Starting a new tradition: The Tri-Colour Classic

Infamous Commerce versus Engineering rivalry is taken to the court

Image by: Curtis Heinzl
The Leon’s Centre is preparing to welcome thousands of students on Thursday.

Tapping into the traditional rivalry between Commerce and Engineering, the Tri-Colour Classic (TCC) is hosting a basketball game between the two faculties with the goal of raising 100,000 dollars—after being matched by donor—for the Canadian Cancer Society. The donations will go to the Mabbott Lab, located at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto.

The Com-Eng basketball game, conceptualized in 2018, is finally taking to the court this Thursday at the Leon Center. The TCC executive team behind it is composed of 24 students, all in Engineering and Commerce, who are looking to create a new tradition.

Hunter MacKinnon, Comm ’23, is the Commissioner of TCC and the head organizer of this student-run initiative. His goal is to leave a positive impact on Queen’s before graduating, but also wants to see this fundraising event spread to other universities.

“I hope to see this grow across Canada, which is why I wanted to build this blueprint,” MacKinnon said in an interview with The Journal. “If you can have places like Dalhousie out east and UBC out west, all these schools making these events, we could make a serious dent in childhood cancer.”

On Thursday, Sept. 15, the deans of Commerce and Engineering held a press conference at Goodes Hall. Both deans engaged in friendly banter while acknowledging their faculties still share a lot in common.

“I look at where many of our Engineering grads go, and they end up working together [with Commerce grads] on solving big issues,” Kevin DeLuzio, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, said at a press conference.

“Because it’s never just technology alone; it’s technology, plus business, plus social impact if you really want to change the world.”

Both deans have been openly supportive of the upcoming basketball game. They have even engaged in some friendly bets: the losing dean will wear the other faculty’s outfit for an entire day. 

“This is a great example of this: using a friendly rivalry, a sporting event, to raise funds for a great cause and to bring students together in a beautiful way,” Wanda Costen, dean of the Smith School of Business, said at the press conference.

Both teams held tryouts last week and, after a lot of anticipation, official rosters have been revealed on the Tri-Colour Classic Instagram, showcasing professional photographs of each player.

The Engineering team looks intimidating; every player is over 6 feet tall. Meanwhile, the opposing Commerce team has a wide age range of players.

Tickets can be reserved through Mosea, and customers must use their receipt and QR Code to pick up a physical ticket from one of the TCC locations on campus before the game.

As they gear up for the big day, TCC is asking students to submit a mixtape of their basketball skills to enter in the Half-Time Dunk Contest. The contest is open to participants in all faculties. 

There will be official afterparties held at The Mansion and Ale House for students after the game.

The interfaculty rivalry is using school spirit and tradition to help support the lifesaving research being done at SickKids. TCC hopes this basketball game not only brings students together at the beginning of the year but, more importantly, begins a tradition that benefits children today and for many years to come.

*With files from Sarah Maat and Curtis Heinzl.

Tags

Basketball, commerce versus engineering, cure cancer classic, Tri-Colour Classic

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