Second year of foosball tournament offers chicken wings and prizes
Utah State University’s second annual Foosball Club tournament takes place Tuesday night, featuring new tables and chicken wings to entice students of all skill levels.
Claudia Schwabe, assistant professor of German at USU, founded the foosball club in 2012 after growing up with the game.
“My dad owned a foosball table back home in Germany,” Schwabe said. “He was always playing with me when I was growing up, and he was always much better, and I wanted to beat him. Last summer I actually finally beat him, so that was an amazing thing for me.”
After noticing that USU had no foosball club, Schwabe decided to create one and became its president.
“I just approached people who were interested in playing foosball, and I founded the club,” Schwabe said. “Our weekly practice sessions are every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. here at the Taggart Student Center, third floor. On my email list are about 40 people. For our weekly practice sessions, about half show up or 15. I want to get the word out that we have a foosball tournament coming up.”
Schwabe said prizes, trophies and food vouchers will be given out at the tournament.
“This is the second annual tournament,” Schwabe said. “We had a great outcome, but we want to have even more people this time to show up.”
Schwabe said participants can show up at the event with a teammate or individually. Food will be provided.
“We’re sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, so chicken wings for everyone, and registration will be three dollars,” she said.
Along with the excitement of the tournament, Schwabe wanted to express gratitude for an update in supplies. After she spent two years looking for sponsors for new foosball tables, John Allen, the dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and James Morales, vice president of student services, financed two new foosball tables for the club.
“That’s amazing,” Schwabe said. “It makes all the difference with the quality. We are extremely thankful to our sponsors, Dean Allen and James Morales.”
Schwabe enjoys meeting with others who share her love for the game.
“I think it’s just having fun,” Schwabe said. “Most of all, it’s getting together with people who are as enthusiastic as me about foosball. It can get pretty emotional. It can get pretty intense when you win or lose. It’s just a lot of fun, and it’s about meeting new people, and it’s also nice because I like to spend time with students in general since I’m a professor, and I think it’s nice to meet other students outside of the area that I’m teaching.”
She encouraged students and others to attend practice sessions along with the tournament.
“I hope people will come to the tournament, and even if they miss it if they’re unavailable, I encourage them to come by the practice sessions even if they’re beginners,” Schwabe said.
Jacob Olsen, a junior in mechanical engineering, is the vice president of the club.
“I’ve always loved foosball since I was a little kid,” Olsen said. “My family just played it. We’d always have family tournaments.”
Olsen joined the club two years ago. In the first tournament, Olsen’s team made it to the finals and lost by one point.
“It was awesome,” Olsen said. “There was free food, which is really cool. Lots of people came, and that was fun, just to meet a bunch of people. We played some intense games, and then you get to socialize and have fun, see how the board’s turning out, the leader board.”
Olsen said the game brings back a sense of home for him.
Olsen invited James Dean, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, to his first practice. Dean had never played before.
“I had never touched the stuff,” Dean said. “I just came one day and started playing, and I’ve been coming ever since.”
Despite his beginner status, Dean decided to pursue the game and participated in last year’s tournament as well.
“It’s pretty fun,” he said. “You meet some cool people and play a fun game.”
Students can come to the tournament to play foosball, win prizes and eat food.
“There’s lots of prizes,” Olsen said. “Fifty dollars for first place, and then a bunch of other coupons and gift cards going out to other restaurants and whatnot around town. That’s always fun. Usually, if you come, you get something out of it even if you don’t win. I think it’s really fun just to see what it’s like. We just play foosball. There’s all skill levels playing, super-beginner to super-playing-forever. It’s cool that way. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you can just come and have fun.”
The foosball tournament is today at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the TSC. For more information, email Schwabe at claudia.schwabe@usu.edu or visit the club’s Facebook page.
— sadiejherrera@aggiemail.usu.edu