A week after Aggie Fest and a subsequent COVID-19 outbreak across campus, the Holland Bowl was packed for the SUAB Powderpuff Game.

Powderpuff is a girls-only flag football competition. Students were able to sign up via a link on NCAT SUAB’s Instagram. According to Preston Thornthon, vice president of SUAB, spots filled up quickly.

“The sign-up filled in two to three hours,” Thornton said. “People already had members and coaches ready.”

Thornton also says this event was put on by SUAB interns as their spring assignment. 

“Interns get two events. One for fall and one for spring,” Thornton said. “After seeing the success of the game the other day, this is an event we may implement under our e-board.”

The event took place on Wednesday, April 27th. This year’s powderpuff teams included Black Thunder, Ecliptic Masterpieces, Greensboro All-Stars (G.A.S.) and the winners, the Head Hunting Barbies.

Playing in the first round of the powderpuff tournament were the Head Hunting Barbies versus the Ecliptic Masterpieces, followed by Black Thunder versus G.A.S. The winner of those games would play each other to win it all.  

The Head Hunting Barbies took the first win of the tournament, beating the Ecliptic Masterpieces. The Head Hunting Barbies had been practicing many weeks before the game and came ready to play.

The next game was between Black Thunder and G.A.S., and despite a “no-touching” rule, this game got very physical. Some teams were penalized for this, which potentially changed the game’s outcome.

“They called their [Black Thunder] touchdown back,” said Gabrielle Heyward, a freshman journalism major and quarterback for the Greensboro All-Stars. “We weren’t supposed to touch each other.”

Heyward played a great game, but despite her team’s effort, they could not defeat the Black Thunder.

The final game was between the Head Hunting Barbies and Black Thunder. After outstanding performances from both teams, the Head Hunting Barbies were named Powderpuff Champions.

Fan engagement was high throughout all three games that were played, as people cheered on their favorite teams and players. 

“I was definitely nervous,” Heyward said. “I didn’t want to mess up because the whole school was watching me.”

It was refreshing to see so many students back on campus, as many students were quarantined after catching the coronavirus the previous week. The outbreak did not slow down anyone on gameday, especially Alexis Black, a junior journalism major and quarterback for Black Thunder.

“Everyone got sick maybe two weeks ago, but they were all able to play when it was time,” Black said. Black was very proud of her team, which was made up of the Aggie Cheerleaders. 

The powderpuff game took place during Greek Week, so many Greek organizations were involved both in the game and on the sidelines as coaches.

In addition to the football game, there was music, a half-time performance, and food trucks.

Thornton was very pleased with how the event turned out.

“It was a little rocky at first with communication, but it looked like everyone enjoyed themselves,” Thornton said.

Look out for more SUAB events as the school year comes to an end.