On November 22, the 2022 dodgeball tournament was held at 7:00 for the sixth time In BHS history. There were 22 groups signed up for the tournament this year, with six or seven members on each team. Of the 22, there were 20 teams signed up to play in the competitive league and only two teams who opted for the fun league, with great games played in both divisions. Although the competitive league is fun and exciting, it can also be intense with very straightforward, unavoidable rules that need to be followed. Players were to use their hands to retrieve the ball and could only get a member of the other team out if they hit the player below the face, anything above the chest would be considered unsafe. Members could also get opponents out by catching the ball cleanly on the fly; if it touched the ground or bounced before being caught, it would not count. The students at Bernards are highly competitive so any mockery of these rules was not taken lightly and people would be called out immediately.
The tournament was run by the student council and peer leaders of BHS, directed by Mrs. Samson, a co-runner of the peer leadership program and Mrs. Reitz, the leader of the student council. They made sure everything was well organized and kept the tournament serious but also fun and exciting for everyone involved. If students were not playing in a game, they were on the sideline cheering on their fellow classmates, keeping the energy in the gym high at all times.
Teams showed up ready to play in a wide variety of costumes that ranged from ice-hockey players to barbeque cook-out dads. The first games of the night were taken a little more lightly, but by those final rounds students here at BHS were fully invested in the tournament, jumping, squatting, lunging, putting everything they had into staying alive in the game. Syd Incarnato, a senior here at BHS, “has loved being part of the dodgeball tournament in [her] years at Bernards. It’s always so much fun to compete, and the energy and excitement amps up each year. Our teams bring the intensity and enthusiasm through good play and fun themes.”
The dodgeball tournament is a perfect example of the positive environment here at BHS. More than 150 kids signed up to play for the tournament with participation seen from every grade level. It was the perfect way for kids to step out of their comfort zone and try something new they may have never experienced before. Senior Maggie Dolan, “loved how involved everyone got in the tournament, and enjoyed seeing the freshmen go up against the seniors in a light hearted game of dodgeball.”
