Dodging Balls, Helping Friends

Post date: Nov 15, 2013 5:55:57 PM

Students and faculty raise funds for senior experience

by Jordan Smith, staff

For one night, students and faculty of the school were told to disregard social protocol against throwing items,and hurling balls at each other as fast as they could. What might cause this insanity? A fundraiser to help build a disc golf course.

Denee Lindgren (12) and Jade Downie (12) said they decided to organize the tournament held on Nov. 11 to help their friends, Cory Kindsfater (12), Chase Hamling (12) and Speed McCloud (12) raise money for their senior cumulative experience project, building a disc golf course.

The reason they chose dodgeball was the same reason some students signed up, “It sounded fun,” Kadin Bestgen (11) said.

It was “Something new,” Kody Kracht (11) said.

Going in, many competitors felt strong, such as Paul Beck (11), who said he felt “very confident. We will dominate.”

Not to be outdone by hype, the competition was fierce. Besides the traditional rule against head shots, students could aim wherever they pleased. Though, officials such as Justin Ashburn (12) and Brody Jorgensen (12) weren’t afraid to call people out if they broke any rules.

Many teams had interesting choices in attire, such as the girls soccer team, “Meow,” who wore shirts featuring a Persian cat face or another all male team wearing multi-colored spandex.

At the end of the tournament, the winning team was Ball Stars after beating the Ram Rodds in the final round. Rounding out third was Off Constantly.

At the end of the competition, the overall atmosphere was one of seemingly universal enjoyment.

Andrew Strickland (12) who had just lost moments before said, “We did good,” and “I loved it.”

Lindgren and Downie were also pleased with the results. In total, they raised roughly $420, from entry and door fees. There were 88 competitors on 11 teams, and 110 spectators. Lindgren said the turnout was bigger than expected.

The organizers felt the tournament made a positive impression and are even considering organizing another in the spring, possibly to raise money for cancer victims.