Yesterday

What kind of month has it been? April was filled with much excitement for the Championship Series with both the National Tennis and Basketball Championships taking place and new volunteers being named to the Championship Series executive team, committee, and work teams. But April was also a month of profound sorrow with the loss of one of our own: Sarah Fain.

USTA and the NIRSA Championship Series

Sixty-four teams converged on the new USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida to compete for the Tennis On Campus National Champion title. Ultimately, the University of Michigan emerged victorious over the University of California, Irvine in a close final match for their first national title. The weather was sunny and in the 80s. The sounds of balls, the popping of rackets, the squeaks of sneakers, and the noise of planes flying overhead were abundant. The small staff worked diligently to give participants a great experience at the new facility. For the first time, several umpires were from NIRSA’s membership as they had gone through the USTA’s officials training. They were mentored at the event by Greg Allensworth, a professional tennis official who is a former NIRSA Flag Football All-American. It was wonderful to see him act as a resource for new and experienced officials alike and bring more of that NIRSA feeling to the event.

This was only my second time at this event, but the USTA does an excellent job finding and covering special interest stories at the event. I hope that as the Series’ coverage of our events continues to expand, we will be able to offer stories in a similar vein. Be sure to check out the article “Thompson Rediscovering Love for Tennis after Tragedy.” It is touching and reminds me of why what we do as the Series and on campuses is more important than we may ever know. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the University of Alabama was recognized as the Tennis On Campus National Club of the Year; I don’t get to vote on this, but they are a great group and I am proud of all they have accomplished.

The National Basketball Championships

Eighty-Nine teams (36 Men’s Club, 27 Women’s Club, 15 Men’s Intramural, five Women’s Intramural, and six Unified Sports) descended upon The Ohio State University for the National Basketball Championships from April 21–23 as they competed for one of five national champion titles. The competition was tough throughout the weekend with several overtime games, but ultimately the University of Wisconsin swept both Club titles, Central Michigan won the Unified Division, Grand Canyon University won Women’s Intramural, and Georgia Tech won its third Men’s Intramural title in four years.

Officials enhanced their skills throughout the weekend, learning from clinicians and mentors from around the country. Nine students were honored as All-Tournament Officials, but the effort, willingness to learn, adaptability, and hustle of all 54 officials at the event was exceptional. From the student officials to the participants, the weekend was a wonderful experience that they can take with them for a lifetime.

Behind the scenes was a scurry of volunteers serving on committees for all-tournament selections, media relations, competition, hospitality, operations, and officials’ clinicians, and readily jumping into other duties as assigned as if it had been that way all along. I’m not sure that one of the Ohio State students passed by without asking if we needed anything or if they could be of assistance. The number of staff has been reduced in recent years due to budget restraints, but NIRSA Championship Series volunteers get in there, get the job done, and do it well. The Ohio State staff were excellent hosts and exceeded expectations in their second year of hosting by evaluating last year and putting suggestions into action.

My favorite addition this year was a player social for the Unified Sports teams. The joy of the Special Olympics Athletes and Partners as they ate, karaoked, and danced the evening away was touching. The tournament also featured our first Snapchat filter. The numbers for it were astounding as 1,305 people saw the filter for the event, 625 used the filter, and 47,539 snaps using the filter were seen. Snaps to Scott Flickinger of Cornell University for having the vision and persistence to make the filter a reality. I will miss being at the tournament next year as I roll off of my leadership position as the Director of Competition, but I am excited to hear about the heights the next generations of leaders will take the event.

Remembering Sarah Fain

While those incoming leaders are poised to push ahead, we unfortunately lost one of our best mentors in early April. Sarah Fain was a fixture at many extramural tournaments and served as the Second-Vice Chair for the NIRSA Championship Series during the past year. Over the years, she served as the Director of the National Flag Football Tournament, Director of Competition, Director of All-Tournament Committees, Tournament Host, and on various work teams and committees. While Sarah excelled at managing events, she was always humble and looked for occasions to let others have the opportunity to lead.

I have been the lucky recipient of this mentorship since early in my career. I’ll never forget the feeling of excitement when The Sarah Fain called to ask me if she could use a resource I created for an all-tournament committee. She gave you space to grow and shine, but was there to help you whenever you needed her. At any tournament, she was always busy doing something to help; an hour off was an opportunity to find a way to be helpful or have a kind word with a staff member.

Championship Sunday of the basketball tournament was extremely difficult for me this year because her absence was palpable in the gym. The first game of the day featured her Georgia Southern Women’s Intramural team who sported #TeamFain stickers on their warm-ups. Sarah was usually on the All-Tournament Selection Committee. This meant that sometimes, up to the final seconds of the game, there was work to be done with player selections. More than that though, she would help set up the awards tables, get the tiny screws in the photo holders on team plaques, corral teams, and hand out awards.

Before you left the tournament, you were going to get a great big hug, smile, and a “Great job!” from Sarah. I did okay with the shadow hanging over me until there was a moment of silence before the last championship game in her honor. Then, I needed a place to hide away and be overcome by the emotions of the day. I wept for the friend we lost too soon, the mentor who taught us to be great volunteers, and the young professionals who would not have a chance to work with this wonderful person.

As I reflected on all the memories that Sarah and I shared, I realized that so many of those were at tournaments. She always took her job seriously, but that didn’t mean she always took herself seriously. She loved serving at tournaments and felt successful there, but I think they became more important after her cancer diagnosis. She could go to a tournament for a weekend, forget about the diagnosis, and just be with her NIRSA family. For her, like for many of us, tournaments were a safe place to be the best version of herself. This is because tournaments get us back to our passion and refuel us for our jobs at home.

I also think about the profound impact she has had on so many of our lives despite the fact that we might have only seen her 20 days out of the year if we were lucky. After the 2017 NIRSA Annual Conference, where there was an overwhelming outpouring of support, I was able to speak to Sarah. I asked her if she knew how loved she was by so many. She assured me that she did. The impact she made was obvious given all the people who traveled from near and far on May 1 to celebrate Sarah’s life at Georgia Southern. It was so good to be with friends and share our fond memories that day. Why she had to go, I don’t know, but I do know that we were fortunate to have Sarah in our lives.

Looking ahead

As we move forward, we must honor the work of those who came before us and helped build the Championship Series. Knowing the past will help us understand the present and plan for the future. The Series welcomes new leaders and work team members who will start their terms on June 1. Scott Flickinger was selected as the incoming Second-Vice Chair on the executive team. Randall Ford of the University of Texas at Austin was appointed by the NIRSA Services Corporation Board to the Vice-Chair position to serve the remainder of Sarah Fain’s term. Randal served as the Past-Chair for the Championship Series at its inception after serving as the Chair of the Sport Club Committee.

The Series also welcomes the new chairs to the committee: Arianne Judy of Notre Dame to Student and Professional Development, Nicole Widmer of San Diego State University to Social Media, and Drew Cantwell at Louisiana State University to Club Basketball. Laura Thomas of Texas Tech University and April Flint of Emory University were selected to continue leading Soccer and Assessment respectively. It is astounding how suddenly this year became yesterday.

If you’re interested in hosting a regional basketball tournament, don’t forget that the extended deadline to submit an application is Friday, May 26.