Spring Break
Drexel prepares to host Table Tennis Trials
Janhavi Purohit
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: News
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Drexel will be hosting the Table Tennis Trials at the Daskalakis Athletic Center from January 10-13, 2008. The University was chosen through a competitive bid between five other cities, including San Diego and Chicago, according to director of Athletics Eric Zillmer.
"Philadelphia is very interested in raising their international sports profile. You may think of Philadelphia as a great sports town, and it is. It's got the major teams and all these college teams - but internationally, it's not well-known for sports. So they're trying to raise their international sports profile to get more business, but also be thought of as a possible Olympic city," Zillmer said.
Drexel was informed this past June that they had won the bid.
"There are only two colleges in the Olympic trials that have been chosen for a location, and usually it's a city like New York for the marathon or Boston," Zillmer said.
The University's athletic events staff is involved in the planning of the event, along with Drexel University as host, the Philadelphia Sports Congress, United States Table Tennis, and the United States Olympic Committee.
"It raises the profile for Drexel," Zillmer said. "We've had faculty and staff who participated in the winter Olympics, but this is really a formal way to get associated. Drexel will be an Olympic trial site, and that's very impressive. This helps Drexel's position itself. It's a comprehensive University where a lot of exciting things happen."
The University has yet to set their budget for the event, but Zillmer says the projected costs may be high.
"It's going to cost money, and we've got several sponsors who've committed already, including Coca-Cola, Kleenex, iSchool, as well as Drexel University. To be honest, worrying about the events and logistics is one thing, but you have to worry about who's paying for this," Zillmer said.
Zillmer says that at this point, he is trying to delegate responsibility to his staff.
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