The Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society hosted the first ever KDP dodgeball tournament this past Saturday that allowed dodgeball enthusiasts and students who simply like to hit things a chance to get involved in a good cause.
According to the Chair of the KDP Fundraising Committee Laura Carvalho, the decision to hold a dodgeball tournament came about because the organization wanted to put on a fundraiser that would get the KDP name out there and get the Keene State College community more involved.
“This is our first tournament, but hopefully it will turn into an annual thing because it is a great way to get our name out there. KDP events are more educational, so this was a fun way for us to branch out,” Carvalho said.
In the weeks leading up to the dodgeball tournament, KDP members posted flyers around campus and on social media websites to encourage students to get involved. Carvalho said that once students saw the flyers in resident halls and on social media sites all they had to do was email or message her or anyone in KDP with a team name to complete the registration process.
Secretary of KDP Catherine Tewell added that students were allowed to form teams of seven and that each team was charged $10 upon registration. Tewell said that the tournament was an enjoyable way to raise money for the group and the upcoming events that the organization has planned.
“We wanted a fun way to raise money for our group and to get our name out across campus. We are a big organization on campus and wanted more people to come and join us,” Tewell said.
She continued, “This money will go towards the ICE Conference and the Literacy Alive event we hold yearly.”
The dodgeball tournament took place at 2 p.m. at the Keene State Recreation Center, where 12 out of the 14 registered teams that were scheduled to compete participated in eight-minute single-elimination dodgeball games.
“We asked all participants to [arrive] fifteen minutes prior to their game time just to check in and get ready. After winning their game, the team will be given the time at which they will play next in playoffs,” Carvalho said.
She continued, “We randomly selected teams to play against each other. The winning team received a free pizza from Athens and champion t-shirts.”
Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer
Dodgeball participant Ben Flanders said that he thought this event was entertaining, competitive and good physical activity. Flanders said that he heard about the tournament through friend and KDP board member Catherine Tewell and decided to make a team.
“Cat Tewell told me about this and wanted me to make a team so that there would be more teams and so everyone could be together for this,” Flanders said. “All my friends and I enjoy dodgeball so we all decided to make a team together.”
Flanders said his team did well in the tournament. “We made it to the finals and unfortunately lost,” Flanders said, “We had our best player, Cody Shanks, left on the floor at the end but he was not able to pull it out like he always does.”
In terms of his participation with on-campus organization events, Flanders said he is more likely to get involved if other the events are also this active and competitive because he thinks it is a good way to meet new people and have fun with friends.
Both Carvalho and Tewell said that their main goal for this event was for everyone involved to have a good time.
“We hope that everyone that comes out has a great time and enjoys it. We were really excited because I am a dodgeball enthusiast myself. We are hoping for some competitive fun games and hopefully get to see another side of KDP,” Tewell said.
Brogan can be contacted at bwessell@kscequinox.com
