Untoucha-balls reign at Carson City dodgeball tourney

Balls were flying Thursday night during the annual Dodge for a Cause tournament.

The charity dodgeball tournament, hosted by the District Attorney’s Office, featured teams of Carson City employees all there to compete and raise awareness about domestic violence.

“We just want it to be a fun night and raise some money to contribute to a good cause,” said District Attorney Jason Woodbury. “We want to use the event to present more information and raise awareness about the issue of domestic violence.”

This is the second year the event has been held to raise money for various charities dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence.

“Last year we had a successful event and raised nearly $1,500 plus it was fun and brought a lot of city department folks and the community together for a good cause,” said Woodbury. “It helped promote the issue of domestic violence and help the comprehensive effort to stop that, so we decide to do it again.”

This year, the proceeds will go toward building a new child advocacy center for youths who suffer from sexual or physical abuse.

“It is our first step to transition from what we have — which is an interview room at the Sheriff’s Office — to making something as comfortable as we can for that child dealing with trauma.”

Though the center is years off, Woodbury said they wanted to start getting the funds together as soon as possible. The center will have a professional interview room for talking with children as well as medics to examine for sexual assault and to create a comfortable and welcoming environment for children dealing with the trauma.

And even though the event is for a serious cause, everyone still wanted to come out and have fun.

“I think with the stress of all of our jobs, it is nice to be able to enjoy each other’s company outside of work for a common goal and its great to use this facility in a fun way and benefit a good cause,” said Jennifer Budge, director of Parks and Rec and captain of We Like Big Parks and We Can’t Lie.

The seven teams met at the MAC to see who would emerge as the new dodgeball champs. Representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, Juvenile Probation Services, Parks and Recreation and Open Spaces, City Hall, Department of Culture and Tourism, the District Attorney’s Office and the courts were all present.

Each round was double elimination, with teams falling one by one.

Eventually, only two teams remained: the Carson City Sheriff’s Office — the Untoucha-balls — and the District Attorney’s Office, the Invinci-balls. But it was the Untoucha-balls who reigned supreme for the second year in a row.

“It was nice the District Attorney’s Office to invite the other city employees to watch us win again,” joked Sgt. Daniel Gonzales, Untoucha-balls team captain.

“It was great to participate in such a great event for the community,” added Deputy Taylor Mieras. “We enjoy getting to give back to the community.”

Awards were also given for best costume and team name, with participants dressing up from purple fairies in tutus to T-shirts with Parks and Rec character Ron Swanson.

In the end, the event raised hundreds of dollars to go toward domestic violence victims.