Schoolyard game raises money

Jillian Anthony / Staff Writer / The USD Vista

The sorority Alpha Delta Pi and the fraternity Beta Theta Pi hosted their first annual kickball tournament this past Saturday to raise money for Alpha Delta Pi’s national philanthropy, the Ronald McDonald house.

“Ronald McDonald house is a house where families who have children with serious illnesses can go if they can’t afford hotels while their kids are in the hospital, so they can still be close to their children,” Chase Tushaus, philanthropy chair of Beta Theta Pi, said.

Alpha Delta Pi also considered softball as the focus of their new annual event, but ultimately decided upon kickball.

“After looking at the money that other Greek organizations have raised through sporting events, we wanted to do something similar,” junior Sam Levine said. “Kickball is easy for everyone to learn and you don’t have to be an all-star at it to win.”

The tournament was held at Manchester field and featured DJ Jason Wright, food and beverage sales and a raffle. The raffle’s grand prizes were free tickets to Alpha Phi’s upcoming Red Dress Gala and Alpha Delta Pi’s upcoming poker tournament. Both events raise money for the sororities’ national philanthropies.

The event received support from outside sponsors including the USD Bakery which donated free smoothie coupons to be given away at the raffle.

The eight participating teams, seven representing Greek organizations and one from the men’s crew team, had a chance to live out elementary school memories in team uniforms of their choice.

“Each team tried to generally match,” Tushaus said. “The crew team’s theme was who can dress the most ridiculous. There were a lot of short shorts and very high socks.”

The semifinals featured a battle between the men’s crew team and a team from Beta Theta Pi, as well as both female teams from Alpha Deta Pi. Beta Theta Pi was victorious in the end, winning the tournament and the grand prize of gold medals to represent the Olympic spirit.

“We raised over $200, and for the first year I think that’s fantastic,” Levine said. “It went really well especially since a lot of Greek organizations were having their retreats this weekend. It was a real success to see that everyone had fun. It was a great experience.”