CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Alpha Gamma Chi, one of Lee University’s men’s social service organizations, will attempt to play the world’s longest continuous flag football game this week in an effort to fight poverty.
“THE GRIDIRON” will begin tomorrow (April 4) and is scheduled to end 50 hours later. Funds raised will go directly to the Build a City, a project in Andong, Cambodia, initiated by People for Care and Learning (PCL). Lead sponsor for the event is MurMaid Mattress, a local mattress manufacturer that is already partnering with PCL on Build a City.
The marathon football game coincides with Lee University’s annual Lee Day weekend, the largest annual recruiting effort by the university. Hundreds of prospective students, parents,youth leaders and chaperones will be on campus for the festivities which begon with registration on Friday, April 5.
Alpha Gamma Chi Club President Taylor Trotter said of the game, “The record is 24 hours right now, but we chose to play for 50 hours to honor Chi’s 50th anniversary this coming fall.” The group was established at Lee in 1962 by former Lee professors Don Bowdle and Delton Alford.
This is the third time Chi has attempted to break a world team sports endurance record. In 1986, a group of club members played 100 hours of continuous softball, breaking the previous record of 96 hours. A second world record softball marathon game was played in 2005.
This time the game will be flag football, a popular sport among Lee’s intramural offerings.
The men of Chi will begin play at a nearby middle school field at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, and begin recording the game on video and in logbooks in order to prove to the Guinness Book of World Records officials that they have indeed met Guinness’ requirements. According to Trotter, the club’s reason for taking up such a challenge is simple: raising $86,000 for the Build a City project.
“$86,000 will fund the marketplace and health clinic projects of the larger Build a City initiative in Andong,” Trotter said. “So our aim in funding these two structures is to break the poverty cycle by providing jobs and improving health in this Cambodian city.”
“We want our neighbors in the community to come out for two main reasons,” Trotter continued. “One, the only way we can get to our financial goal is by help from businesses and individual donors. There are several ways for people to support the game: we will have drawings, auctions, GRIDIRON apparel for sale, and concessions.”
“Two, regardless of whether someone can support financially, anyone can support us with encouragement. This is a tough challenge. To play football for 50 continuous hours, we are going to need as much moral support as we can get.”
Chi will stage the first 48 hours of the event at nearby Ocoee Middle School, across the street from Lee University’s Olympic Baseball field. For the final two hours, the group will move play to the Lee University soccer field, so that attendees of Lee’s annual Lee Day event can participate in the final record-setting moments. The two final hours are scheduled for 5″00 – 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.
Donations of any amount can be made online, or a ten dollar donation can be added to one’s phone bill by simply texting the word “build” to the phone number “20222.” More information on THE GRIDIRON or how to give can be found at www.buildacity.org/gridiron [1]