemson for every percentage point.
Anybody in the community is allowed to help, so students, staff, and locals are all encouraged to donate. For Carolina fans in Clemson territory and Clemson fans in Carolina territory, simply stating which school you wish to help counts your donation toward that school.
As for things students should know, McGuinness said, “Students should get a good night’s sleep and drink adequate fluids two hours before donating. They should have something to eat. It will take about an hour, so students should plan for that. Bring a form of identification such as a CarolinaCard or driver’s license. Also, if you have your Red Cross donor card you can bring that.”
Donations can be made in Russell House Ballroom all week from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., as well as in front of Thomas Cooper Library all week from 11 a.m. until 6 pm. Donation trucks will be at the old business school on Tuesday and Blatt PE Center on Wednesday, all from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. they will be in front of Koger Center for the Arts and Swearingen from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Greek Village will have donation trucks Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
“For students who are nervous, really and truly those who do draw the blood are very kind and understanding of that. There will be a lot of volunteers around to help you out. You can bring somebody with you for moral support, the process only takes about 10 minutes and you’ll be saving three lives.” McGuinness said. “I don’t think there’s many people at this school who like to lose to Clemson, so this is just another thing we can beat them in.”