Football arrived at UCSD last Friday when the Revelle Emerging Leaders Program held an all-campus, co-ed flag football tournament at RIMAC Field. The free event, dubbed “”Remember the Tritons,”” also featured a postgame concert by Lefty and a raffle drawing.
The flag football game was played by two teams, Blue and Gold. Members from Roosevelt and Muir colleges formed the Gold team and members of Revelle, Warren and Marshall colleges made up the Blue team. The final score of the game was a 12-7 victory for Gold.
A loud and enthusiastic crowd cheered the teams. Also supporting the players from the sidelines were the UCSD cheerleaders and the Pep Band.
“”The ELPers have worked really hard to try to get a sense of pride in being a UCSD student,”” said ELP team leader Kari Kibler. “”And they thought the best way would be to have a football team.””
The event continued into the night as Lefty performed to the remaining crowd.
Marshall sophomore Geoffrey Chiapella, who played multiple positions for the Blue team, said that he enjoyed the event.
“”I think it was a big success,”” Chiapella said. “”I’m glad we had a good turnout. It was a really fun atmosphere.””
“”Remember the Tritons”” was realized through an ELP group process that tried to create an event that would benefit UCSD. Revelle freshman Bishoy Said, co-chair of the event with Revelle freshman Kenney Moore, said the event was intended to “”instill a little spirit into the campus, because it’s really not there.””
The two co-chairs worked with a group of 20 freshmen and sophomores in the ELP to create the event. This year’s event marks a departure from the carnival event that ELP puts on annually.
“”I think [ELP] did an outstanding job of putting on something that is memorable for the campus together — not the usual carnival event, but something unique,”” said Revelle Assistant Dean Liora Kian Gutierrez.
The event also benefited two charity organizations, Mama’s Kitchen and Locks of Love. A canned food drive was held for Mama’s Kitchen, and over 250 cans were donated. Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs for patients with hair loss, had a booth where students could donate locks of their hair. Coordinator Danielle Weiss, representing Locks of Love at the event, was “”very surprised”” that over 100 inches of hair were donated. Those that participated in the charity events were entered into a raffle contest.
Over $2,000 worth of prizes were awarded, including a Palm handheld computer, Playstation 2 consoles, DVD players, televisions and assorted gift certificates.
According to David Tawfik, finance chair of the event, the event had a budget of $10,000, with much of the support coming from the Revelle College Council. A.S. Programming also supported the tournament, providing $2,150 for the musical performance.
Jessica Birchler, coordinator of student activities at Revelle and advisor for ELP, was pleased with the event and the time put in to produce it.
“”I’m really proud of [ELP] and all the hard work they put in,”” Birchler said.
This is the seventh annual ELP event and the eighth year of ELP’s existence. The program was started by Revelle college Dean Renee Barnett-Terry to improve the leadership skills and abilities of freshmen and sophomore students.
