Thursday, June 29, 2017

Record-Setting Hoos

On June 24, a pair of #UVAWSOC alumnae participated in a record-setting soccer match. Lori Lindsey (1998-2001) and Kim Smith (1991-94) were part of a group called the Altitude Football Project, which worked with the Equal Playing Field organization to embark on a 10-day trek to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The women scaled nearly 19,330 feet of Africa’s highest mountain. After reaching the summit, they descended to 18,799 feet to play a 90-minute, 11-a-side match on a volcanic ash pitch at an altitude not attempted before and set the world record for the highest altitude soccer match ever played. Smith coached Team Volcano FC while Lindsey (pictured belwo, far left) played in the midfield for that same squad. Lindsey and other members of the squads raised money to finance the trip through GoFundMe and other crowd sourcing sites. The trip was used to raise awareness of the issue of equal pay for women in sports.