SMU’s Interfraternity Council will host the Special Olympics Annual Volleyball Tournament Saturday. The event is expected to bring 300 athletes from all over North Texas, as well as approximately 150 volunteers from SMU fraternities.
The tournament will be held in SMU’s Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Opening ceremonies will take place at 8:20 a.m.
Games will be played on the three indoor volleyball courts as well as at Highland Park Presbyterian Church at 3821 University Blvd. There is a no charge for admisson.
Fraternity members will coach teams of Special Olympics athletes, officiate games, serve refreshments, cheer on the participants and provide other behind-the-scenes support. Lunch, t-shirts and volunteers will be provided by the Interfraternity Council and SMU Student Senate.
This is the fourth year the tournament will be sponsored by the Interfraternity Council at SMU. The event was first brought to SMU and the Interfaternity Council in 1999 by Jason ZumBerge, former vice president of the IFC and a volunteer for Special Olympics Texas. Hosting the tournament has since become a fall tradition for the fraternity chapters.
The Interfraternity Council is a student-run organization and the governing body of the 10 fraternity chapters affiliated with the North American Interfraternity Confe-rence at SMU.
Kappa Sigma is one of the 10 fraternities volunteering in this year’s Special Olympics volleyball game. There will be about 10 to 15 Kappa Sig’s participating in the tournament.
“It was a really rewarding experience when I reffed the kids volleyball game last year,” junior Kappa Sigma Michael John said. “The kids really looked up to us and I felt that we made a difference.”
Members include Beta Theta Pi, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Sigma Phi Epsilon. The Interfraternity Council chapters at SMU have a combined membership of nearly 900 men.
For more information contact Meredith Dickenson at (214) 768-7654 or email [email protected].
