On Saturday, more than 5,000 people attended the annual Winterfest broomball tournament hosted by the Sigma Nu fraternity. In partnership with the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association, Sigma Nu has raised more than $270,000 so far for the Fisher House Foundation, Autism Alliance of Michigan, Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan and Garrett’s Space. Donations for this year’s tournament will continue to be accepted until Feb. 23.
Similar to hockey, broomball is a game in which players use broom-shaped sticks to score goals with a rubber ball. At Winterfest, the top eight fraternity fundraisers and top eight sorority fundraisers play in teams of six in a single-elimination tournament.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Caden Bellaire, Kinesiology sophomore and president of Sigma Nu, explained the fraternity has a long history of hosting the Winterfest tournament. Bellaire said significant preparation contributed to planning the logistics of the event and ensuring safety of players and attendees.
“In terms of player safety, we send out the rules and regulations for playing in the event and we have every team sign waivers for every member of the roster,” said Bellaire. “We also have security at the entrances in and around the rink monitoring who goes in and out. Players obviously must have helmets before they get in the rink.”
