"Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge,” famous from the movie Dodgeball, are the words that all of the players today at the annual United Way Play4Life Dodgeball Challenge had to live by. As the teams entered the gymnasium, they displayed themselves as teams to be reckoned with, bound by unity and determination, but more over with the mentality that only the strong survive. Now all we need is "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background.
"Well we started off with a lot of 12 ounce curls for your throwing arm, but most importantly you have to make the wife mad so she throws pots and pans at you and if you can dodge those pans, you'll have no trouble with the dodgeballs," John McGuire of the UPS Driver team said when asked about his team’s training regimen.
Over 200 players, which composed 26 teams of eight, played for this year’s championship and a year’s worth of bragging rights. The United Way of La Porte County puts on this event at the Marquette High School gymnasium as a fun fundraiser with a little bit of a competitive spin. The event today is expected to raise over $8000.
"This event has brought in many people from all over the community forms great cause," Mayor Ron Meer said. "This event is a lot of fun and I haven’t played in 30 years. All facets of the community are here from government to of course the fire department and police department have a huge rivalry going on. I'm just really enjoying it."
Congratulations to the American Red Cross team, who defeated the "Throwbacks" to win the 2013 championship.