Students dunk for school spirit

Amateur slam dunkers will be able to show off their basketball skills and school spirit for a cash prize at UCF's second annual Slam Dunk Contest sponsored by Cru, also known as Campus Crusade for Christ.

The contest will be held Jan. 18 at The Venue on campus and will be judged by the UCF men's basketball team. Last year the winner walked away with a $200 cash prize, and Cru is planning to give out a bigger award this year.

Tryouts for the limited number of spots in the contest are open to all students and will take place on Friday at the Rec Center from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The contest will consist of 10 people and three rounds. Each person gets three attempts and the best dunk will be the one scored. Two dunkers will be left in the final round for a dunk stand-off.

Former UCF basketball player Mike O'Donnell will be the emcee for the contest.

According to its website, Cru is one of the largest student organizations at UCF. It sponsors campus-wide events, provides retreats and conferences, hosts a variety of small group and Bible studies and finds opportunities to serve UCF and Central Florida.

Chris DiDonna, a senior communications major and a Cru member, said Cru's purpose is to assist people in their spiritual duty and share Christian culture on campus.

"The event will help students love their school," he said.

David Pezzoli, the director of Cru, said the purpose of the event is to provide community for campus and build school spirit, particularly for athletics.

"We want this to become a tradition that could get our fan-base excited for basketball season every year," DiWald said. "We worked with Rowdy Knights, SGA and the men's basketball team to really make the event better this year."

"We [Cru] got tired of seeing people wearing Gator stuff on campus when we want them to have pride for our school.," he said. "We want to get behind UCF athletics and we purposly set up this event before the next home game."

Pezzoli said the contest will be like a high-energy pep rally where students will be able to learn chants and develop school spirit.

"The goal of the event is to continue to build school spirit and to continue this tradition that started last year," he said.

Another feature of this year's contest will be a six-minute spot to promote Cru's partnership with an organization called Lespwa Worldwide, which was co-founded by 2008 UCF graduate Jeremy Schurke.

Lespwa, which means ‘hope' in Haitian creole, is a relief organization in Haiti that brings hope to thousands of children, according to Pezzoli.

Schurke has been partnering with people in Central Florida to build a trade school and greenhouse in Haiti.

"If we are going to create community, we also want to do it for a good cause," Pezzoli said.

Students will be able to make donations toward Lespwa at the event.

This year Cru will be doing a lot more marketing for the event. Should someone in a lycra bodysuit run up to you on Tuesday, hand you a flyer for the event and run off, don't be alarmed—it's just Cru's new way to promote the Slam Dunk Contest.

Another promo students can expect to see is a table set up with a basketball hoop next to it. Underneath the hoop will be a sign that reads, "Got dunk? What's your vert?" This gives Cru a chance to tell students about the event and the tryouts.

"The idea is to get the event stuck in their minds," DiWald said.