SGA’s Annual Snowbowl Dodgeball Tournament. The students and players crowded the bleachers, taking their seats as they saw the lineup of colorful dodgeballs ready to be thrown. Dodgeball is an old memory for many students because it was often played during elementary school. They did not think it would make a comeback—until SGA made it possible!
The Snowbowl Dodgeball Tournament consisted of six teams (with six people on each team) playing head-to-head in a bracket-style tournament.
It all started between Teams 1 and 2. They stood at opposite sides of the gym, waiting for the referee to blow their whistle and yell, “Go!” Once heard, both teams ran to the balls with all their energy, grabbing them as fast as possible and immediately throwing them at the opposite team. Both teams played competitively, but near the end, Team 1 was left with most of their players and Team 2 was left with a single one, deeming Team 1 the winners and moving them up the bracket. Senior Hassan Maroof, a player from Team 1, shared, “I wasn’t thinking about anything except winning, and I think I put up a decent performance but definitely could have played better.”
To continue, Teams 3 and 4 were up. Team 3 was composed of all juniors while Team 4 was entirely of seniors, which built tension in the room. This round lasted for a while compared to all the other rounds as both teams were putting their all into this win. From the bleacher’s perspective, all the audience could hear were balls getting thrown and shoes shuffling back and forth, the active movement making watchers’ anticipation grow more and more by the second. “I was invested in each round of the game, watching how committed everyone on the team [was] reeled me in,” expressed sophomore Madison Jules. Everyone in the crowd cheered and yelled throughout the game, making the tournament fun for everyone. Team 4 ended up being the winners of their first game.
The moment everyone had been waiting for had finally come: the finals between Teams 1 and 4. They both made their way to their sides of the gym, stretching and prepping for one of the last rounds of the tournament. It started strong between both teams. They lasted for a while, throwing the balls at each other and getting members out, but after a little bit, there was a shocking turn, leaving one player on each team. These players were seniors Hassan Maroof and Alejandro Puig, who had to go head-to-head. This round ended with Alejandro on Team 4 winning after both players were playing very ambitiously. “The highlight for me was going against Alejandro in the end, and even though he won, it was fun to go against such a great opponent,” exclaimed senior Hassan Maroof. At the end of the finals, all four teams had a lot of fun playing, whether they lost or won, and they all played with good sportsmanship, supporting each other.
After Teams 1-4 played and the winning team from the finals was figured out, it was time for Teams 5 and 6 to go against each other. They played a quick round because both these teams came to play strongly and were ready. Team 5 won and now had to go against Team 4 to see who the final Snowball Champions would be. The crowd went wild when Teams 4 and 5 went against each other, the balls flew everywhere across the gym, hitting players and getting them out continuously, leaving one member on Team 4 and one on Team 5. Now, these two players had to go against each other: Alejandro Puig, Team 4, and Abraham Penaloza, Team 5. Still, the round ended quickly because Alejandro caught the ball when Abraham threw it. Junior Abraham Penaloza had many thoughts during the game and expressed, “I was excited to play in the tournament, but in the end, I felt disappointed because I was the last one left on my team and messed up.” After all the teams had played, it was finally time to announce the champions of the Snowbowl Dodgeball Tournament of 2024, which was Team 4.
