The easy hook for this story is that it could seem unconventional for players of beer pong could be trying to give something back to the community. But is it really all that unusual?
Here’s what’s going on. Brooke and Sean Mulkerron’s daughter Tess has a rare liver disease. The toddler has had four major surgeries, six rounds of chemotherapy, and countless blood transfusions. Although she appears to be in remission and the doctors are optimistic her parents are now dedicated to the cause of fighting cancer and are keen to raise money for the fight any way they can.
So they contacted Brian Roseman, the owner of collegebeergames.com, and sold him on the idea of a tournament designed to raise money for their cause. From the press release:
To support the tournament, Roseman is donating $15 to cancer research for every beer pong table he sells from collegebeergames.com. He also provided a discount on some tables to help get the tournament off the ground. The tournament, 2008 Concord Charity Beirut Tourney is scheduled for Aug. 23 in Concord, N.H., near the University of New Hampshire (Beer pong is called “Beirut” in popular circles). The winners will receive a $500 prize and the top five teams will receive a beer pong table, but all the rest of the money raised from donations from participants will go towards cancer research with the “V Foundation Charity.”
Now, to my central point – beer and charity have gone together for a long time. It’s a natural marriage, when you think about it. Beer is all about enjoying life. Whether it’s a party or a quiet meal beer just lifts the mood. It’s a short journey from enjoying life to trying to improve the lives of others.
Throughout history brewers and pubs have been closely tied to their communities. Modern breweries regularly contribute money to worthy causes from supporting the troops to saving the environment. The beer festival that supports a charity is more common than those that don’t.
Call beer drinkers a happy bunch but don’t call us carefree. We care a lot.
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I know it’s been a while, but we just had to write about the World Series of Beer Pong from back in January.This was the Second Annual World Series of Beer Pong, held in Mesquite Nevada (60 miles north of Las Vegas) was held on January 1-5 2007 to spark off the new year! But what kind of beer pong tournament would this be without some BoozinGear.com representation? So, one of the BoozinGear.com co-founders along with a beer pong rookie decided to join the ranks with the worlds best beer pong players for a $20,000 grand prize. What can I say, we just can’t resist an invitation to get our balls wet.
The tournament consisted of 245 teams of two participating in three days of WSOBP play. The first two days consisted of preliminary rounds where teams would then be broken out into a bracket style tournament for day three. The rules of the game (pdf) allowed for distractions behind the table, which in some cases many of the teams’ outfit alone warranted a distraction to opposing players (one of the teams in particular was wearing nothing but diapers). But all in all, the skills ranged from mediocre, to professional, with some out there just to enjoy the event and have fun, and others out there to destroy the competition. As the days of the tournament progressed, the accuracy of many of the teams seemed to slide downhill, probably an indication that the day upon day of drinking had started to wear on many of the players.
In the end, team BoozinGear.com finished in a respectable 109th place, not bad for a team consisting of one team member with only one month of playing under his belt. Overall the tournement was a great experience, highly recommended and not too bad on the wallet (even if you don’t have a corporate sponsor like BoozinGear.com). If you’re looking for something a little closer to home, look for some local bar sponsored beer pong tournaments, with some even being setup as satellite rounds with free entry into the WSOBP III. There’s another tournament run in June by BingBong tables at Negril, Jamaica as well. And by the way, we highly recommend their beer pong tables, they’re light, portable, and officially sized - the same tables used in the WSOBP so they’re exactly what you’ll need to perfect your skills for the next tournament.
See if you have what it takes when you play the best in the world. Be weary though, BoozinGear.com will be there again in ‘08, this time with some experience under their belt and both co-founders representin’ our skills.
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