The Fall Athletics 1964 Challenge was hosted by John Carroll as a “two week-long competition to support John Carroll Athletics,”according to the John Carroll website.

The goal for each member of the team was to find 10 donors who would donate $19.64. Donations would go toward the teams. The amount of $19.64 is based on the year JC was founded: 1964. This fundraiser is held for each of the sports seasons.

The purpose of the fund is to support JC’s fall athletic teams through a gift for the team. Gifts include new uniforms, travel, and equipment. For each team in the competition, the money raised will be used to fund the teams, regardless of who wins.

Any donor can donate to more than one team, but the goal of the competition is the participation level within each team. In total, this challenge raised $22,889 with 769 donors combined in the competition.

The affiliations of donors across the entire competition included 43% of donations from coaches/friends, 33% from parents, 22% from grandparents, and 2% from other donors. The way to win the challenge is to compete for the highest participation within the team.

This year’s winner for the fall season was the equestrian team with 123 donors, $4,758 raised, and 61.5% participation.

Here it is important to note that “participation percentage is based on donors for your sized team,” said Equestrian Coach Denise Petronelli.

This amount was also the fourth highest dollar amount among all the teams.

The equestrian team “promoted the challenge by reaching out on social media to alumni members of the equestrian team and future members of the team. Home base members of the farm (Claddagh Manor) barn family that also attend some schools in the area reached out to help,” Mrs. Petronelli said.

A major source of promotion for this challenge was a chain link to the fundraiser from parents, coaches, and friends of the team.

Throughout the weeks of the challenge, the team checked the leaderboard often during the day to stay updated and know where the team was ranked.

As for what the team plans to spend the money on, Mrs. Petronelli is considering proposing the idea of using the money towards new John Carroll jumps to be used on the farm for representation of the team.

In a final remark, Mrs. Petronelli said, “I was very proud of the team for working together to win the challenge. This helped to form the team a nice camaraderie for the beginning of our season.”