Having a good time while doing something is a great way to show support for a particular idea.
This team was one of many teams that participated in the “Pink Out” tournament to raise money for the local breast cancer fund. Over $2,000 was raised this year.
The White Pine girls volleyball team did just that on Oct. 26 when the program hosted its annual Pink Out Tournament, supporting breast cancer research.
There were a dozen teams from throughout the community, ranging from local middle students, one of the soccer teams, local firefighters and past White Pine High School students, that took part in this one-day event during Breast Cancer Awareness month.
“We had the best turnout we’ve ever had, as far as teams,” White Pine girls volleyball head coach Michael Berry said on Nov. 26. “It’s a really cool feeling to see the community come together, to see so many former Ladycats volleyball players come or just alumni in general, and the firefighters.”
That turnout turned into $2,200 raised in support of local breast cancer research from the participants, concession sales and other donations.
One of the unique things about this tournament is that all the money raised goes to the local breast cancer fund or in some years: a lucky MVF, or Most Valuable Fighter.
One year, the MVF recipient was Shelby Mantor, a local school bus driver.
This year’s MVF was BJ Nay, who was actually in attendance for this year’s tournament.
Nay received about $1,100 to defray any costs while the remaining donations went to the local Breast Cancer Fund.
When Berry, along with the varsity captains, delivered more than $1,000 to Nay a couple weeks after the event, she was at a loss for words.
“The emotion on her face, she’s not a very emotional person, but you could tell she was very touched, and she took a couple minutes to regain her composure before she thanked us,” Berry said when Nay found out she was this year’s MVF. “All we ask is that hopefully they help us pay it forward. That’s what our other MVFs have done. They’ve come, showed up and helped out, just helping the event that it’s become.”
With Berry’s two captains, they also made a poster along with the donations.
In addition to the community and future White Pine High School students participating, the charity event is also an opportunity to bring back the alumni.
Berry said he had to think outside the box in order to have this event while bringing back the alumni without having any extra expenses from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.
“There were a lot of alumni, including myself, that wanted to play, but there was really no way for us to and the NIAA wanted $500 to add an alumni game to the schedule,” Berry said. “To counter that, I came up with the idea, ‘pink out’ and was like, ‘Let’s do it as a community tournament, and former graduates can come, former volleyball players, community members.’ We’ll do a one-day tournament, and we’ll see how much money we can raise.”
Because of how many alumni members take part in this event, Berry gets the way-too-early question in the summer about when this event will take place.
That has been a big reason why this event has expanded from being part of a regular season game by passing around a collection hat to a full day dedicated to supporting breast cancer research or a local MVF.
“To see it grow year after year is just really cool,” Berry said. “Before my season even starts, I usually have at least five text messages or messages on Facebook asking when the date is going to be so they can take the time off.
“It’s just a really cool event that’s grown so much bigger than I thought it would. It makes me happy that we can do it every year and help someone out.”
Because of the varying levels of volleyball, Berry split the teams between two divisions to level the playing field of the single-elimination tournament.
For the players and the team, this was a great way to finish the season, despite missing the postseason.
Berry said it is a great way for the players to bring their closest people around them to participate in the event.
“They love that it’s a charity event. They love that they get to play more. They love that they get to form their own teams,” he said. “A lot of them play with their families, brothers, sisters, moms and dads. But overall, they get so excited to pitch in and help and find out how much we raised overall.”
The vision and the goal behind this tournament is what led to this tournament becoming what it has become.
As a result, the event gives Berry and the players an opportunity to give back to the supporters of the program.
“We have an amazing community that is always out to support our games and support our players through our fundraisers,” he said. “There’s a lot of them between all the sports teams. They’re always there for such a small community. So, it’s really a cool way to give back to those that are helping our program and to make a difference. It’s something that I hope will always continue.
“This is the third year, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.”
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