The HIV and AIDS Office hosted the first-ever South African HIV and AIDS-based crossword competition at the University of the Free State on 9 October 2012.

Contestants had to complete an HIV/AIDS-themed crossword puzzle and word search. Nineteen UFS residences entered the competition. Each team consisted of three members. Teams started with 100 points, after which points were subtracted for mistakes, as well as for the time taken to complete both puzzles. The aim was to both test existing HIV knowledge and to educate on new HIV knowledge. In preparation for this, all teams were given pamphlets to read through that contained vital information included in the quiz.

Before the competition started, each team had to present a 2-minute interpretation of their understanding of this year’s World Aids Day theme (Getting to zero: Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination, Zero AIDS related deaths). The challenge was to do this in a cool, funky and unique way. Teams could choose to dress up, create a poster or come up with a war cry exhibiting the theme. Wag-‘n-Bietjie was the winning residence in this category.

Although the competition was very tough, Vergeet-My-Nie residence managed to complete both their puzzles in less than 30 minutes, managing to score 98 out of 100. The winning residence walked away with R5 000 towards the Health and Wellness portfolio and the three participants each received R250 vouchers.

The Word-A-Thon competition is part of a week long celebration of World AIDS Day, which is being celebrated in October, because of the absence of students on campus in December.