Shocktoberfest: Raising spirits
Spirit rally, concert and free food draw about 5,000 students to annual party sponsored by ASUCI and UC Irvine Athletics.
Shocktoberfest 2010 was a little bit wet, a little bit wild and a whole lot of fun Friday, Oct. 15, as UC Irvine Athletics and Associated Students of UCI teamed up to throw the annual party celebrating the start of the NCAA basketball season.
Games don’t start until Nov. 2, but official practices have begun, and hopes are high on both the men’s and women’s courts.
New men’s head coach Russell Turner, who came to UCI earlier this year from the staff of the Golden State Warriors, has been studying films on returning players and recruiting new ones.
“I have a lot to learn, and my staff has a lot to learn, so there’s going to be an adjustment period that the players, coaches, everyone has to go through together,” Turner said during last week’s regional Big West Media Day at ESPN Zone. “Our goal is real clear, and that’s to be playing our best basketball in March. We’ve got some time to get there. We are all going to be impatient for success, but success takes time. We will be pushing every day to get there as quickly as we can.”
While Turner scored a slam dunk during Shocktoberfest’s basketball exhibition, the women’s team outscored the men in the three-point shooting competition.
“It was a really nice event,” said Molly Goodenbour, who’ll begin her second season as women’s basketball head coach. “Our team had fun and got involved with the MCIA dance, which was great. I think it was a positive experience for the students as well as our players.”
Goodenbour is looking forward to a balanced team this year, with three returning all-conference players and some hot new recruits. “We lost a lot of really close games last year, and I think a year of experience and added maturity will help us win those ballgames this year,” she said.
ASUCI’s fifth annual Shocktoberfest began with a street festival on Mesa Road that boasted music and performances by well-known UCI dance crews. Free Wahoo’s tacos and ice cream distributed by AT&T kept students well fueled.
The crowd came in out of the rain around 7:30 p.m. to see cheerleading and band performances and the basketball exhibition and competition in the Bren Events Center. The spirit rally continued with a concert by Cali Swag District (with the hit song “Teach Me How to Dougie”) and Kevin Rudolf (with the hit song “Let It Rock”). The evening culminated with an outdoor dance party featuring DJ Miles.
UCI’s Shocktoberfest is the largest and longest-running basketball season-opening celebration in Southern California, selling out with more than 5,500 attendees every year. The 2010 event took place on the heels of UCI’s Guinness world record for largest dodgeball game, set on Sept. 22.
