New Jersey Native Wins 111th Annual Hoop Rolling Contest at Wellesley College

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Allison Kramer, an international relations and Spanish major from Metuchen, New Jersey, is the winner of this morning's 111th annual hoop rolling competition at Wellesley College. Kramer, who will graduate on June 1, was met at the finish line by Wellesley College President Diana Chapman Walsh (herself the winner of the 1966 hoop-rolling contest), who presented the winner with a bouquet of flowers.

In keeping with tradition, Kramer was promptly carried by her classmates to the edge of Lake Waban and tossed into the chilly water. Traditionally, the winner of the contest, which first began in 1895, was said to be the first in her class to marry. These days, victory is seen as a sign that the winner will be the first to achieve success, however she defines it.

After emerging from the lake, Kramer said that she had practiced rolling the hoop a bit but credited much of her win to a good position at the starting line. Several members of Wellesley’s softball team, of which Kramer is co-captain, arrived at the starting line very early this morning to hold a place for her.

After graduation, Kramer will work as a consultant at Infosys Technologies, Ltd.

Nearly 200 Wellesley College seniors, many dressed in academic gowns, made this morning's 1/8 mile dash, rolling old-fashioned wooden hoops in a race to the finish line.

Wellesley College has been a leader in liberal arts and the education of women for 130 years. The College's 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from 50 states and more than 65 countries.

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President Diana Chapman Walsh and Allison Kramer '06