HERNDON, Va. - Fairfax County school groups, drug-free coalitions and anti-underage-drinking groups are protesting the release of a video game version of the college drinking game “beer pong.”

In a May 19 press release, Nevada-based JV Games Inc. announced its new “Frat Party Games” line for the Wii video game system.

Beer Pong will be the line's first video game in the series when it is released next week.

“Beer pong, born on a college campus in the early '80s, has grown from a college drinking game to a competitive sport in bars across the country,” the release states.

Lisa Lombardozzi, chairman of the Greater Herndon Community Coalition, sent out a coalition newsletter last week warning parents of the game's “Teen” rating and issuing a petition for parents to sign and send to JV Games, protesting the rating and the game's release.

Fairfax County school-community coalitions were established in 1993 and were organized around the boundaries of each high school and their feeder schools. The Greater Herndon Community Coalition was established in October 1994.

Lombardozzi said she was made aware of the game by the Safe and Drug-Free Youth Section of Fairfax County Public Schools.

“The game encourages younger kids to emulate the patterns of college-age kids,” Lombardozzi said.

“Beer pong is an activity that normalizes and encourages heavy binge drinking, shows blatant disregard for the dangers of alcohol poisoning, and can cost lives and result in injury,” said Gen. Arthur T. Dean, chairman and CEO of the D.C.-based organization, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, a national membership organization representing more than 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions across the country.

“Furthermore, promoting the video game Beer Pong in the Frat Party Games series under a Teen rating ignores the fact that many youth involved in fraternities on college campuses are not of legal drinking age and that youth as young as 13 can purchase the game under this rating,” Dean said of the game's upcoming release.

Larry Dilworth, a vice president of CADCA, is a Herndon resident and sits on the board of GHCC.

“I think it's kind of funny,” responded Vince Valenti, a spokesman for JV Games, about the controversy. “The game promotes the sport of beer pong. We are not advocating drinking any more than watching cartoons or watching the TV show 'Cheers,' or even going bowling or to a baseball game.”

With this game, “if anything, you're going to be drinking less,” Valenti said on Monday. “Because you are too busy playing the game, trying to beat your opponent, to be constantly picking up a beer and drinking it.”

Jennifer Cipolla Hamilton, executive director of the Northern Virginia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said her organization is investigating the game and would be “very disappointed” to find that the game glamorizes drinking in any way.

Kurt Erickson, of the McLean-based Washington Regional Alcohol Program, said his organization is investigating the game's release as well.

Copyright 2008 Fairfax County Times. All rights reserved.

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