Vassar hosts "Take a Kid to the Game"

Elizabeth Anderson Guest Writer

Lilian Reuman Guest Writer

How many seniors are on the Vassar men’s and women’s basketball teams? What is Vassar’s newest varsity sport? The answer to these trivia questions could be found at the Sports Trivia Table in the foyer of the Walker Field House during the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) 13th annual “Take A Kid to the Game” last Friday, Feb. 1.

While facilitated by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) here at Vassar, the event is a national program that encourages adults from the surrounding community to bring their children to football and basketball games. The NCAA hopes the program will introduce youth to athletics while boosting attendance at games.

Friday marked Vassar’s third annual “Take A Kid to the Game”. While the women’s basketball Head Coach Angel Mason previously ran the event when she was the NCAA intern, this year the task was handed off to SAAC, an organization run by current student-athletes. Despite inclement weather, the organization succesfully pulled off the event, bringing together students, children, faculty and athletes from the surrounding Poughkeepsie community.

“Two, three, four years ago we wouldn’t have had the man power to pull this event off,” said SAAC President Chrissy Lewis ’08, “but we’re taking baby steps and consider each event we hold a small step towards success.”

To recruit participants for the event, members of SAAC and Student Athlete Mentors distributed flyers to local schools, fire and police departments, and Girl Scouts in Dutchess County. Pre-game festivities began at 4:30 p.m with various booths of activities, including face painting, Vassar sports trivia, coloring and shooting hoops.

Athletes from a variety of Vassar varsity sports, including women’s lacrosse, baseball, women’s tennis and the crew teams, volunteered at the event, working the booths and then sitting with the kids during the men’s and women’s basketball games.

During halftime of the men’s game, the kids, dressed in official Vassar basketball uniforms, were able to dribble around and shoot lay-ups on court.

After both games, the kids were then able to participate in an autograph session on the second floor of Walker Field House, where the young athletic hopefuls were able to meet the varsity players.

While attendance for the event was sparse, the evening proved to be an excellent opportunity to introduce young athletes to Vassar athletics and encourage them to support the Brewers through all seasons.