More than an hour before the mud-covered balls began to fly, the bleacher seats began to fill with spectators at the Whitley County 4-H Fairgrounds Saturday – everyone eager to experience the excitement of mud dodgeball.

The Showdown at the Fairgrounds mud dodgeball tournament benefiting Toys for Tots was, by all accounts, an excellent event for the crowd and the 14 teams of competitors that participated.

The event was coordinated by the Marines of the Leatherneck Coffee Club in Whitley County.

Emcee Scott Frazier kept the games rolling while judge Sunbeam the Clown took uncharacteristically took his job very seriously, picking the teams for various awards presented at the end of the event. Referees, donning shirts requesting that participants not yell at them, included Mitch Hoffman, Wayne Curry, Jeff Braunsdorff and Johnny Richards …

… For more on this story and some great photos of the event, go to our Whitley News Network partner, talkofthetownwc.com.

Photos and story by Jennifer Zartman Romano