The Swamp Bowl Flag Football Tournament is back this year with new activities and more competition.
In its 24th year, the bowl will not only feature flag football games but also a punt, pass and kick game and an accurate throwing competition. The tournament will take place Oct. 21 to Oct. 23 at the Maguire and UVS fields and the Southwest Recreation Center courts.
The bowl provides schools around the Southeast with fun, competitive flag football games.
About 50 schools from the Southeast will compete this year, compared with the 45 that competed last year, according to Marty Dempsey, coordinator of competitive sports for the Department of Recreational Sports.
By participating, teams can gain leadership experience, Dempsey said.
"One of the main reasons [students should participate] is that they have the opportunity not only to compete but to represent the University of Florida and say that we are the best in the Southeast," he said.
Brandon Morris, who has participated in the tournament for the past three years, said participants learn by playing and make long-lasting friendships.
"You are playing with the best of the best from southeastern schools," said Morris, a 24-year-old family youth and community sciences senior.
"Being in the bowl is a reality check," Morris said. "You get to measure your team and realize that you might not be what you thought you were."
Participants can compete on all-male, all-female or coed teams.
Winners will not only receive a Swamp Bowl 2011 Championship trophy but also free entry into either the American Collegiate Intramural Sports or National Campus Championship Series tournaments.
All participants can take part in the new activities free of charge, and top male and female players will receive gift certificates. Runner-up players will receive a plaque.
Brandon Baroody, an accounting and marketing senior at the University of Central Florida, is the captain of the three-time defending men's championship team Immortals. Baroody, 26, said the atmosphere of the bowl is what he is looking forward to most.
Dempsey said the bowl is Southwest Rec's favorite annual event.
"We are looking forward to it and get pretty amped up for it," he said.
For more information, visit http://www.recsports.ufl.edu/facilities/southwest-recreation-center.
