DATE: Thursday, August 7, 1997              TAG: 9708040398

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   73 lines

CHARITY MOTIVATES TEAM ALLEGIANCE TO COMPETE

Whoever said no man can be an island unto himself never played sports.

In most sporting events, the whole idea is for the athlete to become an island, separate from the rest of the world.

The sprinter's focus is on the starting blocks; the marathoner's is on pace. The bullpen ace blocks out the crowd and the pressure in the bottom of the ninth; the golfer ignores any person or thing standing in the way of the tournament-winning putt. And even the star basketball player - in a team sport - hits four shots in a row and promptly enters ``the zone,'' an invisible dome of invincibility that does not extend to teammates.

It is that premise of sports as an isolationist activity that fuels Team Allegiance, a newly formed group of athletes who participate and compete like everyone else . . . except they're also raising money for charity at the same time.

``You look at a sport like running,'' said Team Allegiance co-founder Tim Crowley, a resident of Chesapeake, ``and you see it's kind of selfish, because you spend so much time focusing on yourself. So we started this group as a way to compete alongside friends and at the same time make a difference in our community.''

``It's the state of mind that you're reaching out to somebody,'' added co-founder Gregg Wooding of Norfolk. ``The Lord gives us the strength to do this, and we feel it's only fitting we give something back.''

Though the group didn't come into existence until May, the idea of Team Allegiance has been around in one form or another since 1993, Crowley said.

Team Allegiance counts among its 18 members a wide variety of professions - ranging from attorney to television producer to occupational therapist - and ages - from 28 to 53. Two of them are from Norfolk, Gregg Wooding and Mark Marshall.

Calling them weekend athletes would be understating things a little bit; Wooding qualified for this year's Boston Marathon and other team members are into triathlons and mountain biking, where, according to Norfolk team member Mark Marshall, ``If blood isn't spilt, you're not having a good time.''

Team Allegiance members raise money in preparation for events. They ponied up more than $2,400 in the weeks leading up to the MS 150 bicycling event. The money raised has no connection with performance during an event; instead, the event is used as an outlet for advertising the team and drawing interest from fellow athletes.

``The athletic community is pretty tight-knit,'' said Wooding. ``We see many of the same people every time out. We've been trying to promote the group through word-of-mouth, but we're hoping to increase our visibility in coming months.''

For the immediate future, Team Allegiance is thinking small; the group has only participated as a unit in two events and Wooding confesses he's unsure as to what charitable event to target next. But that doesn't keep Team Allegiance members from planning big.

A newsletter is nearly complete; a prototype has been produced and team members are using their contacts in the health and fitness business to distribute the publication. A T-shirt is in the design phase. On the drawing board: a series of day camps and, eventually, a permanent summer camp.

``Whatever it is we do, we try to give our all to it,'' Crowley said. ``And what we can do to raise money and help people, we do it with all our might. That's the whole point of Team Allegiance.''

But, lest one think all this charity work and Christian fellowship dulls the competitive edge. . . .

``Greg and I tried to work out and not be competitive about it,'' Crowley said, ``but it was impossible. We tried to eliminate the competitive side of training, but we couldn't. We all love the sport too much to leave it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER

Team Allegiance members include Grant Sackin, from left, Mike

Gwartney, Steve Hoyt, Mark Cinqumars, Aaron Bull, Gregg Wooding,

Charles Tipton, Tim Crowley and Chris Templeman.

Graphic

Team Allegiance

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