Florida A&M University’s chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. will be competing in BET’s first annual “Run the Yard” in Los Angeles, Saturday. The national stepping competition will be hosted by 106 & Park’s Terrance and Rocsi.
“We pre-registered for the event and got chosen,” said Xavier Bryant, 22, a senior health science student from Miami. “The winner gets $5,000 and there is no second or third place.”
FAMU’s Omegas refer to their style of stepping as “hopping,” and the hop master, Bryant, is responsible for choreographing the group’s moves.
Some California step teams battled one another, in September, in preliminary competitions. The winners of those preliminary competitions will be competing with sororities and fraternities of Historically Black Colleges and Universities from across the country.
FAMU alum and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Edmond Lee, 26, a vice president of Team Takeover Marketing Company said this was the first big competition that the organization has had.
“We are setting a precedent for doing great things not only in our yard, but in other yards as well, inspiring others to do great things,” Lee said. “This is an honor for our organization and FAM as well.”
BET’s weekend itinerary for the organization includes a trip to an amusement park, a radio station interview, and a celebrity basketball game, all taking place before the competition.
Bryant also said on Bet’s weekend list of activities for the Omegas. On the list are plans of reaching out to the community once they arrive to California. The Omegas will also be speaking to high school students on the topic of college, and encouraging them to do well in school. They will then perform for the students.
Not only are the Omegas pleased with the step competition, students on campus are also pleased.
Denise Goolsby, 21, a senior biology student from East Dublin, GA., said she is optimistic of the fraternity’s chances of winning.
“This is a good opportunity to represent our University, and I think they will do well,” Goolsby said. “I have seen them perform before and they were pretty good.”
When asked about what this competition could mean for the fraternity’s “hoppers,” Bryant said their performance in the California show would be just the beginning to the events that they plan on winning in the future.