Tugs, where fraternities and sororities will be competing in a series of tug-of-war rounds over the campus pond, will be different to ensure a more equal playing field for those competing for Greek Week 2015.

Complaints were made last year regarding the tugging lanes each team pulled on. The west side of the pond closest to soccer field is prone to be more muddy because of the tree looming over the lane, leaving little room for the sun to dry the mud from previous Tugs rounds.

Kent Anderson, the committee chairman of Tugs and Pyramids, said they moved the lane to the south side of the tree to ensure more fair grounding for both sides of the pond.

“This year, there is just huge tire marks within those lanes. It is really muddy,” Anderson said. “We moved it to the other side just because the grounding is better, and it is more equal with the conditions compared to the pavilion side.”

Despite the west-side lane move, the east-side lane will remain in the traditional spot north of the pavilion. This will have _the competitors tugging at an angle this year.

By the time the Tugs final round commences, the fields on both sides take significant damage as competitor cleats tear into the once-green fields surrounding the pond.

To alleviate some of the damage to the field and allow tuggers more traction as they pull well into the final round, the lanes will be expanded in length each day for better conditions.

The lanes will be set at 18 feet Monday, 22 feet Wednesday, 26 feet Friday and 30 feet Saturday.

Anderson said this should give tuggers better footing throughout the competitions.

The Tugs rounds will be spread out more evenly this year as opposed to previous years. Five Tugs, consisting of play-in rounds, will start at 4 p.m. Monday at Campus Pond.

For Women’s Tugs, Alpha Phi and Alpha Gamma Delta will face off. Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Kappa Theta will tug for the Big Men’s Tugs. Sigma Phi Epsilon and Sigma Chi will be tugging in Little Men’s Tugs.

This will allow only eight Tugs rounds on Wednesday, four on Friday and six on Saturday.

“On the second day, there used to be 12 Tugs,” Anderson said. “12 Tugs in one day takes a lot of time. Three hours; a lot of people do not want to be out there for that long.”

Anderson said this would also leave more room for the lanes to recuperate for the next day.

At the start of each round, the fraternities and sororities tugging will be greeted by the sound of a train horn instead of a shotgun. Anderson said the university would not allow the use of the shotgun.

Last year, Tugs began with an airhorn as a replacement but found it to be inefficient. Anderson said no one heard it, so they switched to a train horn, which was well heard by those tugging.

Charleston is expected to see thunderstorms throughout the week. Anderson said they will still be tugging in rain, but they would reschedule remaining rounds if there is lightning in sight.

He added this is why the rounds are separated between days, to allow them to reschedule for Tuesday and Thursday.

Jarad Jarmon can be reached at 581-2812 or jsjarmon@eiu.edu