Pink Whistle Campaign

Maryland Student Officials Association (MSOA) donated to Komen Maryland (the Maryland affiliate of the National Susan G. Komen Foundation) in the amount of $500 as a result of their Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Whistle Campaign. Thanks to MSOA members, family, and friends the club was able to sell whistles and acquire generous donations doubling their initial goal of $250.

Komen Maryland will allocate 75% of the donation to research and development within the state of Maryland.  Part of the donation will be used for various programs to help people affected by breast cancer including grants for individuals who are financially unable to get mammograms, transportation for cancer patients and their families to doctor's appointments, and movable feasts for cancer patients without the strength to prepare a meal after chemotherapy treatments. The other 25% goes to the national headquarters and will be used for research and development. 

Thank you to all those that took part in the Pink Whistle Campaign. Much recognition goes out to MSOA and their contribution to the University of Maryland, the surrounding community, and the national fight against breast cancer.

Ballroom: Heating Up the Dance Floor

Ballroom at Maryland (BAM) hosted their Annual DC Dancesport Inferno on November 4-6, 2011 and the competition was fierce!  The club had a strong showing and placed in almost all of the categories (see results below), including the newcomer category.  Congratulations to all of the BAM dancers!

Wondering what a ballroom dance competition looks like?  Tiffanie, Coordinator of Sport Clubs, was able to attend the event and shoot some video footage.

Interested in learning how to dance, either socially or competitively?  BAM hosts practices numerous times a week and newcomers are always welcome!  Check out their website for more information, or email the club at president@ballroomatmaryland.com.

DCDI Results for BAM Dancers

Newcomer (Overall)
Thomas Winkler and Mayumi Baker - 1st Place

Newcomer (Waltz)
Thomas Winkler and Mayumi Baker - 4th Place

Newcomer (Tango)
Christopher Cherry and Joan Zhang - 5th Place
Thomas Winkler and Mayumi Baker - 6th Place

Newcomer (Quickstep)
Thomas Winkler and Mayumi Baker - 4th Place

Silver (Waltz/Quickstep)
George Arnold and Blessing Bennett - 5th Place
Richard Semlitz and Lauren Phelps - 6th Place

Silver (Tango/Foxtrot)
Jon Tongco and Laura Sirbu - 4th Place

Gold (Waltz/Tango/Foxtrot/Quickstep)
Dennis So Ting Fong and Louise Sumner - 5th Place

Pre-Champ (Waltz)
Alex Wilson and Marit Knollmueller - 6th Place

American Smooth

Silver (Waltz/Tango)
Derek Winkler and Blessing Bennett - 5th Place

Silver (Foxtrot/V.Waltz)
Derek Winkler and Blessing Bennett - 3rd Place

Gold (Waltz/Tango/Foxtrot/V.Waltz)
Alex Wilson and Natalie Plumb - 2nd Place

International Latin

Newcomer Latin (Overall)
Henry Carbajales and Victoria Patch - 1st Place
Neita and Raina Zheng - 2nd Place

Newcomer Latin (Cha Cha)
Henry Carbajales and Victoria Patch - 1st Place
Thomas Winkler and Mayumi Baker - 2nd Place
Neita and Raina Zheng - 3rd Place
Forrest Csuy and Jessica Gilbert - 6th Place

Newcomer Latin (Rumba)
Henry Carbajales and Victoria Patch - 1st Place
Cy Neita and Raina Zheng - 4th Place

Newcomer Latin (Jive)
Henry Carbajales and Victoria Patch - 2nd Place
Neita and Raina Zheng - 4th Place
Peter Frank and Katie Janota - 5th Place

Bronze Latin (Jive)
Albert Shih and Mimiko Liba - 7th Place

Silver Latin (Cha/Rumba)
Alec Colvin and Anne Saddler - 5th Place

Gold Latin Final (Cha/Samba/Rumba/Jive)
Eyad Lababidi and Yo Matsubara - 5th Place
Jason Nixon and Uliana Andrianov - 7th Place

Pre-Champ (Overall)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 1st Place

Pre-Champ (Cha Cha)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 2nd Place

Pre-Champ (Samba)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 1st Place

Pre-Champ (Rumba)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 1st Place

Pre-Champ (Paso Doble)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 1st Place

Pre-Champ (Jive)
Romaine Isaacs and Teresa Martin - 1st Place

American Rhythm

Bronze (Rumba)
Albert Shih and Mimiko Liba - 7th Place

Bronze (Mambo)
Albert Shih and Mimiko Liba - 2nd Place

On the Roster: MSOA

What is it really like to be a member of a sport club? What do club members do and why do they do it? This week's spotlight is on the Maryland Student Officials Association, the sport club dedicated to calling plays and keeping competitive games fair.

According to the MSOA website "The Maryland Student Officials Association is a University-sponsored sport club run entirely by students that provides sports officials to the University of Maryland campus community as well as other leagues in the Washington, DC – Baltimore area. The MSOA also runs several regional sports tournaments including an annual flag football and basketball tournament." In addition to officiating on-campus events and local area league games, MSOA participates in clinics and youth outreach programs. Last weekend the club had the opportunity to officiate the Baltimore Ravens Flag Regional Tournament, an event for Baltimore area youth football players dedicated to physical fitness and teaching the sport's values on and off the field.

I had the chance to catch up with a few of the MSOA members and ask them three quick questions:

What prompted you to join MSOA?

Dan Martinez: I joined MSOA because I truly loved to officiate. I began by officiating youth basketball in my hometown and after hearing of this opportunity through intramural sports, I knew I had to join. I became friends with the previous Vice President and he told me about an opportunity to make money and referee club basketball. After officiating my first tournament, I knew I made a good decision in joining MSOA.

Dave Stewart: I was prompted to join MSOA because of the officiating opportunities and the friendship that came with that. MSOA provides several opportunities for students to officiate a wide variety of sports.

Evan Ball: I thought it would be a good leadership and opportunity to further enhance my officiating skills.

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How has being involved with MSOA shaped your college career?

Dan Martinez: Joining MSOA has given me events and opportunities to stay busy during the weekend. Essentially every week, there are events going on that I am able to participate in. Also, MSOA has allowed me to become friends with people that I probably would have never met. These people are some of my good friends today and I have to thank MSOA for that.

Dave Stewart: Being involved in MSOA has allowed me to make a lot of new friends. MSOA is a very close knit group. MSOA has also allowed me to gain a lot of leadership experience. It has also allowed me to better my communication skills and my conflict management skills.

Evan Ball: Being an officer in MSOA has given me more leadership and management skills that could help prepare me for future jobs.

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What does MSOA do and how can students get involved?

Dan Martinez: MSOA is a club that officiates a variety of sports. We have the ability to travel to different sites to officiate sports such as flag football, basketball, soccer, dodgeball, etc. or we can stay on campus and assist other organizations. Along with officiating, we also participate in fundraising events so we can have end of the semester social events where our entire club can participate and we like to give back to the community by doing philanthropy events.

Dave Stewart: MSOA provides officials for outside contractors. We also do fundraising and philanthropy events. In order to get involved check out our website or the CRS website.

Evan Ball: MSOA officiates numerous tournaments throughout the area, ranging from homecoming, flag football tournaments, and basketball tournaments. Any student who is familiar with a sport is welcome to participate by officiating that sport.

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Sound like something you'd be interested in? Contact the club president, Dan Martinez, at msoa2@yahoo.com for more information. Want to see the MSOA in action? Come out to watch club members officiate the 17th Annual NCCS Mid-Atlantic Regional Flag Football Championships on campus November 18-20, 2011. This year's event will feature over 50 teams from the Mid-Atlantic States and District of Columbia and there is sure to be some tough competition!

Walk, Trot, Canter: Pro Staff Equestrian Lesson

On Tuesday night, Tiffanie and I had the chance to drive out to Oatland Stables in Gaithersburg, MD to visit the UMD Equestrian Club Team for a lesson. The drive from campus, even in rush hour, wasn't bad at all and we made it out to the farm in about 45 minutes. Once we got there, the other members were already tacked up and out in the ring so we quickly headed out to the barn to meet our horses.

Tiffanie and Sammi

Katie and Feathers

It was dark by the time we started our lesson, but Oatland's outdoor ring has lights so we were good to go. Neither of us are experienced riders, so after mounting our horses we had the chance to just sit and watch the other club members and their horses do a few low jumps. It was amazing to see the club in action!

The club hosts 8 lessons a week at Oatland Stables with each member riding only once a week. Even with limited practice time, the competitive team is ranked 7th in our region & placed 4th out of 12 schools at their last competition at Christopher Newport University! The club is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) and is currently preparing for their next competition on November 19, an IHSA show hosted by Towson University at Featherdown Farms.

After watching the team practice for a bit, we got to test out our horsemanship! We did a bit of walking around the ring and after a few minutes Star, the team coach, asked if we wanted to trot. There was a resounding "yes" from the team, so Tiffanie and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and said "alright!". We were instructed on how to "grab mane", sit in 2 point, and get going!

Let me just say... woah. No wonder you all love this sport! I can honestly say I didn't want to get off Feathers at the end of the lesson. We did a bit more trotting, a bit more walking, and the lesson ended as the next group of riders walked up to the ring.

The girls warned us that our legs would hurt the next day... they were right, but I'm looking forward to getting out to another practice sometime in the spring! Thank you again to the Maryland Equestrian Team for allowing us to participate in your lesson!

Recent team photo

Weekend Recap: November 4-6

Catch up with your favorite sport club! Here are the results from this past weekend:

Traveling Clubs

Men's Ice Hockey: Lost at Navy 7-2; Won vs UNC 9-2

Equestrian: IHSA Show at Christopher Newport University. Results: Jess Leonard - 2nd Open Flat, 1st Open Fences; Suzannah Macleod - 6th Intermediate Flat, 1st Intermediate Fences; Rebecca Mitchell - 2nd Novice Flat; Lauren Bittle - 3rd Novice Flat; Katie Gankos - 1st Novice Fences; Megan Hanifan - 5th Adv WTC; Chelsea Kahn-Deere - 1st Beg. WTC

Squash: lost to Duke 4-5 but beat UNC 4-3

Men’s Crew: Placed 12^th in the 8+ and 13^th in the 4+ at the Head of the Occoquan

Women’s Crew: Placed 8^th in the novice 4 and 13^th in the novice 4(2) at the Head of the Occoquan

Softball: won first game, 3-2 and lost the second game 10-8 against College of Southern Maryland

Sailing: Traveled to Charleston, SC to compete in the SAISA MAISA Invitational and placed 10th out of 15 teams

Women’s Lacrosse: Competed in the UVA Playday. Lost by 1 point to JMU in the first game, and then beat UVA by 1 point in the second game

Field Hockey: Traveled to Virginia Beach for the NFHL Fall Championships. Results: W vs Penn State 4-1; L vs Old Dominion 4-2; L vs Delaware 4-0

Gymnastics: Competed in the Virginia Tech Classic. Results not yet posted.

Fencing: Competed in the Temple open and had a female fencer place in the Top 32 out of 100 competitors

Men’s Lacrosse: UVA round robin; won 1 game and lost 2 games

Women's Ultimate: Competed in Piggly Fest at University of Delaware. Results not available.

Home Events

Ballroom at Maryland: hosted the DCDI competition with great success. Dancers won the newcomer standard and Latin, beating over 140 couples.

Baseball: D2 Team vs. D1 Team scrimmage at the Baysox Stadium. D2 won game one 3-1 and D1 won game two 10-9.

Women's Ice Hockey: lost league game to California University of Pennsylvania 6-0. Won non-league game against the Washington Wolves woman's team 8-0

Men’s Lacrosse: played their Alumni at Heurich park

MSOA: officiated flag football games in Atlantic City

Paintball: hosted a home tournament and won all 3 games: Maryland 9-Penn State 1: Maryland 4- Rutgers 3: Maryland 6-Towson 1

Women's Rugby: hosted JMU. A side beat JMU 31-10. B side lost to JMU 26-20.

Swimming: hosted UMD meet with 12 teams! “By far the best UMD has hosted in 4 years!!”

Tennis: Hosted matches against Georgetown and defeated them in singles and double matches

Men's Ultimate Frisbee: hosted tournament at UMD- A Team: 6-0 vs. (Drexel [2], Shippensburg, Towson x, American Y, George Washington B) B Team: 2-5, wins (georgetown B [2])losses (Millersville, Shippensburg, American X [2], Towson Y)

Men's Volleyball: hosted a tournament. Won all the game sin pool play but lost in the championship against George Mason, 15-13 in the tiebreaker game

Women's Volleyball: Finished with 7 wins and 10 losses in games for the day. Finished 2nd in the tournament overall to American University's A team.

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Interested in learning more about our clubs? Contact the club president!

Welcome, UMD Turtle Shell!

On October 22, 2011, the Maryland Women's Crew Club hosted an Alumni & Family Day event to welcome a new racing shell to their fleet.

The day kicked off with a delicious brunch while family & friends mingled, caught up on current club happenings, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Once everyone had a chance to grab a bite to eat, the club officers began the dedication of the new boat, complete with a sparkling cider christening!

The UMD Turtle Shell is a welcome addition to our fleet, made possible by an anonymous donor.

Club members are thrilled to have the opportunity to race in this beautiful new boat!

After the presentation, parents were able to get a feel for the sport & alumni were able to get back on the water! The club hosted a Family & Friends Row and allowed interested family members the opportunity to grab an oar and test their hand at rowing.

Everyone had a great time and the club hopes to make this Alumni & Family Day event an annual tradition. Interested in participating next year? Contact club president, Karen Dunford, at umdwomensclubcrew@gmail.com. For more photos from the event, please check out the CRS Flickr Photostream.

Photos by Katie Hagen