Fraternity sponsors contest to pump up funds for charity

By Grant Miller

Phi Kappa Sigma is here to pump you up.

The fraternity is hosting “The Baddest Bench Competition,” a weight-lifting contest from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at The Jungle to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America. The Jungle will be turned into a workout room for NIU’s future Arnold Schwarzeneggers.

There is a $15 entry fee for all participants. The contest is open to everyone.

The competition will be divided into different weight classes beginning at 132 pounds and going up to 225 pounds and over. There also will be individual and team competition. The fraternity is hoping to raise $600 for the charity organization.

The weigh-in for the contest will be from 9 to 11 a.m. and the competition itself will be from noon to 5 p.m.

This is the first year the fraternity has held such a competition.

“In the past we got Second City to come out here in the fall,” Phi Kappa Sigma president Bill Toomey said. “This year another house got to it before we could, so we had to come up with something else to do for our philanthropy.”

To keep the competition fair, teams will need to have a person from every weight class represented. Teams will consist of five to six members. There also will be an individual competition between the contestants in each weight class. Trophies will be given to those winning their competitions.

Toomey said the competition was specifically designed to raise a large amount of money for the charity. “Right now, weight lifting is pretty popular up on Greek Row,” he said. “So we figured if we advertised the event a lot, we would get a lot of people to donate their time and money to the cause.”

Toomey said there are already eight greek organizations participating in the contest and they are hoping to have a large turnout of independent competitors. Contestants need to enter the contest a day in advance to participate on Saturday.

For more information, or to enter the competition, call John Fisher at 758-8276.

“Right now, weight lifting is pretty popular up on Greek Row.”