In its biggest year yet, the Tufts sorority Chi Omega's Swishes for Wishes basketball tournament raised over $1,300 on Saturday to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The foundation is the sorority's official charity at the national level.
Over 18 teams participated in five-on-five games, which took place in the Gantcher Center. Each player paid $5 to partake.
In the tournament's finals, the International House team defeated a team of brothers from the Theta Delta Chi fraternity, 17-14.
ChiO President Jillian Joseph, a junior, was pleased with the event's outcome.
"[Swishes for Wishes] just keeps getting bigger and better every year," she said. "It's come a long way since three years ago, when it was a last-minute event organized the week before. This year's tournament was well-organized and well-run."
The approximately $1,300 that ChiO raised was a big improvement from the $650 brought in last year and the $400 from the year before, Joseph said.
Senior Jocelyn Gamburd, a ChiO sister who helped organize the fundraiser, attributed the jump in proceeds to this year's raffle tickets, which raised over $400. Area businesses, including Dave's Fresh Pasta, Boloco and Sound Bites, donated prizes.
"The raffle tickets were just another way for people around campus to support this cause," Gamburd said.
She added that creating two game brackets, one for more talented teams and another for the less competitive, attracted more participants.
"I think that separating the brackets by level drew out more people who wanted to play but were unsure about their skill level," Gamburd said. "From what I could tell, people were happy with the addition of the less competitive bracket because it gave everyone more chances to play."
Senior David Boucher played on the Sigma Phi Epsilon team, Victorious Secrets. "This was my second year playing in the tournament, and it was a lot better," Boucher said. "It was a really good time."
Other students joined ChiO to organize and run the event. Players from the men's basketball team helped referee the games, while the Jackson Jills sang the national anthem at the beginning of the tournament.
Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has worked to brighten the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions by making their dreams come true. ChiO sisters raised funds for the foundation last semester with a midnight pancake sale.
"Our goal for the semester is to grant a wish, and I think that with this money we will be able to do that," Gamburd said. "When a wish comes up in the Boston area, our chapter will get to be involved in [making it come true]."
