July 30, 2007

Volleyball Team to Tour China

CHICAGO -- Beginning in late August, the University of Chicago volleyball team will embark on a 10-day tour of China prior to the start of its 2007 campaign.

Departing on August 18, the team will spend five days touring the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall of China, and the Temple of Heaven.  During those five days, the Maroons will practice and compete against two local teams.

On August 25, the Maroons will fly to Shanghai and tour the Old City, Yuyuan Gardens, the Jade Buddha Temple, and the Museum of the People’s Square.  While in Shanghai, the team will continue training and is slated to play two matches.  The Maroons will return to Chicago on August 29.

“We are very excited about the China Tour as it will afford most of us an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Head Coach Dorinda von Tersch.  “The team has been working hard on fundraising projects to finance this amazing trip.”

The trip has been made possible by donations from Chicago alumni and the athletic department's Edith Ballwebber Fund in addition to team fund raising efforts.

"We have committed these special funds to international travel for our teams and believe that it substantially enhances the student experience here,” said Director of Athletics Tom Weingartner.  “It sets our athletics program apart and makes it consistent with the college's emphasis on foreign study and travel. What could be better than traveling abroad and competing with your teammates in a different culture? We really believe that foreign travel and competition can be one of the most significant experiences in the lives of our students."

The China tour will mark the first international excursion for the volleyball team and the second by a Chicago sports team in the fall of 2007.  Women’s soccer will tour Italy from August 20-29.

Since 1997 several Chicago teams have made overseas tours, most recently the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the fall of 2006. 

Women’s soccer made two trips to Italy, the most recent of which occurred in 2003.  In the summer of 2005, two Chicago teams spent time overseas as the softball team visited Australia and the men's soccer team traveled to Brazil. The men's soccer team also embarked on European tours in 1997 and 2001.