Blog

Last night, after a 30-year absence from competition, I was dragged out of Dodgeball retirement to play for a charity event, Go Pink at Summer in the City!, to raise money for the Komen Eugene Race for the Cure®.

Joining me in the Dodgeball madness were my fellow co-workers and spouses. I use the word "madness" because we played with six balls on the court, making for some fast, intense action!

Playground Sports helped setup and manage the tournament, with a fenced off section of Willamette Street serving as the court. Referees were there to enforce the rules and to blow the whistle when one of us was knocked out.

Our team consisted of our designer, Paul, and his wife, Monica, my wife, Sandy, our Web developer, Cory, and a guy from the crowd we needed as a sixth player. (Our vice president, Dana, and administrative assistant, Nichole, played later, but I missed those matches, sadly.)

The first match of the tournament was between two experienced Dodgeball teams, allowing the rest of us to refresh our memories on how the game was played. For me, it mostly brought back memories of 6th grade recess, playing fierce battles on the blacktop.

Team CAWOOD was to play the winner, and we figured we would be crushed quickly. But amazingly, we won! And we won a second match, too! But amidst the high-fives and heavy breathing was also a bit of cockiness, so we lost our third match rather quickly. But we walked off the court proud, having done well.

The best part? Oregon Imaging Centers donated $1 for every person wearing pink to support the Race, and the turnout was impressive. In all, more than 200 people wore pink. Not just pink shirts, but pink wigs and pink dresses were also on display. One guy even played Dodgeball in a pink skirt, drawing quite a few appreciative comments from the women in the crowd. At future Race for the Cure events, I might have to dye my afro wig pink and wear that, I’ve decided.

But it might be another 30 years before I play Dodgeball again!