The West Essex community anticipates the annual Turkey Classic, a volleyball tournament that serves up fun while raising money for families in need during the holiday season. The Sports Management classes, taught by Andrea Mondadori-Llauget, hosted the event on Nov. 20. The tournament featured 13 student teams and one teacher team, all sponsored by local businesses. The Turkey Classic has already raised $4,000 and the Sports Management students hope to add to that amount closer to Christmas.
A part of the Sports Management class’s curriculum is learning how to create a fundraiser for the school. The students learn how to run events in effort to make sure the event operates and runs smoothly. They also ran an Instagram page, gathered sponsors and donated raffle prizes and concessions. The Turkey Classic originally started in 2019 and has become a successful event that students look forward to.
The event starts with round-robin play, allowing each team to play all the other teams in their pool. There were two pools, pool A and B both with seven teams. It then progressed to the quarter finals, semi finals and eventually the final round. This year, team captain Kenny Sanchez and his team sponsored by Delizia Pizza came out on top.
The classic rallied 14 sponsors including David Chad Beauty Parlor, Any Excuse for a Party, Ganton, Side Out Sports, Delizia Pizza, Patriot Plumbing, American Air, Allerton Pest Control, Velocity INS., MJG Promotion, Lattimer Realty, Original Pancake House, GLO Salon and Sciacca Contracting. This year, a few changes to the Turkey Classic helped it be even more successful. Instead of 13 teams, there were 14, a popcorn and cotton candy machine provided by Any Excuse for a Party and ice cream donated by Applegate Farms.
Part of the fundraising comes from the raffle prizes that are advertised through the Turkey Classic’s instagram page.
“The raffle prizes were the best we ever had,” said teacher Andrea Mondadori. “$300 to Michael Anthony Jewelers necklace, 2 weekends in the Florida Keys, $200 to the Clubhouse, $200 to Tavern 292, $100 Lululemon gift card and a $50 wristlet and four tickets to the Devils game along with many others.”
The Sports Management classes learned crucial skills like leadership and organization to ensure the event was successful and run smoothly. In addition to this, they learned how to promote businesses, how to collect prizes and how to manage a tournament. Many involved in the Turkey Classic are fond of how the event brings people together for a great cause, while also learning these valuable skills.
“The best part about this event is how the kids have to run the event, they plan it, organize the pools, seed the tournament, get sponsors and sell concessions,” Mondo said. “It is truly an effort that is helped by every single student.” Senior Chris Critchett not only had a blast from his team’s victory, but also was eager to see how the event ran after being behind the scenes of the planning process.
“We had a ton of good players and chemistry that helped keep us one step ahead of most teams,” Chrichett said. “The championship game was tough and Noah Clemente clutched up with a pylon of service points to beat Lattimer Realty. Our sponsor, Delizia Pizza, put up free slices as a prize if we won, so we were all super motivated and locked in during the games.”
“I loved being a part of it because I was doing something fun with my friends,” sophomore Brooke Gillen said. “I’m glad that I was a part of something that was raising money for a good cause.”
The Turkey Classic is expected to make its return next year. This is an event that has a positive impact on students and is a way to raise money for a great cause. Next November, consider joining a team to participate in this great event!
