Seattle University head cross country coach Trisha Steidl has dreamed of being able to host a Pink Meet, similar to other athletic competitions where teams wear pink apparel to raise awareness about breast cancer research. Thanks to the efforts of two student-athletes, that dream will be realized, as the Redhawk cross country team’s annual home meet, the Emerald City Open Saturday, Oct. 19, will become a Pink Meet.
Junior Meghan Arigo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and sophomore Elena Smith (Seattle, Wash.) approached Steidl about putting together the Pink Meet after encountering a group called Check Your Boobies at a Labor Day half-marathon where the cross country team was volunteering their time. According to its website, Check Your Boobies is a “non-profit organization to educate women about breast health in a frank, fun, and fear-free manner.”
“We just returned to school for the cross country season, and we were figuring out how the team could do more for the community, especially since community service is in line with the athletic department’s and University’s mission,” said Arigo. “We knew that other teams have done Pink Games in the past, and once we found that the Check Your Boobies group was willing to help us out by coming onto campus to give a talk about breast cancer awareness, we decided to take this to the community as a whole.”
For Arigo and Smith, the chance to put together this type of partnership to help the community has been the driving force behind their work. For Steidl, the idea of organizing this year’s Pink Meet comes from personal experience, as her mother has gone through two bouts with breast cancer and the disease has touched other members of her family.
“For me, it starts from a family point of view, but it also comes from a sense that college students feel like they are going to live forever and nothing bad can touch them. It’s really good to be able to bring breast cancer awareness to the forefront, and to be able to accomplish that through our sport is a very special opportunity that we have,” Steidl said.
Unlike most Seattle U athletic events with a component about raising breast cancer awareness, the cross country team’s commitment will start before the actual date of competition, as a trained breast health educator and a breast cancer survivor will be leading a presentation Monday, Oct. 14, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in room 103 of the Pigott Building on the Seattle University campus.
At the Emerald City Open Saturday, Oct. 19, the Seattle U cross country teams will be wearing pink ribbons and other pink apparel, and Steidl has asked the other teams competing in the meet to join the Redhawks in displaying some pink within their uniforms. Check Your Boobies will be on hand with information about breast health, and donations collected at the meet will go towards breast cancer research.
“I think the educational portion of this effort is very important, and I am grateful to Meghan and Elena for taking the lead and arranging the guest speakers to come onto campus, because that would not have happened without their work,” said Steidl.
The Emerald City Open takes place at Lower Woodland Park Saturday, Oct. 19, with the women’s six-kilometer race at 10:30 a.m., the men’s eight-kilometer event at 11:15 a.m., and the alumni/friends two-kilometer fun run scheduled to start at 12 noon.
That will begin a weekend of the Seattle University athletic department raising awareness for breast cancer research, as the volleyball team’s Pink Match will take place later the same night at the Connolly Center as the Redhawks face UMKC starting at 7 p.m. The next day, the women’s soccer team will join the effort with its annual Pink Match, hosting CSU Bakersfield at Championship Field starting at 12 noon.
For more information about Check Your Boobies, visit www.checkyourboobies.com. To make a donation, go to this website: https://secure.maestroweb.com/Login.aspx?OrgID=1155&Out=1 and put Seattle U Cross Country in the Company section so the amount of money raised as a result of the cross country team’s Pink Meet can be accurately tracked.