In the midst of the 2010 season’s only weeklong camp-out, a routine, time-passing activity at Paternoville has morphed into a charitable event.
Paternoville coordination committee Vice President John Tecce and fellow camper Katie Rudy worked with the athletic department to produce tonight’s Paternoville Trashcan Football Tournament.
The tournament, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at Beaver Stadium’s Gate A, costs $20 for a two-person team. All proceeds from the tournament will be donated to Lift for Life.
“It’s a great thing for us to be able to give to Lift for Life,” Tecce said. “We know what this charity means to the football team and we are thrilled to be able to support it.”
For sophomore Troy Weller, a weekly camper, the tournament is an opportunity for the Gate A residents to do something special for the team they support inside the stadium.
“It’s the football team,” Weller said. “We support the football team, so if we’re going to support them on game day, we might as well support what they’re doing to help people who need help.”
Lift for Life is the major fundraising event for the Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes. The charity consists of a group of Penn State football players who work together to raise awareness and funds for rare diseases.
The partnership with Lift for Life may help attract students who are unfamiliar with trashcan football, Scott Lattimer said.
“It’s a great fundraiser, because not only do students get to enjoy a little friendly competition, but it’s for such a great cause,” he said. “[The fundraiser] can bring in people that aren’t necessarily likely to play or have never played before.
“If it brings in that extra amount of people, it’s doing something for a good cause.”
Forty-six teams are currently registered for the tournament, but the PCC is hoping to fill out a 64-team bracket, Tecce said, adding that he is waiting to hear from the Student Athletic Advisory Board as to which varsity athletes will be participating.
Already set to participate is Penn State wide receiver and president of Uplifting Athletes’ Penn State chapter Brett Brackett.
The senior captain will be the highlight of the tournament, with everyone hoping to knock him out, Weller said.
“He was recruited to Penn State as a quarterback and he’s still probably got that ability, pinpoint accuracy,” Weller said. “If my team can knock off Brackett, I don’t think I’ll let my friends live it down for quite some time.”
Despite the target on his back, most fans should know the event is for a good cause and realize that Brackett “has done such a phenomenal job” organizing the Penn State chapter, Weller said.
As added incentive for the students, Nike has donated Dri-Fit T-shirts for all participants along with prizes for first and second place, Tecce said.
Trashcan football is played with pairs of trashcans lined up 20 yards apart with the lids open. Each team stands behind one set of the trashcans and attempts to throw the ball into the opposing team’s bins.
Once a ball has been thrown into a trashcan, its lid closes. The first team to close both lids wins the game.
“I liken it to a sort of corn hole and beer pong combined, but instead you’re using big blue trashcans,” Tecce said.
Any students interested in participating in the tournament can sign up until the start of the tournament.
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Be sure to follow StateCollege.com’s exclusive live coverage of Paternoville this week as contributing writer Greg Cohen and Ben Calla blog directly from their tent at Gate A. You can follow them on StateCollege.com’s blog and on Twitter at @Greg_Cohen and @Benjamin_Calla.
