ISSUED: 21 September 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Team River Runner-Shepherd University (TRR-SU) is hosting its first-ever kayak football tournament and silent auction on Saturday, November 11, from 4-9 p.m. at the Shepherd University Wellness Center pool. Money raised from the tournament will benefit the Storm-Kersey Memorial Scholarship fund, which offers scholarships to veterans who graduate from a Team River Runner chapter and enroll at Shepherd. The event is open to the public with an admission of $10.
The tournament is open to teams of veteran and nonveteran kayakers who want to compete. Registration for each team is $100 and $25 for individuals. Kayak football teams have five members. The games take place in a space the size of an indoor swimming pool and combine kayaking skills with those of football, water polo, and hockey. Each half lasts five to ten minutes with a short break in between. Kayakers who are not on a team but want to participate can also sign up to fill in on teams that don’t have enough players.
Team River Runner is sponsoring three skills clinics prior to the tournament for anyone who registers for the tournament and wants to learn the rules and skills of playing kayak football. The clinics will take place three Wednesdays preceding the tournament, October 18, November 1, and November 8 from 6-8 p.m. in the Wellness Center pool. Clinic participants are asked to bring their own equipment, if available, and are required to register by contacting Tracy Seffers, registrar and TRR-SU chapter coordinator, at tseffers@shepherd.edu.
The Shepherd University Foundation is also accepting event sponsors and silent auction items. Sponsorship levels are Class V at $500, which includes one team registration; Class IV at $250, which includes registration for two participants; Class III, which includes registration for one participant; and Class II for in-kind donations.
To register for the tournament or become a sponsor online, visit www.shepherd.edu/storm-kersey-memorial-scholarship-kayak-football-tournament. To offer in-kind donations, contact Stacy McFarland, director of annual giving, at 304-876-5526 or smcfarla@shepherd.edu.
Shepherd University has hosted a Team River Runner chapter since Spring 2013. Information about Shepherd’s chapter can be found at www.shepherd.edu/veterans/trr-shepherd.
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