Wilson County sheriff's office hosts first-ever first responder dodgeball tournament

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office turned the Floresville High School Competition Gym into a first-responder showdown on June 24, staging its first-ever First Responder Dodgeball Tournament at 5 p.m. The event mixed competition with outreach, with admission set at one unused, unwrapped toy per person to support the sheriff’s office Blue Santa Program this winter.

The field gave the night a countywide feel. Teams came from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Floresville Police Department, Wilson County Emergency Services Districts 2, 4 and 5, the Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol, the Wilson County juvenile probation department, the Wilson County adult probation department and the Karnes County Sheriff’s Office. That lineup made the tournament more than a novelty; it put law enforcement, emergency services and probation staff on the same floor in a format built for quick reactions and public-facing competition.

The setting mattered as much as the bracket. Floresville High School’s Competition Gym, at 1813 Tiger Ln. in Floresville, gave the tournament a familiar school-gym backdrop while keeping the night centered on public service. The sheriff’s office framed the event as a chance for local agencies to square off in a lighter setting, and the toy-drive admission tied the action directly to holiday giving through Blue Santa.

The timing also fit a broader pattern in Wilson County, where agencies have already used shared toy drives to coordinate outreach. A Nov. 4, 2025 Wilson County News notice said the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Floresville Police Department, Nixon Police Department and Wilson County Emergency Services District 2 were teaming up for the annual Blue Santa Toy Drive and looking for businesses to host donation stations. The dodgeball tournament extended that collaboration from collection bins into a live event where spectators could watch familiar uniforms compete for bragging rights.

A preview video ahead of the tournament showed teams warming up and again urged residents to bring a toy for the Blue Santa Program, underscoring how the event was built to work on two levels at once: as a real contest and as a visible, easy way to support local children.