The Students’ Union held the first Faculty Wars Dodgeball Tournament of the year on October 4th.
Vice-president student life Matt Diteljan organized the University of Calgary Faculty Wars Dodgeball Tournaments through the Students’ Union for the first time. This is a campus-wide event aiming to foster a sense of belonging among students.
“Everyone can get out, get together and meet other people in their faculty. They can compete in a fun and light-hearted way against other faculties,” said Diteljan.
On October 14, the Jack Simpson gymnasium boasted a multitude of dodgeball teams decked out in zany costumes: zombies, cat burglars, scientists, Disney characters and Shrek ogres to name a few.
“It’s not a requirement [to dress up], but we have more fun. You dress up for team spirit,” explained science team captain Jack Siu.
Diteljan said the SU had a full communication plan regarding the advertising and promotion of Faculty Wars.
“It was on The Loop. We also had posters on the huge clubs display case. It was on our website, press release and ads in the Gauntlet.”
He will be publicizing other upcoming dodgeball games over the next few weeks.
The number of teams exceeded expectations because of the advertising.
“The tournament sold out pretty quickly so I am going to make the next tournament larger so we don’t have to turn any teams away,” said Diteljan.
Three teams were not able to participate due to the tournament being full.
To participate in the Faculty Wars each team paid $75, or $5 dollars per person. A free after-party and bus transportation were included.
“You’re really getting a good deal for $5,” said Diteljan.
Diteljan estimated this event is expected to bring in $1,350 in revenue for the SU.
“All of the money generated will be put back into student services so it can continue in the future,” he said.
The feedback from participants showed the recent tournament was an improvement over last years dodgeball tournament.
Straw and Ditlejan, co-founders of the Faculty Wars Dodgeball Tournaments and have ran three other tournaments previously. This is the first SU-endorsed tournament however.
“People were cheating last year,” recalled arts student and dodgeball participant Samantha Imbrogno. “Now they have referees. It’s much better.”
Siu agreed that there was better organization.
“There are a lot of people but the games are going on time. There’s no mass confusion,” Siu commented.
The SU awarded a total of $4,500 worth of prizes to the first and second place finalists, the most spirited team and the best-dressed individual.
The team Bi-curious George emerged on top. The Gingers came in second.
While this year’s Faculty Wars are solely dodgeball tournaments, Diteljan foresees the implementation of intellectual competitions and social activities to ensure the students are engaged in well-rounded competition.
Third-year business student and team captain for Breaking and Entering Kalida Goldade said, “If you look at our school compared to other schools, we don’t have a lot of school activities. The rest of the students don’t get involved. There’s not many events that everybody in the school gets riled up about. This is a great opportunity.”