Chronquiry: What is A-Team and how do they prepare for Duke’s bench burning tradition?

Bench burning: It's the coveted tradition Blue Devils know and love, with dreams of reliving it year after year. But who works behind the scenes to prepare for the big, blazing moment?

A-Team, a group of Duke administrators and students, is tasked with ensuring student safety during the on-campus bonfires. While it’s been around for decades, the organization was established in 2012 following the creation of the Occupational & Environmental Safety Office (OESO) Bonfire Safety Program and with the help of Duke Student Government.

The organization’s student volunteers are given one of three roles. “Stokers” are responsible for overseeing the placement of the benches and starting the bonfire, “roamers” are responsible for supervising student safety and patrolling for rogue bonfires and “extinguishers” work with the Durham Fire Department to eventually put out the fire using pressurized extinguishers. 

A-Team volunteers are also assigned to oversee student safety at the pregame tailgate in Krzyzewskiville.

Win or lose, A-Team prepares for the big day, with their work beginning as early as November.

Junior Tara Singh, head of the A-Team and DSG vice president of campus life, said she worked closely with Justin Sharpe, associate dean of students and director of crisis response and risk mitigation, to submit bonfire permit requests. A-Team is permitted to host four bonfires per academic year, which are planned for the dates of the men’s and women’s home basketball games against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the men’s and women’s basketball national championship games. Still, A-Team is only permitted to light the bonfire if Duke wins the game.

Singh said that she also partnered with Housing and Residence Life in order to source two benches to burn. After obtaining a map with all the benches on West Campus, Singh contacted quad council representatives, ultimately securing benches from Craven and Kilgo Quads.

On Jan. 10, two days after the tenting entry test, A-Team began recruiting student volunteers. According to Singh, A-Team saw a surge in applications this year following the heightened interest in tenting.

Leading up to game day, all members of A-Team are required to attend a training led by Sharpe. 

On game day, A-Team gathers in the Student Wellness Center for a watch party, briefing and bonding session. But at halftime, A-Team’s most important work begins.

With five minutes remaining in the second half of the game, they head outside to prepare for the fire. A-Team must move the benches to the fire ring marked on Abele Quad in front of Kilgo House P, stacking the second bench upside down over the first. To help ignite the blaze, A-Team adds wooden pallets stuffed with newspaper.

Then, they wait. 

Due to a slight delay in broadcasting, A-Team can usually hear a victory before they see it. If Duke has won, the stokers move to light the flames.

“The idea is to have the bench burning as folks are finally getting out of the stadium and running towards us, which is like a very small piece of time because people go fast,” Singh said. 

Throughout the bonfire, A-Team’s staff volunteers are stationed at various positions across Abele Quad, ensuring students remain safe and non-authorized benches remain intact.

“It's a crucial part of our tradition, and we want to ensure that we still have the privilege to continue to do this in future years, so it's a really important part of the job to make sure it's safe and memorable, but also fun for everyone at the same time,” said junior James Mu, a member of A-Team last year. 


Karen Xu | Photography Editor

Karen Xu is a Trinity senior and a photography editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Chronquiry: What is A-Team and how do they prepare for Duke’s bench burning tradition?” on social media.