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SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- On Thursday, October 11, the West Coast Conference will officially begin its yearlong REPRESENT initiative topromote positive sportsmanship on its nine campuses. Starting with fall competition, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball will host one REPRESENT match during conference play, while men's and women's cross country will participate in a REPRESENT event on-site at the 2012 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on October 27.
The REPRESENT campaign is the West Coast Conference's sportsmanship campaign, whichencourages the elevation of teams during competition rather than negative behavior. Since its launch in 2009, the REPRESENT campaign has transformed into a conference-wide celebration of WCC student-athletes' competitiveness, character and commitment to "representing" themselves both on and off the playing field.
Therefore, in addition to wearing official REPRESENT T-shirts during REPRESENT games, student-athletes from each institution's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) also hosts unique REPRESENT events on campus to help educate student-fan groups about sportsmanship and/or host community service opportunities.
"In just four years, we are excited to see how our Conference SAAC has embraced the campaign, made it their own and applied the meaning of REPRESENT into how they engagewith one another in competition and in their communities," said WCC Assistant Commissioner Sarah Wilhelmi. "We look forward to seeing the creative efforts of each campus SAAC to strengthen the REPRESENT initiative at Conference contests this year."
October is a busy month for all nine West Coast Conference schools. In addition to the REPRESENT campaign, SAAC groups and student-athletes are also be promoting cancer awareness throughout "National Breast Cancer Awareness Month" by hosting "pink" matches in the sports of soccer and volleyball.
For a full schedule in each WCC fall sport, please refer to the sport's composite schedule on WCCsports.com.
REPRESENT
REPRESENT launched in 2009 when the West Coast Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) made sportsmanship one of its top priorities. Shortly after, the WCC Sportsmanship Task Force was formed, and together, both groups devised a strategic plan and campaign that would help to assess the current sportsmanship environment within the WCC while recognizing examples of positive sportsmanship around the Conference. Each institution now hosts one REPRESENT game in each sport during conference play.