2018 “Nothing But Nets” Most Successful Yet
“Nothing But Nets” gives an opportunity to combine a love for athletics and service. This year thanks to a large sponsorship from Dish One, the event raised $860, the largest amount yet in the school’s four years of hosting the program.
Heather Roberts, head coach for Southern Virginia University’s women’s basketball team, has been running the annual “Nothing But Nets” tournament at the school for the past four years. “I just figured it was a way for us to give back, because we’ve been given so much as athletes,” Roberts said. “It was… a fun way to play basketball but then raise money for an important cause.” Coach Roberts started the program in 2014 shortly after the University hired her. Originally sponsored by the women’s basketball team, SVU Athletics now hosts the annual competition.
The purpose of “Nothing But Nets” is to raise money for families in sub-Saharan African areas in which malaria runs rampant. Malaria, a deadly, mosquito-carried disease, was responsible for an estimated 429,000 deaths in 2015. Ninety-two percent of those deaths were within the region of Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Nothing but Nets” donates mosquito nets, each large enough to protect an entire family at night from the biting mosquitos that spread malaria. Each net costing $10, donations are raised through entry fees and support from sponsors.
The tournament is a series of simple 3-on-3 basketball games between self-formed teams in both competitive and recreational brackets. Anyone can start a team. This year, the football team, the soccer team, Professor Lee, and even band members from Bird Club, participated in their own groups. The rules for a team’s formation are as follows: There must at least one female participant and there cannot be more than member of the Southern Virginia basketball team per group. Thirteen teams in all participated this year, with ‘We Talking About Practice?’ winning first place in the competitive bracket, while ‘3 No D’ took first in the recreational bracket.
This year, “Nothing But Nets” saw major participation from Southern Virginia’s student body. More than 75 participants signed up, while around 50 student athletes assisted with setup, refereeing, and managing the timer. According to Coach Roberts, each student who participated in either of these capacities was able to count the time as service hours, which should help a lot of them fulfill Leader Servant requirements.
Coach Roberts expressed much interest in the potential of “Nothing But Nets”. “It’s not just a basketball event; it’s a campus-wide event,” she explained. “Hopefully more teams will get involved, and more people will get involved. And maybe it’ll make a difference; they’ll go ‘Oh, there is something we can do as college students, to help other people, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money.’”
A difference does seem to have already been made. Coach Roberts estimates that, over the past 4 years, around $2,000 has been raised for mosquito nets. She also verbalized her desire for the students, as first-world citizens at a university, to look outside themselves and take the time to help out those who know struggles that America does not. And to have fun doing it, of course.
Coach Heather Roberts would like to give a special thanks to Dish One for their $500 sponsorship towards this program.
