Our team’s final event of the season was our team banquet and alumni night hosted at Infinity Dancesport Center which was generously donated to us for the evening. We invited all members who had participated at some point throughout the year to our team’s annual banquet and began the night eating catered food from L&L Hawaiian Barbeque. After filling our stomachs, our command staff handed out paper plate awards, which were both comical and heart-warming. They really reveal how each individual member contributes to the liveliness and well-being of our team. Then, our underclassmen made the seniors (Nicole Wells, A’mariah Lovelace, Josue Alvarado, Joan Miquel Valls, Ricky Estrada) and our study abroad student (Manuel Torregrosa) cry with booklets filled with photos and touching notes from members of the team. Seniors Nicole Wells and A’mariah Lovelace gave a speech about how the dynamic of the team had improved in the past year more than they ever hoped it could have. They expressed the uncertainty that followed changing the structure of the team coming into this academic school year and how grateful they felt for this year’s group. After, they presented a gift to our coaches, Marcus and Selena.

Later in the evening some of our alumni came and danced the night away. The style of songs caused them to call back what they have learned through dancesport like west coast swing, tango, viennese waltz, cha cha, samba and other styles like reggaeton. At the end of the night, we all took photos with current and previous members. It was a bit poetic to be together with current and future alumni and we hope to continue the legacy that this year’s group has made for the UCSD Dancesport team.