It’s every high school student’s dream: to get back at their teachers for all the homework, tests, and lectures endured throughout the years, and to do it at their own game dodgeball.
On Friday, March 5, Guilderland High School hosted the school’s second dodgeball tournament, with proceeds going to the Altamont Food Pantry.
The event was started last year by the district’s physical education teachers as a way to have the students participate in an event that benefits the community.
Last year, we gave the donation to the Altamont and Guilderland food pantries. This year it will just be going to Altamont,` said Allison Relyea, a physical education teacher who helped organize he event.
She said representatives of the Guilderland Food Pantry encouraged organizers to give all of the proceeds this year to the Altamont Food Pantry because there was such a great need.
The double elimination dodgeball tournament featured 32 teams, each with five male students and five female students, as well as two faculty members. Relyea said that the student’s response to the event was overwhelming.
`We started signing teams up in January, and we filled up in less than a month,` she said. `It’s just a positive, positive event.`
Sarah Hubbard, a business teacher at Guilderland High School, was a member of `The Fiends` team. She said a group of students from her accounting class approached her about being one of the two teachers on the team.
`There was so much energy in the school today. It’s exciting to have this much energy for a good cause,` she said.
Cody Futia, a senior at the high school, said his team, `The 12-Man Wolfpack,` whose name was inspired by the movie `The Hangover,` was playing for redemption. Last year, the players made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated. This year, he said, the team was revamped and was hoping to go all the way.
`We have a lot of good team chemistry,` he said.
Achieving redemption will take at least one more year for the 12-Man Wolfpack, eventually, the SWAT Team would go on to be crowned champions at this year’s event.
The night wasn’t a complete loss for Futia and his teammates, at the very least the 12-Man Wolfpack team help raise money for a good cause.
`We are happy everyone came out, because it all goes to benefit the Altamont Food Pantry,`said Futia.
The 500 plus ticket sales would yield $3,500 for the pantry, $300 more than was raised at last year’s event.
While the food pantry received the proceeds from ticket sales, parents from the Lacrosse Booster Club manned the concession stand to raise money for the school’s lacrosse team.
Brian Summers, president of the booster club for the section two champions, said raising money at the event helps cover the travel costs for the team.
`It gives us a chance to play top quality teams,` he said.
Summers said he hopes money raised at the event will help the team to be able to travel to Seattle, Wash., for a tournament next year.
`We are here to support the kids, and give them a better opportunity to succeed,` said Summers.
Relyea said the idea to raise money by hosting a dodgeball tournament has spread to other school districts as well.
The Voorheesville School District will be hosting an upcoming tournament, and, Relyea said, the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District has contacted her about forming a dodgeball tournament as well.
`Word gets out there, and people are looking to do something positive for the community,` said Relyea.
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