BY JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF
Dodgeball is coming to Fort Hays State University. On Wednesday, February 1, Student Engagement will host a new event for the students of FHSU to participate in – a fun-filled night of amicable rivalry through the childhood game of dodgeball.
Student Engagement Specialist Parker Opat explains that although the purpose of the new event is to create contests between students, it is all for good fun and is actually a way to bring the FHSU community closer together.
“The purpose of this event is to get students out and active through friendly competition,” Opat said. “We also hope student organizations and athletic departments take this opportunity to compete and show off their school pride.”
Opat goes on to describe where the idea for the tournament was first discussed.
“The idea came along when Student Engagement Staff were discussing some of their favorite movies from their childhood. One of the movies brought up quite often was the movie Dodgeball,” he said. “After some joking around, we decided to bring the idea to life and have our own dodgeball tournament.”
Although this is the first year of the event, Opat hopes it is not the last.
“Depending on how this year goes, it will hopefully be a returning event in future years,” he said.
With much-added suspense, Opat hints at an upcoming dodgeball opposition.
“I can tell you that there will be a showdown between a Greek Life Chapter and an Athletic Team, but I will not disclose exactly who at this time,” he said.
Opat also touched on a few other Student Engagement partnerships within the upcoming year.
“Student Engagement is partnering with numerous organizations to put on a wide variety of events this semester,” Opat said. “This includes the Black History Month Banquet with BSU, The Small Business Market with help from the Hays community, and even a variety of tailgates for this spring’s sporting events.”
Opat simplifies the reason behind the many events that Student Engagement plans, hosts, or helps with.
“Student Engagement’s goal is to always provide a fun time for students while giving them the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and meet new people,” he said.
The ‘Student Engagement’s rendition of Dodgeball’ event will take place from 5-7:00 pm on Wednesday, February 1, in the Auxiliary Gyms located in Cunningham Hall.
The Dodgeball Tournament will have free pizza and drinks for all participants, with prizes that will be given out to the winning team. This event is open to any and all students to participate in. Teams consist of up to six players each with no minimum limit. Student Engagement has been hard at work by also reaching out to a variety of groups around campus to help make this the best event possible. Groups are allowed to have multiple teams within the tournament.
More information about the event can be found here.