On Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008, Homestead’s second annual dodgeball tournament took place in the Monta Vista gym. The tournament first became an annual tradition in 2006, when Monta Vista dropped off a dodgeball at the principal’s office. Monta Vista boasted that they would defeat Homestead in an upcoming dodgeball match, and the idea for the tournament arose.

Since then, the tournament has been organized by the hosting school’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) organization. The tournament was played before a near-capacity crowd, against every other school in the district except Lynbrook High School, which was unable to compete in the tournament because of a lack of teacher participitation. According to Principal Graham Clark, Homestead’s entire allotment of tickets was purchased.

The tournament was structured in match format, with single-elimination. A different set of rules were used for the tournament, with some varying rules regarding getting hit, and stepping over the line. During the tournament, the universal ‘catch’ rule did not apply, as once a player was out, catching an opposing player’s ball would not allow them to get back into the game.

Approximately 40 staff members from Homestead participated in the tournament, in four sub-groups: men’s, women’s, co-ed, and over-40s. None of the four groups made it all the way to victory in the final round, although the men’s team made it to the final round. This was a step down from Homestead’s success last year, when Homestead won the final round in two of the four categories.

According to AP U.S. history teacher Scott Wilson, a lowered amount of practices held this year could have been a factor in the drop-off in success.

The money that was raised from the dodgeball tournament, approximately $5,000 was donated to the March of Dimes charity to fight muscular dystrophy.