Antigonish, NS – StFX X-Women basketball guard Maggie Segeren took on a different role on the basketball court this past time, this time as an organizer and administrator of a unique tournament.
Segeren was co-organizer of the BALLIN' FOR WOMEN 3 v 3 basketball tournament held this past July in Halifax, N.S., a charity event aimed to bring awareness to the community about sexual assault.
Segeren, a fourth year business student from Komoka, Ont. noted that "there is not a lot of tournaments just for girls, and also not a lot of 3 v 3 events, so we wanted to create something different form a 5 v 5 event, at the same time raising awareness of the important issue of sexual assault, something that affects all university campuses."
Segeren teamed up with her friend Allie Reno, former X-Women teammate and current Saint Mary's basketball athlete to take on all aspects of organizing and administering the event. They created a website, www.ballinforwomen.com, where teams could register for an $80 fee and also encouraged participants and teammates to donate to the cause.
They were fortunate to secure major sponsors for the event, including Killam Properties, D.G. Dunbar Financial Services and New Era Grafix who donated shirts for the participants.
When all was said and done, Segeren and her supporters were able to raise $1600 which was donated to the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in Halifax.
Maggie commented that "the athletes had a lot of fun and the tournament ran smoothly. It was a lot to take on but I learned so much along the way."
"We were very happy to make the donation to the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre and they were appreciative to receive it. Sexual assault is an issue that no one wants to talk about, but we want to let people know that it is ok to talk about it and we need to talk about it."
Segeren plans to organize a similar event next year and is looking forward to adding in a men's division and a junior women's division for younger female basketball athletes.
In the meantime she will be re-focusing her efforts on Coach K Court at StFX as the X-Women get ready to kick off the 2019-20 season of play.
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, StFX Athletics
