Spike Ball Tourney Tainted by Controversy
November 7, 2019
While a freshman duo took the title in the Spikeball tournament hosted by Leadership from October 21 to 25 during lunch time, the achievement was not without controversy. Many competitors complained about the officiating format, which essentially required competitors to self-officiate on the honor system.
Freshmen Greg Palamountain and Charlie Karp were crowned champions, winning gift cards to Gott’s restaurant in Walnut Creek. Yet there victory was overshadowed by complaints from other competitors.
Junior Kate Dendinger was “infuriated” by her 1st round loss. Dendinger and her partner and junior Molly Mitchell believed their defeat at the hands of a freshman squad “shouldn’t have happened.” Dendinger claimed that her opponents cheated, not calling shots correctly.
According to Dendinger, she and her partner had won the final point, but their opponents demanded a replay, which changed the outcome. But when Dendinger and Mitchell appealed to the Leadership students who where hosting the event, Dendinger said their grievances were ignored and they were forced to “leave.”
Junior Leadership officer Sophie Webster, who was in charge of the tournament, felt the event was a success. She was happy with the enthusiasm demonstrated by the competitors and would love to host another tournament soon, as it “was a very easy tournament to run, other than a few no shows.”
“I think next time we will get even more participants as a lot of people were watching,” said Webster.
