One of the highlights of VEISHEA every year is the VEISHEA tournaments. Last Sunday and Monday, the Bergstrom Indoor Practice Facility hosted the flag football tournament.

The tournament consisted of 20 teams. The registration was based on a first come, first served basis and costed $50 per team. They were all guaranteed 2 games but would play more if they did well. There were three games going at once and each game was made up of 15-minute halves with running clock, except for the final two minutes of the second half. All the teams were competing for one prize. A VEISHEA tournament champions t-shirt.

“It’s a real thrill to be playing for the most prized t-shirt in VEISHEA,” joked alumnus Greg Knudsen after a victory in the semi-finals. Knudsen graduated from Iowa State in construction engineering.

Many of the players in the tournament played football and were teammates in high school. Many of them were, in a way, returning to the game at this tournament.

“It’s good to get the competition back,” said Chris Reischl, a senior in criminology. “It’s always good to have competition and to get the blood pumping a little bit.”

“It’s fun to play again,” added Brian Behrens, an alumnus who graduated in agricultural studies.

Behrens said it was exhilarating to be playing in the championship game.

“This is what we’ve been preparing for, for the last two days,” Behrens said.

Pig Skin co-chair Tanner Whipple, a sophomore in agricultural studies said that the tournament was a success.

“There’s a lot of competitiveness,” Whipple said. “There’s a lot of the same teams that were here last year back this year.”

The tournament started on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. and went until 11 p.m. on Monday night.