ABOUT THIS TOURNAMENT

🎉 Welcome to the 1st Annual Lavender Challenge! 🎉

Hosted by Minnesota Dodgeball, this is a 2-day queer and WTNB-centric dodgeball tournament in the Midwest!

The Lavender Challenge isn’t just about dodgeball—it’s about creating a safe, inclusive, and empowering space for queer, women, trans, and nonbinary (WTNB) players to compete, connect, and shine. This is your chance to be part of important and celebrate the athleticism and spirit of the queer community.

We’re dreaming big: we want this to be a flagship event where queer players from across the globe can come to Minnesota annually, show off their skills, and prove that queer dodgeball players can and will excel at the sport. Are you ready for the Challenge?

All information on this page is subject to change.

👋 Who Can Play?

Players: All participants must identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community or the Women, Trans, and Nonbinary (WTNB) community.
Cis Male Allies: We love your support! Help us run the tournament by refereeing, setting up, or breaking down. This is your chance to uplift our community. 

DIVISIONS & Roster Requirements

* We’ll do our best to meet our target numbers and honor these team caps. However, depending on demand (or lack thereof) for specific divisions, Minnesota Dodgeball reserves the right to make adjustments as needed to ensure the best experience for everyone.

Number of Players On Court: 6 Players
Minimum on Roster: 7 Players
Maximum on Roster: 8 Players

Saturday, August 16 (Single Elimination Divisions)

• Division 1️⃣ Open Foam (12 teams cap) – No gender identity requirements.
• Division 2️⃣ Women, Trans, Non-Binary (WTNB) Foam (12 teams cap) – Cis males are ineligible to play in this division.
  *Note: This is not a women-only division. Trans men, trans women, and nonbinary players (including male-presenting individuals) are welcome.
• Division 3️⃣ Cloth-Remix Add-On (8 teams cap)
  *Minnesota Dodgeball will draft players onto balanced teams.

Sunday, August 17 (Double Elimination Division)

• Division 4️⃣ Mixed No-Sting (24 teams cap)
  *Each team may have a maximum of 4 non-WTNB/cisgender male players on the court. At least 2 court positions must be filled by WTNB-identifying players. Teams that do not meet this requirement will start the round short-handed.
  **Note: WTNB players may be male-presenting. We trust our community to respect and care for each other.

TBD

*If the tournament is canceled due to inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances, we will provide a full refund of the registration fee to all registered players. However, we are unable to reimburse travel expenses for events beyond our control.