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The New York sun was out early to welcome all of the dodgeball athletes June 9 in Malta, NY. Teams from all over came to show off their skills on the National Dodgeball court. Teams from as far as Rochester NY, Erie PA, New York City, and Boston registered for the event. It was set to be a great day of dodgeball.

During the rules meeting I noticed some familiar faces and some teams that have been to a couple of other tour stops this year. They were ready to earn their spot to Vegas. The open round robin play was awesome; it gave teams an opportunity to get used to the court size and the turf of the Charbonneau Recreation Center. It looked like veteran team "Erie Beach Trash" and local heroes "FA" would be the teams to watch as "The Goofs" from Canandaigua were warming up their cannons.

"The Gods of Dodgeball" swept the youth bracket and were excited as ever. They even stayed and acted as retrievers for the adult bracket. These boys are going to be the ones to watch for the future.

After the round robin play I noticed some fatigue in some of the rookie teams. The Last Man Standing competition was held before tournament play started. It was great athletes from all teams were involved and were all trying to figure out the secret technique in order to be the last few competing. The last three were all from "EBT". It came down to Phil and Jeff, teammate vs. teammate. It seemed to go on forever because both of them know each other so well. In the end it was Jeff winning his third Last Man Standing competition in one year, which gave him a huge target on his back for the rest of the tournament. Watch for him in Vegas this year at the Dodgeball World Championship.

As the elimination round started the "Money Shots" from NYC were eliminated early but left with a smile. "The Goofs" gave a great effort but was eliminated by "FA".

It was amazing to watch "EBT", they were very skilled and all the spectators had them picked as the winner. "FA" however, was playing the whole tournament with a man down. They were working hard and their hard work paid off. It was "EBT" and "FA" in the championship game. With paid entry fees to the Dodgeball World Championships in Las Vegas both teams were ready to give it their all. It went back and forth game for game, but in the end "Erie Beach Trash" was too much for "FA". It was "EBT" who earned the tour stop win. They played hard and earned it.

What a day, all teams left tired and happy. It was a lot of great dodgeball and I am excited to see the teams in the Dodgeball World Championship, it's going to be awesome and unforgettable. See you there!