On April 5, UMass Boston’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) held the Jimmy Fund Dodgeball Tournament at the Clarke Center Ice Rink.
There were 17 teams with five or more members, and a solid crowd of onlookers. Teams included the Orientation Leaders staff, the Veterans Center, Casa Latina, Black Student Center, EEOS, and two teams from the Admissions office. A DJ played music throughout the event, and SIFE ran concessions serving food.
The rink had two separate courts going in a double elimination bracket. EEOS won second place with their team of Morgan Wells, Grant Ryan, Dave Frizzell, Matt Conlon, and Lou Landolfi. The athletic Rutabagas came in first place, and won the gift card prize. Members include Noah Barboza, Steve Olsen, Jake Winsor, Tom Bayuk, and Peter Hamscher.
The event was originally planned for March 29, but a scheduling snafu forced SIFE to reschedule. On the original date, students arrived at the rink to discover chairs set out two days early for a Welcome Day event. At that point, SIFE decided to reschedule.
Representatives from the Athletic and Admissions departments informed SIFE that the conflict had occurred because one department gave the okay to set up the chairs without the other department’s knowledge.
Because of the miscommunication between departments for the original event date, Admissions offered a financial compensation to SIFE and to the Jimmy Fund. “I am appreciative that UMass Boston SIFE could work with Admissions and Athletics to make a negative a positive. I am especially appreciative of Admissions for sending two teams to participate.” Said Jared Ward, CEO of the student led club UMass Boston SIFE.
In the end, the rescheduled event drew a larger crowd than predicted. “After the disappointment from last week, it was great to see such a great turnout,” Chief Operations Officer Janine Brown said.
Tony Akl of the “Operation Disorientation” team said, “[The dodgeball tournament] is definitely a tradition that should be implemented regularly at UMass Boston.”
