The Athens Drive Annual charity dodgeball tournament, an event that matches inconsequential fun with good deeds, was held January 6, 2023. This was the sixth year Athens had the tournament; the dodgeball game was to raise funds for the program and charity Backpack Buddies.
“We raised $1,020 and we collected 63 boxes of food for the program to support our Athens students and families,” said Stephen Mares, principal.
The fee to get into or play the game was either 5 dollars or five boxes of food that will be donated to Backpack Buddies.
Backpack Buddies is the recipient of all such funds. The charity is run in Raleigh and donates food to families in need all around the triangle. Donating to Backpack Buddies is a way Athens helps out students and the community.
“Of course, Backpack Buddies is the winner, we give all the cash and all the food donations straight to the charity. We take nothing from the earnings,” said Christopher Remaley, teacher.
Though punctuality is important for an event like this, many students waited until the last minute to sign up. On the last day of sign-ups, 11 teams signed up to play.
“The game is in two days and only one team signed up to play [until the last day],” said Remaley.
Still, the tournament sorted itself out.
After many rounds came the game before finals. The crowd was screaming the music played in the gym and having fun cheering the teams on. The crown was getting angsty waiting for the final round. ‘The Ballers’ won against ‘Theta Orange’ and as a result, ‘The Ballers’ were moving on to the finals. On the other side of the bracket played, ‘Black Mambas’ verses ‘Theta Blue,’ and by the end of that round ‘Black Mambas’ won.
“I was so close to winning, but after many rounds, we were disappointed that we lost right before finals. I’m also sad that we lost our winning streak for the baseball team. I’m going to play again next year to try and win. In the end, I’m glad I played for a good cause,” said Hanzel Diaz, teammate for ‘Theta Blue.’
As the crowd started roaring to support the teams, came the last round. After a suspenseful game of knocking out the other team members ‘Black Mambas’ won the tournament over ‘Theta Orange.”. The music blared and people cheered while the team celebrated their win.
“I wanted to win it all this year because we were all seniors. Felt good winning after everyone doubted us and next we will do volleybros,” said Dwiki Abidin, teammate for Black Mambas.
