The University’s Warsaw Sports Business Club hosted the seventh-annual University of Oregon World Cup at the turf fields at the Student Recreation Center during the weekend. @@http://wsbc.uoregon.edu/events/@@
The tournament, which consisted of a six-team competitive women’s division and an eight-team recreational men’s division, included an array of club and recreation teams from Gonzaga University and Portland State University. Each team participating was guaranteed to play three games or more, depending on how many games the teams won. @@http://www.gonzaga.edu/@@
The Warsaw Sports Business Club, which has approximately 220 members, puts on two tournaments each year and also participates in other sports-related ventures. The Club aims to give students opportunities to get involved in the community and prepare them for possible careers in sports business, and the University’s World Cup offers them the chance.
The student-run tournament took five months to plan, University junior and tournament director Katie Bartholomew said. @@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Katie*Bartholomew@@
“We sat down and figured out who we wanted to be the mangers of the tournament, and then we let our managers do their own interviews for their assistants,” Bartholomew said. “After we got our teams, we sat down and decided which way we wanted to take the tournament.”
Bartholomew also stressed that University students and Warsaw Sports Business Club members were responsible for every aspect of the tournament, ranging from seeking sponsorships to refereeing the games.
Each year proceeds from the tournament are allocated to a local non-profit organization. This year the funds were donated to Relief Nursery.
“Relief Nursery is a program that helps women get back on their feet after being abused or brought up in a different home,” Bartholomew said. “There’s a place for children to go to school and be around other kids and start from the bottom up.” @@http://www.reliefnursery.org/@@
University junior and Sponsorship Director Jared Kaufer said organizing the full-scale soccer tournament was time-intensive. @@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Jared*Kaufer@@
“Our biggest challenge is probably spreading the word and making it known that we have this really great tournament each spring out here on the turf fields,” Kaufer said. “This tournament is getting very popular but it’s tough to recruit teams to the area because it’s not exactly that well-known yet.”
Even after a Saturday morning loss, Willamette University team member Randi Granat stayed positive and spoke about her experience at the tournament.
“We lost earlier, but it’s OK because we stayed really positive and had a good time,” she said. She also said she’s happy with the tournament.
“I think they’ve been doing a great job. It’s kind of hard to find a place to warm up, but so far, it’s gone pretty well — I like it.”
The University women’s club team and Club Athletico were crowned champions of the women’s club collegiate and recreational divisions, respectively, late Sunday evening.