🎉 Welcome to the Lavender Challenge – Year 2! 🎉

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 something meaningful and celebrate the athleticism and spirit of the queer community.

We’re dreaming big: we want this to be an event where queer players from across the globe can come to Minnesota, 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.

Saturday, August 15

Select Select one division between Open BYOT Foam or WTNB BYOT No-Sting You cannot play in both, as they’ll be running simultaneously.

Main Division 1 (Saturday AM) – Open BYOT Foam 6×6 (Double Elimination)

• No gender identity requirements.
• 6 players on the court
• Roster: Minimum 6 (We suggest a team of 6-8)
• Please note: We highly encourage having an extra player. If you roster the minimum number of players, you risk being short-handed in the event of an injury. No replacements will be permitted once playoffs have started.

Main Division 2 (Saturday AM) – WTNB BYOT No-Sting 5×5 (Double Elimination)

• Cis identifying males are ineligible to play in this division.
• Roster: Minimum 5 / No Max (We suggest a team of 5-7)
• Please note: We highly encourage having an extra player. If you roster the minimum number of players, you risk being short-handed in the event of an injury. No replacements will be permitted once playoffs have started.
• We will convert to a remix format if we need more numbers
• This is not a womens-only division. Trans individuals and nonbinary players (including those who may be male-presenting) are welcomed.

Optional Division 1 (Saturday PM) – Cloth Remix Single Elimination Tournament (8 teams max)

• Players will be remixed onto cloth teams to compete in a single elimination tournament.
• Players are guaranteed at least 1 15-minute cloth round.
• This is a great division to try out cloth in a low stakes environment.
• No round robin play.

Optional Division 2 (Saturday PM) – No-Sting Remix Single Elimination Tournament (8 teams max)

• Players will be remixed onto no-sting teams to compete in a single elimination tournament.
• Players are guaranteed at least 1 15-minute no-sting round.
• No round robin play.

Sunday, August 16

The Remix on Sunday centers on community and connection, bringing together players who don’t typically get to share the court. Designed to spread talent across teams and strengthen the broader community. It’s the perfect way to ease into the morning after a night of celebration.

Main Division 3 – Remix Foam (Double Elimination)

• 6 players on the court
• We aim to have at least one WTNB player on each team depending on remix registrations. There are no on-court gender identity requirements; however, teams may not bench the same player for back to back rotations.
• Note: WTNB players may be male-presenting. We trust our community to respect and care for each other.

Saturday (8/15/26)
Doors Open – 8:00 AM
Announcements – 8:30 AM
Group Photo – 8:45 AM
Open Foam & WTNB No-Sting – 9 AM to 6 PM
Cloth Remix & No-Sting Remix: 6 PM to 7:30 PM
Wrap: 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM

Sunday (8/16/26)
Doors Open – 9:00 AM
Announcements – 9:30 AM
Group Photo – 9:45 AM
Remix Foam – 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

*If the tournament is canceled due to a natural disaster, unforeseen circumstances, or events beyond our control, all registered players will receive a full refund of the registration fee. However, we cannot guarantee reimbursement for travel expenses, and players acknowledge this risk.