Organizing a dodgeball tournament is fairly straightforward. Here are the steps your nonprofit should take to host a stellar dodgeball tournament:

1. Pick a venue.

Ideally, pick a basketball or tennis court, since there are already boundary lines on the floor. Your venue should also have plenty of space for spectator seating and concessions stands.

2. Determine the rules.

There are multiple types of dodgeball and many variations on the rules. Make it clear to participants what your rules are. For example, if someone gets hit in the head with a dodgeball, are they out or is the person who threw it out?

3. Recruit tournament staff.

You will want to recruit tournament staff to make sure that the event goes smoothly. Here are a few roles they can take:

• Referees. You’ll want someone who can reinforce the rules and make a fair judgment call if a dispute occurs between teams.
• Scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will record which teams won and lost, and determine the next team a winning team will go against.
• MC. Most dodgeball tournaments have music to help liven up the atmosphere, and an announcer to inform spectators and competitors about what will happen next.

You can recruit staff members from your volunteers, supporters, and existing donors.

4. Host the event.

On the day of the event, focus on making sure your participants have a fun time! This could mean that you allow the teams to play a warm-up game or two, or that you create a loser’s bracket so that teams can continue playing even after they’ve been knocked out of the main competition.

5. Crown the winner.

At the end of the event, crown the winning team and give them their prize. You should also this time to thank all of your attendees and sponsors for a great event!