Watermelon Bash is an annual fundraising event held by Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity (ΛΧΑ) on college campuses across the nation and was held at Spring Hill College on September 14th.
The chapter planned a day full of fun and games, all dealing with watermelons, and community bonding. In addition to all the fun, there is a lot of good taking place as well, with donations of money and food made to the Mobile Bay Area Food Bank. This year, over 1,500 lbs. of canned food were donated to the cause by the teams in attendance. With a $10 per person fee to participate on a team of ten or more girls, and 11 teams participating, $1,330 was raised.
While the ultimate cause is to raise funds and supplies for the food bank, the event has not always been taken seriously on Spring Hill’s campus. The ΛΧΑ chapter strove to hold their event in a new light this year. Ryan Sanchez began the planning process for this years bash at the beginning of the summer so that he would have extra time to focus on the details. He decided to change up the schedule, making the teams rotate through stations with members of the chapter running each station ensuring that everything would run smoothly. Sanchez proudly stated “The help of the brothers and the teamwork from the chapter really made the difference. They stepped up to the challenge and helped make Watermelon Bash 2013 one of the best yet, in my opinion.”
As a chapter, they decided to make Watermelon Bash a sober event so that “bash goers would be able to focus on the philanthropy” said Sanchez. As a representative of his chapter he asked the other Greek organizations on campus to honor their request to stay sober and was met with eager responses to abide by the new rules. This way, on the day of the event, people would be ready to participate in the activities, which include relays, seed spitting, tug-of-war, races, watermelon decorating contests, a waterslide, cheering, and much more. Tug-of-War seems to be a favorite event for most people in attendance. However, there is a catch. The gentlemen of ΛΧΑ dig a pit in the ground and fill it with water and watermelons and the two teams stand on either side. Not getting muddy and wet is even more of an incentive to win this event, which was dominated by the Phi Mu women whose two teams played each other in the final round.
In addition to Greek organizations participating, different sports teams and freshman took part in the festivities. This has always been an exciting event on campus because it kicks off the Philanthropy events for the fall semester, and is one of the only that freshman girls are allowed to participate in. Emily Ellis, a freshman participant on the “West Side Walsh” team said, “It was so much fun getting a team together will all my friends and participating in Watermelon Bash. As a freshman, I loved seeing all the different teams come together in the spirit of competition for a Spring Hill event. It was evident that everyone was there to have a blast while supporting Lambda Chi in their philanthropy efforts. It was such a unifying and lively experience, and I can’t wait for next year!”
This year the “West Side Walsh” team took home the spirit award, which is a huge accomplishment seeing as they were being compared to the rowdy sorority girls who continuously sing and cheer throughout the day. Other awards given at the end end of the day included first, second, and third places, best watermelon (decorated ones), and Best of the Bash. Third place was given to the Anchor Queens, a Delta Gamma team. Phi Mu Lions won second place. First place was awarded to the Delta Gold, a Tri Delta team. The best-decorated watermelon (pictured) was designed and made by the Phi Mu ladies. Raffle tickets were sold prior to the event and names were drawn during the awards portion of the day and gift cards for local stores were given.
“Lambda Chi Alpha would like to thank everyone in the spring hill community who supported the event through their various involvements. We appreciate the help in continuing to make it possible for us to give back to a great cause and host an event that is one of our favorite traditions!” – Ryan Sanchez
The chapter planned a day full of fun and games, all dealing with watermelons, and community bonding. In addition to all the fun, there is a lot of good taking place as well, with donations of money and food made to the Mobile Bay Area Food Bank. This year, over 1,500 lbs. of canned food were donated to the cause by the teams in attendance. With a $10 per person fee to participate on a team of ten or more girls, and 11 teams participating, $1,330 was raised.
While the ultimate cause is to raise funds and supplies for the food bank, the event has not always been taken seriously on Spring Hill’s campus. The ΛΧΑ chapter strove to hold their event in a new light this year. Ryan Sanchez began the planning process for this years bash at the beginning of the summer so that he would have extra time to focus on the details. He decided to change up the schedule, making the teams rotate through stations with members of the chapter running each station ensuring that everything would run smoothly. Sanchez proudly stated “The help of the brothers and the teamwork from the chapter really made the difference. They stepped up to the challenge and helped make Watermelon Bash 2013 one of the best yet, in my opinion.”
As a chapter, they decided to make Watermelon Bash a sober event so that “bash goers would be able to focus on the philanthropy” said Sanchez. As a representative of his chapter he asked the other Greek organizations on campus to honor their request to stay sober and was met with eager responses to abide by the new rules. This way, on the day of the event, people would be ready to participate in the activities, which include relays, seed spitting, tug-of-war, races, watermelon decorating contests, a waterslide, cheering, and much more. Tug-of-War seems to be a favorite event for most people in attendance. However, there is a catch. The gentlemen of ΛΧΑ dig a pit in the ground and fill it with water and watermelons and the two teams stand on either side. Not getting muddy and wet is even more of an incentive to win this event, which was dominated by the Phi Mu women whose two teams played each other in the final round.
In addition to Greek organizations participating, different sports teams and freshman took part in the festivities. This has always been an exciting event on campus because it kicks off the Philanthropy events for the fall semester, and is one of the only that freshman girls are allowed to participate in. Emily Ellis, a freshman participant on the “West Side Walsh” team said, “It was so much fun getting a team together will all my friends and participating in Watermelon Bash. As a freshman, I loved seeing all the different teams come together in the spirit of competition for a Spring Hill event. It was evident that everyone was there to have a blast while supporting Lambda Chi in their philanthropy efforts. It was such a unifying and lively experience, and I can’t wait for next year!”
This year the “West Side Walsh” team took home the spirit award, which is a huge accomplishment seeing as they were being compared to the rowdy sorority girls who continuously sing and cheer throughout the day. Other awards given at the end end of the day included first, second, and third places, best watermelon (decorated ones), and Best of the Bash. Third place was given to the Anchor Queens, a Delta Gamma team. Phi Mu Lions won second place. First place was awarded to the Delta Gold, a Tri Delta team. The best-decorated watermelon (pictured) was designed and made by the Phi Mu ladies. Raffle tickets were sold prior to the event and names were drawn during the awards portion of the day and gift cards for local stores were given.
“Lambda Chi Alpha would like to thank everyone in the spring hill community who supported the event through their various involvements. We appreciate the help in continuing to make it possible for us to give back to a great cause and host an event that is one of our favorite traditions!” – Ryan Sanchez