Sonoma State University’s largest multicultural club, the Filipino American Association of Sonoma State University, otherwise known as FAASSU, is currently training for the 33rd annual Friendship Games taking place on Oct. 20. This year, our seawolves are aiming for gold. 

The Friendship Games are held at California State University Fullerton where over 40 Filipino American Student organizations across California, Nevada and Arizona come together to celebrate culture, diversity, friendship, fun and the adrenaline of some good-old-fashioned competition. 

Mt. San Antonio College’s Filipino organization, “Kasama”, claimed victory during the very first Friendship Games back in 1985. Since then, the games have been recognized as a highlight event for many college campuses.

The event has expanded quite a bit since then and currently consists of five different games that allow the 40 plus organizations to dwindle down to the top three. Those games include: Alpine Green, The Nasty, Up and Under, Big Groundhog and Conveyor Belt. From here, the top three organizations compete in an obstacle course race known as Final Rampage.

According to FAASSU’s Friendship Games coordinator, Matthew Ortega, last year Sonoma State was recognized as the strongest competitor out of the Northern California colleges, and because of their athletic success, they have been chosen to referee the games this year. Ortega believes that this opportunity has allowed FAASSU to “establish dominance” over the other organizations and he’s confident that they’ll rank within the top 5.

This year, Ortega will be competing in Alpine Green, The Nasty and Conveyor Belt, each of which he had to try out for, much like everyone else. FAASU starts recruiting team players for the Friendship Games as early as the first few weeks of school, according to Sonoma State fourth year, Alexis Lammawin. 

Lammawin participated in last year’s Friendship Games and was quick to share that “all the athletes and everyone involved in Sonoma State FAASSU work really, really hard. It’s intense. Do it if you’re brave.” 

But despite the competitive pressure that comes with the Friendship Games, it’s also a day of celebration and of course, friendship. FAASSU’s vice president, Ashley Dela Cruz, describes the atmosphere of the games to be similar to that of a “huge hangout or party that’s really fun,” as well as being a place where she can identify with others who share her Filipino culture.  

However, it’s not surprising to see people of various backgrounds when at the Friendship Games or if you happen to look at the overall demographics of FAASSU’s club members. This is because FAASSU is “a big family that welcomes everybody no matter who you are, where you’re from or what your ethnicity or race is,” according to third year, Gabriel Amen. 

When speaking with FAASSU’s president, Maddie Lam, she said that the organization’s main purpose is centered around acceptance and how FAASSU “loves to spread culture and spread our love for everyone else’s culture.” In addition, members of FAASSU view their club as a safe space where Sonoma State students of color can come together and be accepted as they are. 

FAASSU is always looking for new members and highly recommends their recruits to participate in the Friendship Games. You can catch the athletes of FAASSU practicing for the games every night, Monday through Thursday, at Stevenson Field if you’re interested in finding out what the games are like. In addition, the opportunity to join FAASSU is open throughout the entire semester and they’d be more than happy to welcome anyone into their family.