“I’ve never been to a step show before,” said Amanda McNevin, freshman from Lexington, Ky., “I’ve watched videos on YouTube before of some shows and I love it. It’s a cool thing to do.”

The Alpha Step Off is hosted each year to raise money for March of Dimes, an organization that primarily assists mothers with healthy pregnancies. Tickets could be bought in advance for $7 or at the door for $10.

2000 marked the first year the step show unified the students and organizations of the Murray State campus. It is now in its 13th year.

The show is judged in four different categories that began Tuesday during the stroll off, which was won by Alpha Gamma Delta. The change wars done throughout the week were also used to raise extra money and give teams extra points, with Sigma Alpha Iota taking the top spot.

During the step show, banners made by each competing team that represented their themes were judged and awarded accordingly. SAI’s banner took first place.

The fraternities and sororities included in the show were: Alpha Sigma Phi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu Alpha, Alpha Delta Pi, Sigma Alpha, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Gam, Kappa Delta and SAI.

The 11 organizations were each expected to put together an original step show that would last around 10 minutes. Each show consisted of a theme that allowed the groups to demonstrate their skills and creativity through props, music, outfits and dance.

“We started in January,” said Amanda Hobson, member of AOPi and sophomore from Henderson, Ky. “We would start around 7 p.m. and practice until around 11 p.m. The past week, we began at 4 p.m. and didn’t stop until 1 a.m. A lot of the girls have done this before. With the help of them, our coach and practice, we knew that either way, we were going to have the best time and give it everything we had.”

At the end of the night, Phi Mu Alpha received 2nd place in the fraternity division while Sig Ep took home first place. For the sororities, SAI won second place and Tri-Sigma won first place. The fan favorites were first time competitors KD. SAI finished off the night as Grand Champions.

The Alpha Step Off in 2013 put APhiA the top organization in the state by raising $3,000 for the March of Dimes. The total amount raised at Thursday’s show had yet to be counted but according to Ryan Hudson, member of APhiA and senior from Paducah, Ky., this year’s turnout was much larger than previous years.

“With the addition of Kappa Delta, there was a larger group this year,” Hudson said. “They all came out to support the ones returning and the ones doing this for their first time. The energy and enthusiasm was certainly at an all-time high tonight. I’d say there were well over 1,500 people in the auditorium. It was a great show with a lot of talent and everyone did exceptionally well.”

Story by Katrina Yarbrough, Staff writer