The Boston University soccer club hosted arguably its most exciting tournament of the year in its Lose the Shoes tournament Saturday afternoon.
The event is an annual nationwide barefoot soccer tournament held by over 150 colleges across the U.S., and is associated with the Kick AIDS program of the Grass Roots Soccer organization.
“[The organization] helps underprivileged kids in Africa,” said BU soccer club president Rachel Chapman. “They get famous African soccer players to be involved with the charity.”
The tournament itself was an informal one. Six miniature fields were spread out over Nickerson Field with 20 three-player teams competing in 20-minute games beginning at 2:30 p.m. The teams played in a group format much like the FIFA World Cup, where eight teams advanced after seven rounds and four games per team.
With bands such as MGMT and the Red Hot Chili Peppers blaring over the sound system, it made for a relaxing afternoon of competitive fun.
“Nothing was spent to put on the tournament,” Chapman said. “Raising Cane’s donated the lemonade, and we own everything else. It raised $186 for Kick AIDS with 86 registered participants paying $10 to play. In Africa, $10 pays for an AIDS test for a child.”
Chapman, a senior advertising major in the College of Communication, said she did not see the point in advertising and spending money promoting the event because too many players and teams would be chaotic.
“I think the tournament should operate from the ground up because it is a charity,” Chapman said. “As long as they get their money, I don’t care who knows about it.”
The tournament attracted all sorts of players from experienced athletes to casual fans of the world’s most famous game. Some came by to play simply on impulse, seeing as the tournament was not limited to members of the BU club.
“I was invited by my friend about 30 minutes ago,” said School of Management senior Corbin Faber.
Others, such as COM senior Mike Irish were more active soccer players.
“I play at FitRec almost every day, even though I never played in high school,” Irish said. “I’m a soccer fan, and it’s a cool event.”
Despite all the thrilling action, the club remains much more than this one tournament.
“There are no general meetings, but there are over 700 members registered online,” Chapman said.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Lisa Tarquino was responsible for Lose the Shoes as the competition coordinator on the executive board of the BU soccer club.
“[There are other] events such as a FIFA video game tournament,” Tarquino said. “We are planning a soccer World Cup of cultural groups at BU, and it has already been approved by the allocations board of the school. We developed from kids wanting to play pick-up games and have existed for five years. Any Boston University student can play.”</p>