Financial Fanatics win 2011 wallyball tournament

By Jesse Gaunce
October 25, 2011

The fifth-annual Fair Trade Wallyball Tournament commenced on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the Dixon Center with Financial Fanatics taking home the title by defeating the Monstars! two games to none in a best-of-three series.

From left to right: Adam Sodl, Connor Mulligan, Christian Angerame and Alexx Sites made up the 2011 Financial Fanatics team that won the 2011 Fair Trade Wallyball Tournament. -- Photo submitted by Stephen Eberle

The event began with 16 teams and took place over the course of three days. Participants were able to choose their own teams consisting of three or four people.

For those who are unaware, Fair Trade helps farmers build sustainable businesses that positively influence their communities. Fair Trade products are goods that come from far-away farms where farmers and workers receive minimal compensation.

Some students played for the competitive aspect and some played to raise awareness. “It was awesome playing in this tournament because of the fun competition but also for raising awareness in Fair Trade,” Brian Bell, senior criminology major and a member of the Monstars!, said. “Any time you can bring awareness to an issue that is not talked about much, it’s always good knowing you did something that could help that issue out.”

Wallyball is almost the same game as volleyball except players can use the walls.

Other participants, like Ryan Bunda, senior criminology major, were encouraged by their professors to sign up and make a difference. This was Bunda’s first time participating in the event.

“Our professor, Dr. [Kathleen] McKinley, wanted a team to represent the criminology/sociology department so she asked for people to sign up during class,” Bunda, a member of the Monstars!, said. “We just went out there to represent our department and for the good of the cause. This was the first year that I participated in the Wallyball Tournament. I actually had never even heard of wallyball until I came to Cabrini.”

Although the only real prize of this tournament was bragging rights, students still had the desire to win and showed that through their in-game strategies.

“We just tried to use our height and athletic advantages on teams and tried to capitalize on any disadvantages we saw in those teams,” Alexx Sites, senior human resources major and a member of the Financial Fanatics team, said.

Sites was also happy to be involved in an event that promoted something many Cabrini students and faculty feel very strongly about.

“It was a great cause and outcome to have for Fair Trade,” Sites said. “I have done projects on Fair Trade for other classes but never did anything actively towards it. A lot of time the thought is ‘what can we do,’ and no one ever sees the understanding of how a wallyball tournament has an effect on Fair Trade. I believe a lot of our retailers around the U.S. use unjust ways to make more money. It makes you think and do research before you buy their products.”

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Jesse Gaunce

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