On Saturday, March 1, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, the LU Recess Club and the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity joined together to host a dodgeball tournament in the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center. The teams of six competed to win their choice of two Lego sets. Recess Club Secretary and Wellness Center Intermural Intern, junior Bryn Farmer, who organized the teams and bracket, said, “It was the highest turnout for a Wellness event that I’ve seen in a while, so that was really cool.”
The day started “round robin”–style, with teams playing multiple others on each side of the gym to later be placed in a double elimination bracket. This tournament posed a new rule that avid dodgeball players might not be familiar with: the baskets in the Wellness Center were down, and if a team managed to score a basket on the opposing side, then they would eliminate two people from the opposing team. The tournament brought teams of sororities, fraternities and other athletic teams on campus to compete. With team names like “Big Booty Squad” and “Assy and Classy,” it was bound to be a great tournament. Tension was high as dodgeballs flew across the Wellness Center, teams desperately cheering on their teammates to catch a ball and bring them back into the game.
As early as 1:30 p.m., teams were already being eliminated from the bracket until only two teams remained in the championship for the Lego set. It was “2VR,” which included LU Men’s Basketball team members, versus “Good Boy.” It was a fierce full-court matchup that had 2VR down five players to two. 2VR came as close as a three-vs.-one situation when 2VR’s final player threw a dodgeball into the hands of a Good Boy player, ending the game. The Good Boy team chose the Bonsai Tree Lego set and 2VR went home with the Orchid set. It was a full day of fun and competitiveness, as Farmer said: “I think sometimes at Lawrence we stick very firmly to our groups, and something as silly as dodgeball is a good way to break out of that habit. Overall, I’m really happy with how it went, even if it was a bit chaotic.”