The stage in HUB Alumni Hall shook last night as student organizations competed in the Homecoming 2005 Airbands Competition.

Alumni Hall was packed to capacity as performers and spectators cheered each other on to show support for those involved in homecoming this year.

Overall Chair Tara Burnham said she was very excited to see so many people show up to the event. She said it looked as if there were more people than in past years.

"They are really showing their Penn State pride," Burnham said.

Special Events Overall Nicole Stanzione said the airbands competition is a tradition for Penn State homecoming and usually draws large crowds every year.

"It is one of my favorite events for homecoming," Stanzione said.

Stanzione said organizations that are competing in the homecoming parade, as well as non-competing ones, battle one another by picking songs to dance and to lip-sync to that represent their homecoming themes.

Penn State faculty members judged the organizations on their performances. The top non-competing and top five competing organizations were chosen for a lightning round where they had 30 seconds to perform a routine to a song chosen at random, Stanzione said. After their performances in the lightning round, winners from the non-competing and competing categories were chosen as the overall two winners of the competition.

"I think it is really fun to do," Stanzione said.

She added that she performed in the competition two years ago and had a great time.

"You can go up there and make a fool of yourself, and no one cares," Stanzione said.

This year, the competition had a mailman theme with Mike "The Mailman" Herr and Don "The Mail Guy" Plotts from the University Park Post Office hosting the event.

The mailmen set the mood for the night when they walked through the crowd in Alumni Hall dressed in hoods with "Beat Purdue" written on their backs and star-shaped sunglasses covering their eyes.

"They were really excited to do it," Stanzione said.

The winners for the Homecoming 2005 Airbands Competition were Orchesis Dance Group and Theta Delta Chi fraternity, 305 E. Prospect Ave., from the competing group and Lion Ambassadors from the non-competing group.

Throughout the night, groups took the stage to cheers and standing ovations from their fellow organization members in the crowd.

"I'm excited. Apparently a lot of people are dressed up," Jamie Weisbrot (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

Weisbrot performed in the competition with fellow members of Alpha Omericron Pi sorority to Queen's Bicycle Race.

One of the largest groups that took the stage was Lion Ambassadors, which performed a dance and gymnastic routine to a mix of songs. The group received a standing ovation both before and after its performance from fellow members and other attendees.

"They did awesome," Lion Ambassador Katie Sedam (senior-kinesiology) said.

Performances ranged from short routines with performers in jeans and T-shirts to longer routines with organization members in full costumes and body paint.