Teams of students and teachers played volleyball against one another in the 13th annual Kick Butts tournament on Wednesday, March 21, the team “Let the Good Times Bowl” taking first place. In order to play, players had to donate a dollar, and the total $50 raised went toward Relay for Life.

According to sponsor Amy McClure, Kick Butts Day is a national campaign for teens to resist advertising for tobacco, nicotine products and the like.

“Those companies know that teens, young people, are more impressionable, so they can encourage them to use their product and then they have a lot more time that they can have them be addicted to their product as well,” McClure said. “The campaign was started to make kids aware of those temptations out there and to encourage them to resist the use of tobacco.”

During the winter, sophomore Bennett Doyle, who participated with the second-place team “The Chartreuse Chupacabras”. All around, he felt the tournament was “a fun event to participate in” with his friends.

“[My team’s strategy included] communication and making sure we talk and know who’s going to the ball, who’s going to hit it and who’s going to set it,” Doyle said. “It worked because we beat every team except for one.”

Doyle’s team strived for the free t-shirts given to the team that came in first place, which said “Kick Butts Day” on the front and “#tobaccofree” on the back.

“We wanted the free shirt. We’re gonna have to come out next year and try and get that first place,” Doyle said. “The money all goes to Relay for Life, so that’s [another reason we participated].”

With the decrease of tobacco use in the past 10 years, McClure opted to change her platform to include refraining from the use of nicotine in general.

“[We’re] trying to encourage kids also to not be influenced by the media and advertising for those tobacco substitutes being a healthy alternative because they certainly have not been proven yet that they are a healthy alternative,” McClure said. “Any time you can provide an activity for kids that is a way for them to be active and productive without the use of any type of drugs, alcohol and tobacco, I think it’s a positive experience for them in high school.”