November 4, 2013 • 17 Sports & Health
xx DODGEBALL
Continued from PG. 11
dressed as nerds. The best individual costume award went to a student dressed as a Spartan, complete with a helmet and armor. The tournament was set up as a 5-on-5, double elimination competition. The games were five minutes long and if neither team was completely eliminated, the team with more active players at the end of the five-minute rounds won. Dodgeball was chosen for the event to draw attention to Columbia athletics and recreation because it is a universal sport that requires no high-level skill, said Renegades Vice President and senior marketing communication major Tim Gorski. “It’s a good opportunity because Columbia doesn’t really emphasize athletics at all, and this is a really good way to engage [students] in our programs,” Gorski said. “Bringing the costume aspect to [the event] engages the Columbia student body a lot better, where they can express themselves as individuals.” Renegades President Jon Bowman, a senior creative writing major, said past dodgeball events have been successful, but the Renegades wanted to add a Halloween element to appeal to more students. “Since it was so close to Halloween and part of Columbia’s 24 Hour Night, we wanted to add the costume element to bring a little
Photos Jon Durr THE CHRONICLE (Top) Anthony Beck, freshman audio arts & acoustics, hurls a ball at his opposition during the Oct. 30 costume dodgeball tournament in the Goodman Center, 50 E. Congress Parkway. (Bottom) Neal Rames, junior interactive arts & media, crouches down in ninja meditation during the game. (Right) Jeongun Han, freshman arts entertainment & media management, lunges for a ball in full speed.
more fun into it for the holidays,” Bowman said. The event benefited from being conveniently located at the Goodman Center as opposed to the Renegades’ previous venue at the South Loop Elementary School gym, according to Bowman. “At [the Goodman Center] they have a college-size basketball stadium that’s right downtown, right
in the heart of our campus, so it’s a great opportunity for us to expand our program,” Bowman said. There was a strong turnout with around eight teams and 100 total students in attendance. Abby Cress, former Renegades President and senior fashion design major, said the turnout is indicative of the organization’s rapid growth during the past couple of years.
“It’s awesome, everyone seemed to have a good time dressed up with their teams. [It was a] pretty decent turnout,” Cress said. “I remember two years ago when athletics would try to host something like this, it would not get as many people, so we’re really lucky to have this facility now and we’re lucky to have more awareness about athletics.” Roosevelt junior economics and
foreign affairs major Halacy Kurenski said the dodgeball tournament was great for students from different schools to network. “This is a good way to bring all of the departments and schools together. We’re all down here together, we should all be one force, one unity,” Kurenski said. aweber@chroniclemail.com
Computer labs for homework, study, and general computer use by our students, staff, and faculty. November 4, 2013 • 17