On target for prizes at U of W
Winner earned his wings with plenty of home practice
WATERLOO — Tibor Vezsenyi was living proof this weekend that practice makes perfect.
The Kitchener man won two of the five prize packages on offer at the paper airplane toss at halftime in a Waterloo Warriors men’s basketball game on Saturday.
The fundraiser gives every one of the 640 ticket holders a single paper airplane that they can fold up and toss into the court, where five targets represent the five big prizes. People can buy more airplanes, with proceeds going to UW’s student wellness services. The plane that lands closest to each target wins.
At the signal, a flurry of hundreds of yellow planes filled the air like a weird snowstorm. In seconds, the gym floor was littered with planes that had fallen well short of the mark.
So how did Vezsenyi manage to snag two of the five prizes?
“Practice,” he said with a grin as he went to claim his prizes, which included hundreds of dollars in gift certificates, a Fitbit and a Bose speaker.
“I practise folding, and I practise throwing for about three weeks,” he said. “Watching TV, I’ll fold airplanes, and throw them, trying to tweak them to get them just right. There’s a lot of paper around my house” afterwards, he admits.
He bought a few extra planes. His daughter Rachel was trying to win the speaker. “But I saw there weren’t too many close to it, so I threw mine,” and won.
It’s not the first time he’s won the prizes either, having picked up other prizes at two or three previous airplane toss games, he said.
It’s fairly easy to spot the winners amid the court full of crashed airplanes, said Jenny Mackay, marketing manager with university athletics. “Once you get on top of
them you can tell the winners,” she said. “Sometimes we’ve had to get the measuring tape out, but not this year.”
The event is always a big hit, said Ari Grossman, an assistant director in the athletics department. “Everyone loves the airplane toss. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute, and it’s not just about ability, like a free throw. There’s some luck.”
Luck wasn’t with the Waterloo men’s team, which lost the game 100-78 against the Brock Badgers. The Waterloo women’s team won its earlier game against the Brock women 47-44.
The event raised just over $200, Mackay said. “It’s not a huge fundraiser but it’s fun. Of course, every little bit helps.”