By Matthew Laurrie
Features Editor
Spring Weekend, which officially begins on campus Friday, April 26, will kick-start a few updates this year. Rob DeFazio, director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership, announced Monday the designated Spring Weekend sport would be changed from softball to kickball.
DeFazio said the shift was made in an effort to reduce the amount of injuries students suffer while playing softball, in addition to giving more students the opportunity to participate. DeFazio said the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership (CARL) office had been considering this for quite some time.
“Each year we see people get hurt or (experience) close calls,” he said. “It’s a matter of, ‘why wait until something really bad happens before making a change?’ We really wanted to be proactive and still offer an event that students will have a blast at.”
The switch will allow the tournament to welcome more teams, because kickball is typically a quicker and smoother sport, according to DeFazio. Prior to this year, a maximum of 64 teams could participate in the tournament, but now the roster has opened up to allow upwards of 80 teams.
Making the switch away from softball has been met with some criticism, DeFazio said, since the sport has been a Bonaventure tradition spanning decades. However, he said the most important factor during the festivities is keeping students safe.
Steve Marcus, a junior journalism and mass communication major, said he agrees with the updates because he has seen first-hand how aggressive games can get. He believes students are mostly interested in enjoying end-of-the-semester events regardless of the sport.
“I had a friend who got pretty hurt last year when she got hit with a line drive back to the mound, she still has a bruise on her leg to this day,” Marcus said. I used to love playing kickball as a kid and I’m looking forward to the change.”
Jade Padula, a sophomore English major, said she’s a bit disappointed but is remaining optimistic about Spring Weekend activities nonetheless.
“I don’t really mind what we play, but I do feel that softball has been a tradition here for years, so in that case, I feel that the sport matters,” Padula said. “Otherwise, kickball is still a fun game.”
However, not all students are enthusiastic about CARL’s decision to revamp the tournament. Michael Loffredo, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major, said changing the sport is the wrong decision because playing kickball will diminish the competitive spirit of the games.
“I hate it,” he said. “Everyone loved softball and it was something to actually look forward to. Kickball is going to be a lot more high scoring and not as fun. This school needs to stop changing around tradition.”
Loffredo, Marcus and Padula have each participated on a Spring Weekend team at least once before and agreed they won’t let the sport modification negatively impact their spring celebrations.
Mariah Wolford, a junior history major, has been on a team for the past two years and said the sport is irrelevant; students simply look forward to the atmosphere on campus during Spring Weekend.
“My friends and I play for the fun of it, so winning was never a big deal to us,” she said. “I personally really like kickball and was happy when I heard about it. It’s Spring Weekend – people are just looking for a good time. I don’t think the sport really matters.”
Students can pick up team registration forms at the front desk in the Richter Center.
As Spring Weekend approaches, Bonnies seem prepared to slide into home plate to commemorate the end of another school year.
