News

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” is presented by chief sponsor MurMaid Mattress, and funds raised will go directly to Build a City, a project in Andong, Cambodia, initiated by People for Care and Learning (PCL).

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 record-breaking attempt is the third made by the club since an original marathon softball game played in 1986 and a follow-up record softball attempt in 2005.

This time the game will be flag football, a popular sport among Lee’s intramural offerings.

The men of Chi will take the field at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, and begin recording the play on video and in logbooks in order to prove to the Guinness Book of World Records officials that they have indeed met Guinness’ requirements.  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.”

Chi will play for the first 48 hours at Ocoee Middle School’s field across Parker Street from the baseball stadium.

“We want our neighbors in the community to come out for two main reasons,” Trotter said.

“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.”

For the final two hours, the group will move its operation to the Lee University soccer field, so that attendees of Lee’s annual Lee Day event can participate in the final record-setting moments.  These two final hours will be 5-7 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 can be found at http://www.buildacity.org/gridiron.