Don’t dodge the fun

Dodgeball has traditionally been seen as a sport where the weakest links are picked off one by one, but this year’s Club CARE dodgeball tournament aims to raise money for those at their weakest in fighting childhood cancer.  The double-elimination, charity tournament is set to take place on March 9, starting at 3 in the high school gymnasium.

The class of 2007 was the first Dodgeball Tournament. It was inspired by a couple if boys in the club back when it was called Peer Helpers. “Before I was a Club CARE adviser, I used to ref the tournament and I looked forward to it every year,” said Christa Daugherty.

Braden Petty, senior, has been participating in the tournament since he was in 7th grade. “I first started playing with my dad, my brother, and some of my dad’s buddies. After awhile, I decided to have a team of my own. Some years had passed, and I found the perfect team to get second place a lot. It is really fun to do. I enjoy beating kids with dodgeballs, especially close friends of mine,” said Petty.

Club CARE. seniors, Bentli Burke and Emily Parrish, help plan the dodgeball tournament.  Parrish is the treasurer of Club Care, but for the dodgeball tournament, she is in charge of the equipment, teams, and refs. “One of the best things we do each year is a ‘costume contest’ and we also pick a winner. This has been going on for a while, and we usually have a pretty good turn out,” said Parrish. Burke is the President of Club Care. “During the event Club C.A.R.E members sign up to either help at the check-in, ticket sales, raffle ticket sale, concession stand or the runner which are the people who stand in the gym and help collect balls that fly or roll out of bounds,” said Burke.

Teams consist of 6 players and the cost is $30 per team or $5 per person. There will be a lot of entertainment and food. If students or community members are interested in coming, but not participating in the tournament, the cost is $4 for adults and $2 for students. “In addition to playing dodgeball, we also have a raffle throughout the event including donations from local shops, a concession stand, and a performance from the Big Spring High School dance team,” said Burke. Each raffle ticket is 50 cents or 20 tickets for $5.