The Southland Sharks and Southland Stags took on Snap Fitness Invercargill and Active Southland in a mini-dodgeball tournament at ILT Stadium Southland on Daffodil Day while raising funds for the Cancer Society Southland.
Basketball skills seemed to have the greatest translation to dodgeball, with the Sharks thrashing the opposition and winning the day.
Snap Fitness Invercargill manager Roisin Laphen, who co-organised the event with fellow manager Kara Alvarez-Risso, said the event was "heaps of fun".
"It was quite cool for people to come down and watch and support, and the games were really fun. People’s kids in the crowd had the chance to jump in and play for the Sharks, which was a cool opportunity."
She said the idea for the mini-dodgeball tournament came during a brainstorming session with Ms Alvarez-Risso to decide on a way to raise money during Daffodil Day.
"Other [Snap Fitness] clubs have normally done a 24-hour relay on the treadmills, but we wanted to do something a little bit different and involve more of the community.
"Because we support the Stags and Sharks with the gym memberships, we reached out to them to see if they’d like to collaborate."
There was some tough competition on the court — with the Sharks outperforming her own expectations, she said.
Cancer Society Southland community manager Pikihuia Solomon said it was great to see the community come together in support of the organisation.
"The community is so generous — it always has been with the Cancer Society.
It was great to have the two popular sports teams come out in support.
"They spread the word really well, in terms of the fundraising that goes behind the society that enables us to do our job supporting people with cancer in the community.
"And it has been a great time. There’s quite a range of talents out there."
With the inaugural dodgeball event proving a success, Ms Laphen said there were plans already under way to bring it back next year.
