Leaders Made Here. That’s the title of the latest leadership book from Mark Miller. I’d also like to believe that it’s a great statement about what the Championship Series does day in and day out. Miller states, “The only thing limiting our future is the number of leaders we can develop,” and then goes on to remind us that “a culture is nothing more than the sum of the habits of the people.” Reading the book over spring break reaffirmed for me that our foundation is strong.
We can be proud of both our leadership development and culture in the NIRSA Championship Series; however, just like with a house, we must work to maintain it. It makes me sad when I pass crumbling, abandoned homes. There was once a day when that home was someone’s pride and joy, but gradually it wasn’t maintained and fell into ruin. I hope that will never be said of the Series. We have worked to define leadership, development, and our values to ensure that our future is strong. Assessment regularly occurs at our events to ensure that we are staying on track and to give people the opportunity to provide feedback. Sometimes, our short-term strategies have had to change to achieve our long-term goals.
I have always been proud of the way the Series provides opportunities for younger member to flex their leadership skills. Oftentimes, being the chair of a committee at an event or work team could be that first occasion for members. This year, we have continued to make strides in opening leadership positions through our application processes. The soccer work team has been working hard to define their national leadership positions and their terms of service. Football has also opened applications for most of their national tournament leadership positions this year. We continue to make revisions and updates to the Series to make sure that it’s well maintained and current with the times.
March madness ushered in hordes of basketball games with seven regional tournaments (four more took place in February) in addition to the club basketball conference. Club, intramural, and unified teams will take it to the limit one more time to compete for one of five titles at the NIRSA National Basketball Championship taking place at The Ohio State University from April 21–23. Make sure to follow the excitement through the tournament blog or on Twitter at @NIRSAChamp.
This year, 345 student officials applied to attend regional tournaments with 105 also applying to attend the national tournament. There was also a strong application pool for members with 320 applying to volunteer for regional tournaments and an additional 127 applicants for the national tournament.
Tennis is heading to Lake Nona, which is just outside of Orlando and home of the new USTA National Campus. Sixty-four teams have qualified and are coming from around the country for the national championship. In a unique format, teams will play their initial pool play games and then be placed into four compass brackets to play for first through sixty-fourth place. This year, Greg Allensworth, a NIRSA student official alumni and NIRSA Flag Football All-American, is coming back to his roots to be the head umpire for the tournament while NIRSA member Gary Cahen, Associate Director at the University of Central Florida, will be working the event for the first time as an official. I can’t wait to hear them pop all the new cans of tennis balls and then take in that glorious smell. But, more importantly, I’m looking forward to returning to this event to witness the friendships that have formed between competitors over the season and years in a way that is unique to tennis. Don’t forget to pack your sunscreen, competitors.
The bright lights of the academic year may be fading to blue, but the Series’ work is still going strong. We’ll be announcing work team members soon and have started working on charges for next year so we can get to work this summer. Regional soccer site applications are open until Friday, April 14 if you’re interested in hosting. I hope you will help us take it to the limit one more time!
Brooke Turner, Chair of the NIRSA Championship Series, is currently the Assistant Director of Competitive Sports at The University of Alabama.
