San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Corporate Cup helps kids stay fit
Under a punishing noonday sun Saturday with a heat index topping 100 degrees, thousands of local corporate employees grilled and sipped beer in the parking lot of Benson Stadium at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song” piped through speakers — but inside the stadium, some of the tailgaters’ co-workers were on the track running relays.
A UPS inside sales worker blazed past the bleachers carrying a baton, inspiring cheers. “That’s how we get our mail so fast,” said Jimmy Cisneros, 32, a staff accountant for iHeartMedia.
Athletes from 88 companies were competing against each other in the seventh annual
San Antonio Sports Corporate Cup, a fundraiser benefiting the organization’s sports and fitness programs for children. At least 5,000 people attended the event, crowding the university campus north of downtown.
The Corporate Cup raised about $250,000, said Carolyn Wheat, a spokeswoman for San Antonio Sports. Much of it came in through sponsorships. Ortho-Now was the tournament’s title sponsor, but each contest — such as the relays, tug of war and dodgeball — had its own sponsor, and participating companies contributed to the fundraiser by buying prime tailgating spaces.
Apart from benefiting children, the tournament encourages adult competitors to stay physically fit and build workplace camaraderie.
Cisneros bounced through the sack race, winning iHeartMedia fourth place in its division for the event. He said the Corporate Cup helped him bond with co-workers and meet people from other companies. “And of course the free beer didn’t hurt,” he said.
Companies were split into four divisions based on size, with overall winners in each division. They earned points from the 13 competitive events and donations to charities including the San Antonio Food Bank and Haven for Hope.
Valero won the overall prize in Division 1, for the largest companies, while Zachry Group won Division 2, Spurs Sports & Entertainment won Division 3 and United Allergy won Division 4. A T-shirt contest also named winners in each division: Citi, Bio-Bridge Global, Dahill and Catto & Catto. The tailgating contest champions were Accenture Federal, Accenture Operations, Sirius Computer Solutions and Visit San Antonio.
Joseph Pagano, 26, a human resources supervisor at Airrosti Rehab Centers, ran in the 5-kilometer race and did a 2-kilometer walk. Despite the heat, Pagano said the activity felt good. This was his fourth year participating in the tournament.
“Just seeing it get bigger every year is really cool,” Pagano said. “The competition gets much more intense every year. Everybody’s here to have fun, but they also want to win.”
San Antonio Sports’ programs include the University Health System Go!Kids Challenge, encouraging elementary school students to be active and drink water for six weeks; Subway Kids Rock, challenging students in the seventh grade and below to walk, jog or run the equivalent of a marathon in eight weeks; and i play! afterschool, which involves third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in sports.