Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament April 8 hosted by John Rabe

On Friday, April 8, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. student teams from Art Center College of Design, Caltech, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pacific Oaks College and Pasadena City College will vie for top honors in the second annual Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament at PCC’s Jackie Robinson Stadium. Who will take top prize? The artists? The scientists? The chefs? The faithful? The teachers? The undeclared? Admission is free and everyone is invited to root for their favorite teams. Caltech won the 2010 Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament. John Rabe, host of “Off-Ramp” on KPCC Radio, will be the announcer at the event, where challenges will include Amazing Russet Race, Monster Croquet, Frisbee Touchdown Toss, Lego Car Design Challenge, Tower of Babel and Capture the Flag. Pasadena City Councilman Terry Tornek will be the judge. The Amazing Russet Race – This is inspired by the fact that Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts students hone their craft by learning how to slice and dice many foods, including potatoes. In this challenge, teams will be divided into stuffers and pickers who must fill uniforms with potatoes. The first team to amass 500 pounds of spuds will win the challenge. Frisbee Touchdown Toss – This is a tribute to the fact that Frisbee golf was invented in Pasadena and the first Frisbee disc course was constructed and is still in operation here. Each team will have three opportunities to throw Frisbees into the end zones of the stadium while team members attempt to catch them. The team with the most points will win the challenge. Lego Car Design Challenge - This pays homage to Art Center College of Design’s Transportation Design Program. Using creativity and innovative design solutions, each team will race to assemble a Lego car where function meets style. Cars will be judged on design and speed. Tower of Babel – Fuller Theological Seminary students know the Good Book inside and out. A nod to the Biblical account of the origin of languages, teams will use speech but no sight as they build human pyramids. The team that creates the largest pyramid the fastest will win the challenge. Monster Croquet – Each team will select members to hit a giant beach ball with a mallet through balloon arches that serve as wickets. The team that succeeds in getting their beach ball through all the wickets the fastest wins. Uniform Judging – There’s absolutely nothing uniform about Pasadena’s superior institutions of higher learning, but uniforms for each team will be designed expressly for this competition by the schools they represent. The best team uniform based on attractiveness, originality and thematic connection to the school’s learning focus will win this challenge. Capture the Flag – This challenge is inspired by the most popular event in PCC’s annual Lancer Games. The teams will guard and steal one another’s school flags for the glory of winning the Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament trophy. Free parking for the event will be available in Lots 5 and 5A at the corner of Del Mar Boulevard and Bonnie Street. Robinson Stadium is located on the south side of the PCC campus near Del Mar Boulevard between Hill and Bonnie avenues. The Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament is sponsored by the city of Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-7216. Pasadena institutions participating in the 2010 Collegiate Field Tournament Art Center College of Design offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of art and design fields. The school has notable photography, graphic design, advertising design, illustration, fine art, film and environmental design programs. Art Center offers graduate degrees in fine art, media design, broadcast cinema and industrial design. Art Center is particularly known for its transportation design, product design and entertainment design. The college has traditionally maintained a strong "real world" focus, emphasizing craftsmanship, technique, and professionalism while somewhat de-emphasizing theory. Instructors are often working professionals that allow insights to real-life assignments. www.artcenter.edu Caltech is a private research university that maintains a strong emphasis on natural sciences and engineering. Its mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. Caltech investigates the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society. Caltech is a small school with only 2,100 students and consistently ranks as one of the top 10 universities in the world. Faculty and alumni hold a very impressive number of international awards, including 32 Nobel Prizes. Caltech also manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. www.caltech.edu Fuller Theological Seminary is the largest nondenominational seminary in the U.S. and includes theology, psychology and intercultural studies. The seminary addresses a broad range of moral and ethical issues from a perspective shaped by deep loyalty to the Scriptures. The founder, Charles Fuller, envisioned the seminary would become "a Caltech of the evangelical world” where fundamentalism would be reformed from its separatist and sometimes anti-intellectual stance. www.fuller.edu Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts immerses students in the culinary/hospitality world. Budding chefs spend significant time in the kitchens applying skills and techniques and learning classical cooking methods in addition to international and American regional cuisine. Coursework includes culinary arts, baking and pastry, and hospitality and restaurant management. Theoretical and practical management approaches are taught along with wine studies, hospitality business law, food and beverage management plus the kitchen and the dining room environment. www.chefs.edu Pacific Oaks College trains students to be professionals as well as advocates. Respect for diversity and individual values are the basic concepts of the educational philosophy. Issues of social justice, equity, fairness and diversity are emphasized in the curriculum. Coursework includes human development, marriage, family and child counseling, and special education for mild to moderate disabilities. Each program offers an array of areas in which students may choose to specialize. www.pacificoaks.edu Pasadena City College is the third largest community college campus in the U.S. It attracts students from throughout Southern California, enrolling a large percentage from outside the boundaries of the Pasadena Area Community College District. PCC is widely regarded as one of the best community colleges in the state, recently ranking first in four out of six categories among comparable colleges. Notable alumni include U.S. Supreme Court justices, business leaders, athletes, musicians, fashion designers and Olympians. www.pasadena.edu www.cityofpasadena.net/publicaffairs Blog: www.pasadenapio.blogspot.com Facebook: Pasadena PIO Twitter: pasadenapio