PHS PERSPECTIVE: Dodgeball tournament brings adrenaline rush

By Byrne Fahey
   My ponytail swung, my legs shook, and my heartbeat was palpable as my team lined up on the edge of the court.
   ”Thumbs up if you’re ready!” called the referee. I gazed across the gym at the neat row of eight Hun School boys, uniformed in menacing black and red, smirking back at us. I turned to my own team, a co-ed jumble of friends — the wrestling champ, the constantly injured girl, the chess addict. We had lost two members to a Model UN conference. This round would be a cinch for our opponents. Preparing to laugh off the inevitable embarrassment, I raised my thumb in the air.
   ”Annnddddd GO!”
   Both teams were off, sprinting towards the colored dodgeballs at the half-court line. A few yards out, I faltered. The Hun boy had already reached the orange ball I was aiming for and was smoothly transitioning into a throw. Straight at me. I couldn’t believe I would get out so early.
   But then, I didn’t. I caught it! My friends in the crowd cheered and the ref gave a sharp tweet on his whistle. Bewildered, I glanced at the ball in my hands, checking to make sure it was truly there. The attacker, even more surprised than I, slunk off to the sideline. Out.
   Adrenaline rushed, balls flew, and before I knew it, there was just one member left on the opposing team. A minute later, my teammate caught his toss. We had won our first round.
   It was my first time competing in the Corner House Dodgeball Tournament, which took place Nov. 30, but the organization has held the event annually for the past six years. The tournament is one of several events run by the Corner House Student Board, a group of 13 high school seniors from Princeton schools that serve as liaisons to the Corner House Municipal board.
   Corner House’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of Princeton adolescents, young adults, and their families, specifically by focusing on drug and alcohol issues. One tactic for preventing substance abuse among local teenagers is to offer alternate weekend activities, and that’s just what the dodgeball tournament was.
   Student Board member Margo Budline explained that despite a $10 registration fee for each team, the event was not a fundraiser.
   ”The money that we charged for registration was used for buying water for the teams [and] partially toward paying for the T-shirts that the officials wore,” she said. “The purpose of [the dodgeball tournament] isn’t to raise money for Corner House, it’s to provide an alcohol- and drug-free event for kids to go to on a Friday or Saturday night. We just hope that people go as an alternative to drinking.”
   This year, Student Board members agreed that the turnout didn’t disappoint.
   ”I’ll be honest we were hesitant, all the teams signed up late,” said Sam Nelson, a Student Board member. “But we ended up having a lot of people at that night. Sadly, once their teams lost, [some] decided to leave, but we started off with a good 500 people.”
   The tournament is always run by the Student Board, and thus changes over hands of leadership each year. According to Margo, the group of seniors organizes most aspects of the event on its own.
   ”All that Corner House did for us was book the gym, so we had to plan, we had to publicize, we had to get teams to sign up, we had to make the forms, collect registration and money,” she said. “The day of the tournament, once we had all the sign-ups, we had to make the bracket. The referees were provided by the [Princeton University] eating clubs, but we had to set up everything.”
   Thanks to their work, Princeton teenagers had a friendly competition to take part in or simply attend as a spectator on Nov. 30.
   Ellis Bloom, a senior, has played in the tournament for three consecutive years. “It’s been fun, it’s been a really good time,” he said. “The adrenaline builds up before your team goes out to play.”
   And while the Corner House Dodgeball Tournament is designed to be just for fun, I can attest to that rush of adrenaline. Turns out my team was eliminated swiftly in the next round, but my only regret is only entering the tournament senior year.