Networking with water balloons? Startup Games returns to Liberty Memorial lawn

With its official kickoff Friday morning, 1Week KC is returning in 2017 with an event to challenge area professionals with a variety of yard games near the Liberty Memorial.

Presented by area recreation league KC Crew, the Startup Games are a relay-type competition in which participants are randomly broken up into teams and separated from people in their own line of work. Participants will compete in such games as croquet, giant beer pong, cornhole, bocce ball and a water balloon toss.

Katy Davis, KC Crew event experience expert, said that the event will provide an opportunity to meet people and have fun while competing.

“This will give participants an opportunity to get to know other people with like minds and people in their industry,” Davis said.  “It will be a great networking event in a semi-competitive atmosphere.”

KC Crew is making an effort to foster serendipitous connections among competitors. Davis said organizers are intentionally splitting up participants that may know one another to foster new friendships among startup teams and area professionals.

“We really want people to make connections outside their usual peer networks,” said Matthew Marcus, a co-organizer of 1Week KC. “When startups and other professionals make new friendships, Kansas City as a whole benefits.”

The games will be split into a double elimination tournament bracket, which will be set at random. Winners will move forward in the bracket and losers will move on to the losers bracket.

KC Crew is bringing beer but participants may also bring their own. The games start Monday at 6 p.m. on the lawn Southeast of the National World War I Museum and Memorial.

The Startup Games are a part of 1Week KC, a weeklong celebration of Kansas City entrepreneurship that plans to build community among area innovators and residents with a festive atmosphere focused on fun.

1Week is set for June 16 to 23 with events throughout the metro area.

Here’s more info on 1Week KC and the full schedule is below:

• June 16, Startup Waffles, starting 8 a.m. at Think Big Partners
• June 16, Gigabit City Summit: Local Edition by KC Digital Drive, at Plexpod Westport Commons
• June 16, Startup Crawl KC, starting 4:30 p.m. in the Crossroads Arts District
• June 19, Startup Games KC by KC Crew, starting 5:30 p.m. at Liberty Memorial
• June 20, Venture Lounge, starting 5:30 p.m. by ECJC at WeWork
• June 21, 1 Million Cups, 9 a.m. at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• June 21, Innovation Exchange, starting 4:30 p.m. at Think Big Partners
• June 22, GUILDit, noon at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
• June 22, Verge KC, starting 5:30 p.m. at Plexpod Westport Commons
• June 23, Entrepreneur Day at the K, starting 4:30 p.m. at Kauffman Stadium