Several Ohio State students tackled relationship abuse with the Powerpuff flag football tournament that concluded Saturday.

The tournament began April 16 and was sponsored by It’s Abuse, an OSU student organization that promotes healthy relationships. The group focuses on education and prevention of all types of abuse, including psychological, physical, emotional and technological.

It’s Abuses’s president, Jamie Gaynes, was the head organizer of the event.

“It’s my baby and our biggest event,” said Gaynes, a second-year in psychology. “We did this because OSU doesn’t have anything like this. [It doesn’t] have a connected women’s network for advocates of the victims and those affected.”

She said that when people hear the term powderpuff, they think of women playing to be objectified, so the group named its tournament Powerpuff.

“This [event] empowers women. They’re strong and can stand up for themselves,” Gaynes said.

The tournament involved eight teams of female players from OSU sororities, scholars programs and friends of It’s Abuse. Male student leaders from OSU organizations coached the women.

“Men are affected [by abuse] and can be advocates,” Gaynes said, which is why the group chose to have men serve as coaches.

Charles McKeever, a second-year in linguistics, coached the Mount Leadership Society team.

“In a place as big as Ohio State, there are bound to be countless people feeling the effects of relationship abuse either by being a part to it or having to watch a friend or family member suffer through it,” McKeever said. “This is a great event for the school and the community, and I was beyond thrilled with both the girls’ enthusiasm and the overwhelming fan support at all of the games.”

McKeever noted that OSU is implementing the tournament as a five-year program.

Joining the tournament was free, but Gaynes had one rule for the teams: They had to agree to a meeting with Gaynes and It’s Abuse to discuss the issues relating to intimacy and partner abuse.

Paige Van Wormer, a second-year in fashion and retail and a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta team, signed up for the tournament for fun and recreation, but said that she soon realized the event held much more weight than that.

“After Jamie sat down with our team and talked about her personal experiences with abusive relationships and why she created the tournament, she made it clear that our involvement was so much more than exercise and quality time,” Van Wormer said. “We are sending a message that we are individuals no longer tolerating abusive behavior in relationships and ideally portraying strong examples for others in dangerous situations.”

The tournament, which was held at the turf fields near the RPAC, came to a close with the women of the Alpha Phi sorority taking home the win.

“The fact that there are women out there willing to participate in a tournament like this to show we have a voice and that we will not put up with sexual violence is a wonderful statement to the beauty and power women have in the world,” said Cassandra Manna, Alpha Phi team member and a second-year in business. “I participated in the tournament to help show that my sorority and I support the strength of women and that we need to fight to put an end to sexual violence in every shape and form.”

It’s Abuse meets at 5:30 p.m. every other Tuesday in Meeting Room 2 at the RPAC.