Corporate Challenge 2012 Update

Closing Ceremony

Week Eight

It's all over but the partying!

After eight weeks of often grueling competition featuring terrific performances, camaraderie and medal presentations, UT Dallas finished Corporate Challenge Sunday night fourth place overall in Division BB. In the final week, the bowling team scored a bronze medal Sunday and the billiards team brought home silver on Tuesday. The late surge left UT Dallas 12 points shy of third place.

The bowling team, consisting of Activity Center Supervisor Chris Cody; Jindal School of Management Software Systems Specialist Bruce Davidson and spouse Stacey Davidson; Natural Sciences and Mathematics Administrative Assistant Georgetta Oliver; Bursar's Office Assistant Director Richard Grant; Assistant Director of Records Sandy Runowski; Procurement Management Accounting Coordinator Julia Kinkade; Michael Leiter, spouse of Information Resources Manager Debra Leiter; Mechanical Engineering Technical Staff Associate Mark Powell; and Residential Life Student Development Specialist Matt O'Neill, rolled a combined score of 4,745 over three games.

In billiards, the mixed team of PeopleSoft Academy Coordinator Rangon Bhattarai and Career Center Director Lisa Garza captured the silver while the men's team of Nghi Ton (IDS Lecturer) and John Seeligson (spouse of Molly Seeligson) won the bronze medal. The women's team of Stephanie Pan and Jessie Jin also represented UT Dallas during the competition.

As for the party, the Closing Ceremony for Corporate Challenge takes place 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19. Come to Galatyn Park, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, for food, drink, fun and activities, including:

• Cake contest
• Spirit, volunteer and coordinator of the year awards announcements
• Raffle prize drawings
• Presentation of fundraising check to Special Olympics of Texas
• Extinguishing of the Corporate Challenge torch

Week Seven

UT Dallas performed spectacularly in week seven of Corporate Challenge and pulled within five points of the bronze medal in Division BB. The University's darts and dominoes teams battled well against their competitors.

On Thursday, Oct. 4, the men's team of Assistant Director for Greek Life Programs Daniel Hernandez and Ernesto Castanheira, the women's team of Jindal School of Management administrative assistant Debbie Davis and Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science administrative services officer Cathie Ranta and the mixed team of Activity Center supervisor Chris Cody and Assistant Director of Health Education Programs Amanda Smith combined to take home the gold medal in darts.

And the dominoes team of Assistant Director for Greek Life Programs Daniel Hernandez and Energy Conservation and Sustainability Manager Thea Junt nabbed the silver medal on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

In softball, which was postponed till this past weekend, UT Dallas finished in seventh place.

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Voting for the best T-shirt design in Division BB is now closed. Results will be posted as soon as they become available. Thanks to all who participated.

Week Six

Weekend storms forced the cancellation and rescheduling of Corporate Challenge softball this week. Games will be played Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7, at the Huffines Ball Fields in Richardson.

The only other sport played in Week Six was table tennis where the men's team of Hynek Boril, a research assistant in the Jonsson School of Engineering, and Jingtong Hu, a computer science teaching assistant in the Jonsson School, won silver and the mixed team of Li Liu, molecular and cell biology lecturer, and Srinivas Kamili, computer science graduate of the Jonsson School, came in fourth.

UT Dallas remains in fourth place overall in Division BB, just four points out of third.

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This is the last week to vote for UT Dallas for the best T-shirt design in Division BB. You may cast your online vote here. You are invited to vote for your favorite T-shirt in each division before the online poll closes 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5.

Week Five

UT Dallas made gigantic strides in Corporate Challenge this week. At the end of five weeks — the midpoint of the competition — UT Dallas moved firmly into third place (bronze) overall in Division BB on the strength of its domination in badminton over the weekend.

Each team — the men's with Jindal School of Management associate marketing coordinator Abhi Biswas and Center of Vital Longevity research assistant Gerard Bischof; the women's team of School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics teaching assistant Shanshan Wang and Jindal School of Management teaching assistant Parneet Pahwa; and the mixed team of Jindal School of Management Associate Professor Nanda Kumar and School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics research assistant Ting Gong — scored gold medals to complete a sweep in badminton.

On Sunday, the swimming team finished with the bronze overall on the strength of women's team University Police senior administrative clerk D'Ann Armstrong's silver performance in the 50 meters freestyle and a silver in the mixed 200 meter relay featuring Armstrong, Arts and Humanities senior lecturer Greg Metz, Strategic Planning and Analysis administrative services officer Andrea Stigdon and Associate Director for Strategic Planning and Analysis Nick Valcik.

Building on the momentum gained last week from the golf team winning silver medals, the women's miniature golf pairing of UT Dallas Facilities Management retiree Carol Lanham and Associate Director of Records Sandy Runowski captured bronze medals after shooting an 87 over 36 holes on Tuesday.

The men shot 78, which landed them in a three-way tie for fourth place, but, along with the mixed team's score of 85 the mini golf team finished third overall.

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UT Dallas needs your votes to win best T-shirt design in Division BB. You may cast your online vote here. You are invited to vote for your favorite T-shirt in each division and you may vote once each day.

Week Four

The UT Dallas Corporate Challenge golf teams won silver medals on Saturday pushing the University to a tie for third place overall in Division BB. It was the best performance of the week following last weekend's silver in the 15K Bike Race. The only other events for the week were soccer and the 5K Run-Walk.

The golf teams, consisting of the morning team — Athletic Director Chris Gage, Assistant Coach Mallory McAdams, Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Analysis Lawrence Redlinger and Coach Polly Thomason — and the afternoon team — Coach Jenna Delong, Vice President for Administration Calvin Jamison, Management Professor Mike Rebello and Art Salinas, spouse of Center for BrainHealth research assistant Monique Salinas, combined to shoot a total of 115, missing the gold by two strokes.

Assistant Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Dwight Clasby was listed as a sub.

UT Dallas finished fourth in the 5K Run-Walk. Living Learning administrative assistant Marcos Chavez and Director of Internet Resources David Holmes led all others in their respective age divisions.

The soccer matches, hosted by UT Dallas, found our Corporate Challenge team frozen in a three-way tie for seventh place.

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UT Dallas needs your votes to win best T-shirt design in Division BB. You may cast your online vote here. You are invited to vote for your favorite T-shirt in each division and you may vote once each day.

Week Three

UT Dallas performed much better in the third week of Corporate Challenge competition, grabbing silver medals in horseshoes and the 15K bike race. UT Dallas now has moved into fourth place overall in Division BB.

The turnaround began Wednesday in horseshoes, when the women's team of Alison Bratton and Stephanie Salavarria, both administrative assistants in the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, fought through the consolation bracket to reach the medal rounds.

The pair defeated Division BB competitors Markit, Prime Lending and Hilton in succession to make it into the semifinals. From there, they scored a come-from-behind win to beat Concentra and earned the right to face CA in the final. CA won, though, in a hard-fought, very close match.

On Saturday, the UT Dallas 15K bike race team rode home with the silver medal after combining for the second lowest times in Division BB. The men — Behavioral and Brain Sciences professor and bike master Sven Kroener and Bo London, spouse of assistant director for enrollment services Ingrid London — and the women — Ingrid London and Julie Gavran, professor in the School of Arts and Humanities — combined to complete the 15-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 20 seconds.

UT Dallas teams also finished fourth in kickball and ninth in Texas Hold 'Em poker.

Go Comets!

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UT Dallas needs your votes to win best T-shirt design in Division BB. You may cast your online vote here. You are invited to vote for your favorite T-shirt in each division and you may vote once each day.

Week Two

After winning the bronze in volleyball and gaining 9 participation points for the Great Walk, UT Dallas finds itself at the end of two weeks of Corporate Challenge in sixth place overall in the Division BB standings.

To start week two, UT Dallas placed fourth in the punt, pass and kick competition Monday. The event had been postposed one week due to aerial spraying for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus.

The PPK team started off great and confidence was high. Alison Bratton, an administrative assistant in electrical engineering at the Jonsson School, punted the ball 118 feet, the women's farthest distance.

And Sean Murphy, husband of Julie Murphy, an assistant director for Greek Life Programs at UT Dallas, kicked a punt of 142 feet, the third-best of any male in Division BB.

Going into the final kick, the anticipation and excitement was followed by painful toe-stubbing misfortune and disappointment.

But it was all taken in stride by team members who smiled and hugged afterward. See, it really is how you play the game that counts most.

In basketball, UT Dallas' team finished in 9th place among Division BB teams. UT Dallas teams also finished fourth overall in dodge ball and tennis.

Competition is very intense this year, but our Corporate Challenge teams vow to keep on fighting till the end.

Go Comets!

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The Corporate Challenge T-shirt completion is underway. UT Dallas needs your votes to win best T-shirt design in Division BB. You may cast your online vote here. You are invited to vote for your favorite T-shirt in each division and it appears you can vote once each day.

Week One

UT Dallas, on the strength of the volleyball team Saturday and staffers who stretched their legs during the Great Walk on Friday, holds fourth place in the opening strains of Corporate Challenge 2012.

Some 39 students, faculty and staff members participated in the Great Walk, a roughly one-mile partially forested course through Galatyn Park, and earned 2 participation points while the volleyball team won the bronze medal, which is good for another 7 points.

More updates:
The postponed Punt, Pass and Kick competition takes place 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, at Richardson High School, 1250 West Beltline Road in Richardson.

Online voting polls are now open for Corporate Challenge T-Shirt designs, so be sure to vote UT Dallas' BB Division T-Shirt entry.

On Saturday, Sept. 1, participate in the Great Ride - a fundraiser for Special Olympics of Texas - which starts at Bass Pro Shop in Garland and finishes in Richardson. It is $20 per biker, $10 per passenger to register. For more information, visit the city of Richardson's Corporate Challenge website.

Check out photos from the Opening Ceremony on the Administration's Facebook page.

UT Dallas Gears Up For Corporate Challenge 2012

The city of Richardson hosts its 15th annual Corporate Challenge starting Friday, August 17, and running through Friday, October 19. UT Dallas counts this as its 15th year to participate.

Corporate Challenge is your chance to engage in friendly competition against area companies while raising money for Special Olympics of Texas.

There's a Corporate Challenge activity to fit all athletic skill levels.

The Opening Ceremony and Great Walk will kick off at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, at Galatyn Park in Richardson. Anyone can participate in the opening festivities and walk, and UT Dallas earns Corporate Challenge points for every UT Dallas walker.

Points will be awarded based on the following:

• 1-6 walkers = 1pt
• 7-12 walkers = 2pts
• 13-18 walkers = 3pts
• 163-168 walkers = 28 pts
• 169-174 wakers = 29 pts
• 175+ walkers = 30pts

Companies will compete against their own division and be ranked based on total participants.

There will be corporate tailgate parties, singing of the national anthem, the Special Olympians' parade and other fun activities for the entire family. Let's show the Richardson community our Comet pride.

Don't forget to register to be on a UT Dallas Corporate Challenge team. Teams are forming in 23 categories ranging from badminton to volleyball (see website for a full listing). To make it easier on participants, all events will occur after normal business hours and on weekends.

Join a team by completing the registration form and returning it to corporatechallenge@utdallas.edu. Only benefits-eligible employees, their spouses and retirees may participate in athletic competitions.

On Saturday, Sept. 1, the Great Ride takes place benefitting Special Olympics of Texas. The Great Ride is a motorcycle caravan that starts at the Bass Pro Shop in Garland and ends at a bar in Richardson. It's $20 per biker and $10 per passenger.

For more information, stay tuned to this page or email corporatechallenge@utdallas.edu.

UT Dallas Nails Second in Corporate Challenge Finale

What an incredible 10 weeks of Corporate Challenge!

From the Opening Ceremony and its record-breaking heat, to the Closing Ceremony with its awards presentations and barbecue dinners, the UT Dallas community displayed its Comet spirit throughout and ultimately showed why it plays the games.

Competitively, UT Dallas got off to a great start, with the volleyball team scoring the first gold medal of Corporate Challenge 2011. Three-peating as champions, their stellar performance was quickly followed by the silver achievement of the softball team and another gold medal from the tennis team.

By the midpoint of Corporate Challenge 2011, UT Dallas remained in second place on the strength of the 15k bike team's first place finish on Sept. 11, and by the fifth week UT Dallas was within seven points of capturing first place from TriQuint Semiconductor after winning silver medals in the 5K Run-Walk at Galatyn Park.

In week six, UT Dallas dropped to third place despite receiving gold and silver in badminton and table tennis, respectively.

With two weeks to go, 11 points separated UT Dallas from second place. Team UT Dallas, in the throes of battle, won gold in darts and bronze in swimming to move within six points of reaching the second place position.

In the final event, the bowling team got rolling with a perfect, 300-point game by software systems specialist Brandon Davidson. The team earned the silver medal and enough points for UT Dallas to finish in second place overall in its Corporate Challenge division.

Corporate Challenge gathers Richardson-area businesses each fall to compete in sports and games for fun, fitness and fellowship while raising money for Special Olympics.

UT Dallas has been involved in Corporate Challenge throughout the competition's 14-year history. Through the sale of raffle tickets, Corporate Challenge contributed $162,500 this year to Special Olympics of Texas.

That's why we play the games.

For more information, please visit the Corporate Challenge home page at http://www.cor.net/cc.

 

 

Related Information

Corporate Challenge 2012 Slideshow

2012 Calendar

2012 Competitor Signup Sheet

Event Calendar

Volunteer Opportunities

Corporate Challenge Participants Share More Than Fun at Games

Promotional Video