On Monday, August 20th, the Saint Leo athletic teams gathered at the lacrosse stadium together for the welcome back event hosted by SAAC and the athletic department. The purpose of this event is to gather the athletic teams together for a fun competition where the winner is crowned Athletic Welcome Back Champion and receives a trophy to defend in following years. This year, the woman’s softball team was aiming to defend their championship. The event is also used to unveil the Hashtag theme for the year.
The event opened with brief welcome speeches from the Vice President/Director of Athletics Mr. Fran Reidy, our new University President, Dr. Jerffery D. Senese, as well as Faculty Athletic Representative, Dr. Barbara Caldwell. The students in charge of SAAC for this academic year were introduced as well: Sara Neuman (President), Noemi Anaya (Vice President), Michael Tinari (Secretary), Willem van den Akker (Treasurer), and Victoria Omoregie (Event Committee Chair).
Following the speeches, the competition began. Each team was racing the clock to complete various challenges located at each of the athletic fields/courts. The rules were simple: 1) before starting a challenge the entire team must be present, verified by the coach running with them 2) One person could not do every challenge, as many people as possible needed to make an attempt 3) while running between challenges, teams were required to remain on the sidewalks. The start and finish line were both located within the lacrosse stadium.
Teams were drawn from a hat and given a countdown to the start of the clock, whereupon they ran to the basketball courts for their first challenge – making a three-point shot. The challenges are listed below:
1. Three-point shot at the basketball courts
2. Penalty kick goal and back2back ball drop at the soccer fields
3. 3-legged race and dizzy bat tee at the softball field
4. Wheelbarrow sprint and serving at the beach volleyball courts
5. Rally 10 times at the tennis courts
6. Golf ball walk between the tennis courts and baseball field
7. Pitch and whip cream bubble gum at the baseball field
8. Lacrosse shot and kickboard balance walk at the lacrosse field
At the completion of the course, athletes were able to indulge in Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and mingle while waiting for the winner to be announced. The teams were moved into the gym to wait for the announcement, due to lightning being spotted in the area.
Every team worked hard and competitively, staying true to this year’s hashtag, #STAYHUNGRY.
The Champions of the 2018 Athlete Welcome Back event were the Mens Cross Countryand Track Team with a time of 12:36.
