Article and photos by Jeffrey Zuckerman
A huge snowstorm the day before could not keep faculty, students, and parents from attending the BHS PTO’s second annual Ultimate Dodgeball Dare on Saturday evening, March 12th. The BHS south gym was packed with fans who cheered for their favorite teams.
Sixteen teams competed in the event, organized by Beachwood parents Dana Darvin and Evy Davis. The main sponsors of the event were the Beachwood Place Chick-fil-A and the University Heights Ben & Jerry’s. Chick-fil-A and Ben & Jerry’s donated decorations, food, t-shirts, and prizes. To add to the evening’s festivities, Chick-fil-A also brought three people dressed as cows who danced, high-fived spectators, and encouraged people to “Eat Mor Chikin.” Other sponsors of the event were the Beachwood Athletic Boosters, the Mandel Jewish Community Center, Solon Freeway Lanes, the Legacy Village Giant Eagle, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
According to Darvin, ten of the sixteen dodgeball teams were student teams and six teams consisted of teachers and administrators. Darvin added that one of the six “teacher” teams included Beachwood Board of Education member Mitchell Luxenberg and Superintendent Dr. Richard Markwardt. The student teams that participated were the Tune Squad, Ragin’ Cajuns, Pound Sign Believe, The Mook Squad, The Punishers, The Deviled Eggs, The Other Guys, Jer-Echos, Team Romeo, and Balls Out. The teacher teams were the Bryden Busters, The Suits, No Child Left Standing, 7 Nation Army, Moving Targets, and Public Employees Giving Back.
Watching the teams play, junior Lauren Lipsyc commented, “I think it’s really awesome that the whole Beachwood community gets involved and that all the Beachwood Schools, parents, teachers, and students can come together.”
After several hours of competition, the Tune Squad, led by senior Nate Sheridan, won the tournament. The other members of the team were seniors Andrew Somogyi, Logan Weisberg, Zac Goldner, and juniors Alex Hohl, Ellis Cohen and Ryan Moss. Each team member received a t-shirt and a one year supply of Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
Proceeds from the Ultimate Dodgeball Dare benefit the High School PTO. Davis explained, “This event raises money for the High School PTO, and what the High School PTO does is fund school programs, like afterprom for seniors. The PTO also helps support student groups and activities. And the PTO assists those hit hard economically who need help paying for student fees for school trips. In addition, the PTO gives a sizeable gift to the High School every other year. The gifts have included benches, artwork, and a television in the school lobby. The PTO tries to give gifts that are useful for the school and that benefit the students.”
Darvin said that this year’s event raised $2,500 for the High School PTO, about $1,500 more than last year’s tournament. Darvin continued, “We raised more this year, especially since there was a little more talk and buzz about the event than last year. Plus, we had more teams this year.”
Davis added, “All of the money we raised came directly from registration fees for teams, admission fees from spectators, raffle tickets and food sales. This year’s event was a great success financially. Thank you to everyone who played and came to watch.”
Darvin and Davis credit Chick-fil-A and Ben & Jerry’s for helping to make the event so successful. Davis said, “They are great supporters of the Beachwood Schools.”
Chick-fil-A donated 100 chicken sandwiches to be sold at the tournament, coupons for a free chicken sandwich for everybody at the event, prizes, t-shirts, and decorations. Tony Alexander, Chick-fil-A Manager, commented, “Since Chick-fil-A and the Beachwood Schools are neighbors, we should work together. I realized that there’s more to life than just making and selling chicken sandwiches. I’m glad I made this decision because now at many Beachwood events, the first question everyone asks is ‘Will Chick-fil-A be there?’” Alexander continued, “I think this event is a great way to build the Beachwood community.”
Ben & Jerry’s donated ice cream bars to be sold at the event, gift certificates, t-shirts, and signs. Manager Jim Leiken said, “A large part of the mission of Ben & Jerry’s is the idea of charity, and this event is perfect to sell a large number of ice cream bars. I think that it’s a fun event.”
Davis described how the Ultimate Dodgeball Dare began. “This event came to be about a year and a half ago. Dana and I were the High School PTO Presidents and we wanted to create a fundraiser that would bring in more money than some of the other ways schools raise money. We wanted to do something fun for the community, and something that high school students would enjoy attending. We wanted to make sure that there would always be enough money for the high school to continue with certain programs. We met with Principal Robert Hardis and Assistant Principal Paul Chase and told them we wanted to put on an event. They liked the idea.”
Darvin and Davis did all of the work organizing this year’s tournament. Volunteers assisted them at the event itself. Davis commented, “In the future, we would love to have a student representative who could help get teams together and coordinate the event.”
