THUNDER BAY – After playing in his first dodgeball tournament Douglas Wilson is certain he’ll do it again, though with more preparation next time.
Wilson, and his teammates on the Fat Guys Auto Parts squad, made their debut in the annual GenNext dodgeball tournament, which was held on Saturday at the Sports Dome.
“It’s our first year but it won’t be our last. We’re going to start training a little earlier,” he said.
“One of our employees asked us to participate and said we were going to raise some money. I thought it was a good idea.”
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Now in its eighth year, the tournament has raised about $160,000 for the local United Way, with the 2015 event raising more than $22,000.
Keith Anderson, chair of GenNext cabinet, said the event is one of three fundraisers the group holds yearly.
With the United Way funding so many local organizations and benefitting one in three city residents, it’s a fun and active way to make a difference.
“It really strengthens the community and that’s what GenNext is all about, getting young individuals out and supporting the community,” Anderson said.
There were 16 teams taking part in this year’s version of the tournament, which opens in the morning with a round robin schedule before concluding with playoffs later in the day.
While that represents a dip from past years, Anderson attributes that to a scheduling change that puts the tournament at the tail end of the March Break.
Many of the teams are repeat participants, a trend organizers hope to expand in future years.
“You see a lot of the teams here have been here since Day 1 and we love that,” Anderson said. “They obviously love playing and enjoying the tournament so we’re looking for more of that going forward and hopefully we’ll encourage more people to come back next year.”
For Wilson, he said it has already worked.
“We’re having so much fun,” Wilson said, adding it’s friendly for children and families to come watch.
