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Active Richmond

One thing you can say about sports, when times are tough, they help keep things in perspective.

Looking for a bank where things are calm, cool and collected -- check out the Bank of Essex, where staffers are gearing up for something very important -- their annual foray into competitive dodgeball at the Chick-fil-A Charity Dodgeball Tournament .

"Aside from the fact that it's got an awesome cause, it's just entirely too much fun," says Rebekah Nyalko , web development and design manager at the Bank of Essex Virginia Center branch in Glen Allen.

Nyalko is on the 12-member Bank of Essex Bruisers , a team of co-workers and spouses who have once again signed up for the Chick-fil-A Charity Dodgeball Tournament, which will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on October 25th to benefit Schools for Niger and Partnership for the Future .

"Every year we come back and say we had more fun than the previous year," says Nyalko who literally bubbles with excitement when discussing her friends and their dodgeball adventures.

"This tournament has made a big difference for the children of Richmond and Niger," she adds. "And beyond the excitement and fun that we have each year, we carry a lot of pride from tournament to tournament. For Bank of Essex it's about getting out there and supporting our community. Having the time of our lives is just an added bonus."

And beyond the fun, there is the physical aspect of whipping red rubber balls at opposing teams in a brief intense melee of throwing, ducking and dodging. You may even see a catch once in a while. The way it works is there are two teams of six players each facing each other on a small court with a midline and side and back boundaries. Six balls are placed on the midline and teams are sent to the back boundary. At the start signal, everyone rushes for the balls and starts flinging to get the other team out.

"Don't turn your back," advises Nyalko, who estimates her team will play 15 or so games in the first round and then hopefully move on to the second. "It's more fun to just go out and wing it."

For an activity that sounds so childish, people marvel at the intensity and passion dodgeball generates. "It's very, very good teambuilding," says Nyalko, who will be joined this year by Wendy and Henri Moore , Cathy Perkins , Matthew Perkins , Derrick Custalow , Jennifer Reid-Burrell , Ray West , George Jones , Kurt Iverson , and Kristen and Kevin Melton .

And then there are the prizes. Winning the amateur division is worth free Chick-fil-A for a year, while the pro division is worth $1,000 and free Chick-fil-A for a year. The youth tournament grand prize is a $100 Ntelos gift card and free Chick-fil-A for a year. And entries are a reasonable $150 for youth teams and $250 for adult teams. For more information and to register, visit http://www.chick-fil-arichmond.com/ .