How our community pitched in to help the team make it
In 2020, AASCA was canceled for the volleyball team merely two weeks before the tournament was set to take place. This year, however, volleyball girls left for Costa Rica and gave their best on the court. AASCA, nonetheless, has inevitable expenses that must be paid for by the individual teammates. Apart from consulting with sponsors, the volleyball team has done countless fundraiser activities to support the AASCA team. These ranged from selling Eucharist wafer cutouts (recortes de hostia) to the raffle of a labrador!
On March 23rd, the volleyball team took the AASCA pictures. This picture shows the team smiling at the camera with Ms. Milena, all excited for the tournament that’s coming up. Image: Ana Sofia Chamorro
The first fundraiser was the selling of Eucharist wafer cutouts, like mentioned before. Freshman student-athlete Maria del Pilar Penalba, who plays as an outside hitter, bought the cutouts from nuns in a convent in Carretera Sur. By buying the wafer cutouts, you were also helping the nuns in the convent support themselves. Ms. Milena Picasso sent a Google Form to all students where they could sign up for the number of bags they wanted. These came in two different sizes: large which cost C$80 and small which cost C$30. Sofia Hueck, our team captain, and Maria del Pilar brought the bags for those who’d sign up in the forms, and distributed them once they paid them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This sale resulted to be a great success; in the first week, $140 were raised, managing to pay for one of the team’s uniforms.
The second fundraiser (and the most creative in my personal opinion) was the labrador raffle. Sofia Hueck’s breed labrador gave birth to a number of puppies, and she decided she would take the opportunity to help her team go to AASCA. A ticket cost C$200, for a puppy! When we saw how many teachers, students, and people outside the school were interested in the puppy after putting the flier on our individual Instagram stories, we were surprised. The winner of the raffle was Ms. Ana Ferrey, our college counselor. Senior libero Ariana Aguerri tells us that Ms. Ana was extremely happy and excited to have won the furry friend. Others, like Mr. Fidel Gallegos, were disappointed in the outcome.
A third activity organized by the team was the Volleyball Olympics, a competition in which established teams of five would compete against each other in a series of games, such as la Pañoleta, skipping rope, or mando mando. The latter became an issue when seventh-graders entered the high school classrooms looking for a black backpack to win the point. Not much interest was shown in high school, but middle school students were completely thrilled. The “Perdedoras” faced “Las Ganadoras” in the finals, and the Perdedoras ironically won.
Nonetheless, high school did present much more enthusiasm in the ongoing Volleyball Tournament. In this fundraising activity, teams of six to eight players play volleyball against each other on the high school court from the 20th to the 25th of March. The enrollment to the tournament cost C$160, and just considering the 10 teams that enrolled in high school, C$1,600 were raised for our cause.
Valentina Pantin, the co-captain, marked the victorious game point at Polideportivo Espana. Image credit: Ana Sofia Chamorro
A total of $500 was raised. By contributing to our fundraising activities, all of you showed support for our volleyball team and motivated the girls to give their best on the court. As part of the volleyball team, I understand how important these fundraisers are to make our ambitions of going to AASCA, and, of course, winning, a reality. However, the moment the tournament ends, we must start raising funds for next year’s AASCA; tell us which fundraising activities you’re interested in through this link!