38 DECEMBER 2024 Duck and Cover: Daniel Riley, Jack Ladd, Leo Pucci, Jack Collins, Grant Pierce and Mrs. Kinkle. Dodging Dinos: Regan Rassas, Kadan Dubina, Mary Cardenas, Lia Karber, Bianca Wong and Coach Cardenas. PHOTOS COURTESY OF VERITAS PREP Dunk Mamas: Bella Espinosa, Will Barrett, Lily McGeough, Jack Mason and Carson Pope. By Kylie de Best Remember the rush of walking into gym class and spotting a line of red rubber balls waiting in the center of the floor? It could only mean one thing: dodgeball. You can almost still feel the bounce of the ball while trying to catch it and stay in the game. That same energy was alive and well at Veritas Prep this fall, where the school hosted its fifth annual dodgeball tournament. Open to middle and high school students, the tournament allowed them to engage in a fun activity with their peers while building relationships with teachers. To participate, students had to fill out a form listing who they wanted on their team, including one faculty member. Each team came up with a name and themed costumes. This year, 18 middle school teams participated in two games with a bracket-style elimination. Eight high school teams did a “best out of three games” style tournament. Each round lasted around three minutes. A unique part of the game for the middle school teams was that if a team lost a round, it did not mean they were eliminated from the tournament. Instead, the team played against other losing teams, with the team that won having the ability to go back into the regular tournament. The Dodging Dinos and Power Girls won the best costume contest; The Human Targets and Soulja Boys were runners- up, and the Dunk Mamas and Duck and Cover were the official winners of the fifth annual event. “I loved seeing how our teachers behave outside of a normal school day. It was also a great opportunity to bond with my classmates,” student Berkley Tran said. “The music was so much fun, and when my it was team’s – Soulja Boys – turn to play, they played music from Soulja Boy. We were undefeated until the very last round, and I am so proud of the motivation and effort put in by my teammates.” The tournament gathered families together for an afternoon, and in addition to watching the game, fans could pick up a drink and snack from one of the food trucks that stopped by. The money raised is used to cover the cost of the tournament, with leftover funds going toward the senior trip in March. Prizes were given out for the winners, runner-ups, best costumes, and fastest out. The best costume received candy and a medal; the middle school runner-up received a medal and a Zoyo gift card; the high school runner-up received a medal and a Dutch Bros. gift card; and the fastest out received candy and a Starbucks gift card. Dave & Busters and TopGolf gift cards were also part of the pot for this year’s winners. “Each of the winning teams also shares in the glory of a massive trophy that has the previous year’s winners etched on it, plus a custom t-shirt and a medal for each player,” Community Events Chair Jillian Cook said. “We’re excited for next year’s games!” Community is at the center of this dodgeball tournament YIPPIE KI YAY HAPPY HOLIDAYS! IT IS A CHRISTMAS MOVIE! YIPPIE KI YAY NATHAN ANDERSON + PAUL NICOLETTI 480.888.5800 | NATEANDPAUL.COM