Monroe County CEO students are coordinating a countywide Veterans Day dodgeball tournament for Nov. 10-11 in the Gibault Catholic High School gym. (submitted photo)

Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.

Monroe County CEO students will look to maintain the entertainment value of the sport of dodgeball without the wild antics portrayed in the Ben Stiller-Vince Vaughn comedy of the same name.

Starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 10, three different age groups in the community can participate in a Veterans Day dodgeball tournament in the Gibault Catholic High School gym. Middle school age students will duke it out the first day of the event.

The theme of the event is supporting the nation’s veterans. At 5 p.m. Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day, the Waterloo VFW will present the colors. 

From 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 11, high school students will compete in one bracket, with adults in another. Both days will feature first, second and third place trophies as tournament prizes.

“It’s a countywide event where we’re trying to bring everyone together for some friendly competition,” said Gibault student Joe Busch, who is in the CEO program.

The attendance prize will differ from Friday to Saturday. While middle school students can potentially win a pre-owned PS4, high school students will have the chance to take home a 40-inch smart TV.

The deadline to turn in a form and the $5 registration fee is Nov. 8. To register or for more information, go to monroecountydodgeball.com, email tspringborn@roe45.net or call 939-5650. 

Come to the tournament or watch the action via livestream by following “mocododgeball” on Instagram to see that CEO students didn’t choose the tournament as a way to pit the Average Joes against the Purple Cobras (Yes, another “Dodgeball” movie reference). 

The program requires the group starts up a class business. Busch said dodgeball seemed the appropriate avenue to draw a profit, given the choice between promoting an event, service or product.

“We had a brainstorming session as a class, and we thought this would make for a fun class business,” he added. “Also, we felt like it was within our capabilities to do this.”

Monroe County CEO facilitator Jamie Matthews said the only other parameter given for the project is that students make a profit — be it a one percent profit or .01 percent. 

Busch said the proceeds from the event will go back into the CEO program.

According to Matthews, the dodgeball event counts as the students’ second class business. Students ran a business creating CEO lanyards, badges and t-shirts at the beginning of the school year.

The group started this initial business with a zero bank account, and in order to bring in revenue, needed to sell ad spots on both the badges and shirts. Matthews said the initial experience prepared them for the greater challenge of throwing the dodgeball tournament.

“They learned to start with what they have,” Matthews said. “And it also introduced them to communication and working together.”

For the dodgeball event, Busch said contacting and bringing in sponsors served as the greatest learning curve.

“Pretty much only one out of 10 businesses would respond,” he said. “And then you would call and they would say, ‘Oh, yeah, send me some information.’ And you would send an email and they would never respond.”

Ultimately, though, Busch said the pieces are coming together and students hope to see a well-attended event. 

“I’m not really sure how many we have signed up right now, but the teams are trickling through. I think we’ll have good numbers by the time of the event,” he said.