Dodge, duck, dip, dive and ribs
Dodgeball and ribs bring community together
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Pictured is the 2026 Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament champion team Balls of Fury. From left to right is Declan Flitter, Dusty Giefer, Nate Howk, Karla Deutschmann, Natasha Aldrich and Arya Goblirsch. The team defeated the Yellow Ribbon team in the finals at New Ulm Turner Hall Park on Saturday.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Turner Hall’s Rib’n event combined with its annual dodgeball tournament this year, bringing in more people to this year’s festivities.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Balls of Fury players Nate Howk, left, and Declan Flitter, right, prepare to launch an attack during the third annual Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday at New Ulm Turner Hall Park.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Players battle for the ball at the center line during a game of dodgeball at the third annual Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday at New Ulm Turner Hall Park.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Pictured is the 2026 Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament champion team Balls of Fury. From left to right is Declan Flitter, Dusty Giefer, Nate Howk, Karla Deutschmann, Natasha Aldrich and Arya Goblirsch. The team defeated the Yellow Ribbon team in the finals at New Ulm Turner Hall Park on Saturday.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Turner Hall’s Rib’n event combined with its annual dodgeball tournament this year, bringing in more people to this year’s festivities.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Balls of Fury players Nate Howk, left, and Declan Flitter, right, prepare to launch an attack during the third annual Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday at New Ulm Turner Hall Park.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Players battle for the ball at the center line during a game of dodgeball at the third annual Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday at New Ulm Turner Hall Park.
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NEW ULM - All streaks are meant to be broken.
On Saturday at the Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament, the Yellow Ribbon team's aspirations to win a third consecutive championship were foiled at the hands of a team that saw half of its players sign up at the last minute.
That team was Balls of Fury, who knocked off the two-time defending Turner Hall Dodgeball Tournament champions to win the third annual event.
This year's dodgeball tournament saw a new format as it combined with Turner Hall's annual Rib'n event for a two-for-one special. It was free to attend and open to the public.
While the ribs kept eventgoers fed, the dodgeball kept them entertained.
The champion dodgeball team consisted of team captain Natasha Aldrich, Karla Deutschmann, Nate Howk, Declan Flitter, Arya Goblirsch and Dusty Giefer.
As for what went into taking down the Yellow Ribbon team, some of it involved just showing up.
"I didn't really have a strategy," Howk said. "I just woke up this morning and [Karla] said I had to come to this tournament."
Deutschmann said the ladies on the team came ready to play, but the guys made things a bit tricky going into the tournament.
"Our strategy was having our girls lined and absolutely no guys [laughs]," Deutschmann said.
Deutschmann and Aldrich played together last year, but this year's team was the first time everyone played together in the tournament.
"It's a good time, good vibes, good music, just getting outside on a nice day and having fun," Aldirch said. "It's a great event."
Team Yellow Ribbon worked their way into the finals out of the losers bracket, defeating Team Jensen Motors, which finished third. After the Yellow Ribbon team made the finals, they won a win-or-go-home first round, which was a pair of back-to-back games, to force a second and final three-game series of games against Balls of Fury. The Yellow Ribbon team did have the extra challenge of being a woman down for the second round of the finals after she exited with a finger injury.
Balls of Fury showed no mercy, however, taking the next two games with a six-on-five advantage to win the finals and trophy.
"I've done it two years, so I guess I'll come back," Deutschmann said. "They've got to beat us next year, right? I find my muscles that I never knew I had [laughs]."
Turner Hall Executive Director Andrea Boettger said she was happy with the event's turnout and to see more dodgeball teams join in on the fun this year.
"We've been really pleased with the turnout," Boettger said. "We were very excited because our dodgeball tournament, we weren't sure how things were going to go this year, but we actually ended up with more teams than we've ever had. We had nine teams competing today, which is awesome."
Boettger said she was thankful to see so many sponsors and volunteers step in to help support the event. She also said it couldn't have worked out much better combining the dodgeball tournament and Rib'n because it saved a lot of time and effort.
"What's nice about it is we're bringing two events together, we're utilizing Turner Park and we're doing it on a day that has some really great weather," she said. "We couldn't ask for anything more. ... We thought that bringing these two events together was going to be really good for the community and it has been.
"We have had a great turnout today and people that normally would come to the Rib thing are seeing our dodgeball and people that normally come to the dodgeball are experiencing our smoked ribs, which is amazing. It's a win-win for Turner Hall."
In addition to Christensen Farms and Schwartz Farms being flagship sponsors, Boettger thanked Legacy BBQ for stepping in and preparing ribs for the Rib'n.
"They prepared almost 20 cases of pork and ribs so that we can raise funds for our mission, and right now the funds being raised for this event are going to support Turner Hall and Turner Park," she said.