So our good friends at GitHub put together the First Annual Dodgeball Invitational with the intention of pummeling various Bay Area tech companies into submission. Heroku has never shied away from a challenge, especially when there is a giant Octocat trophy at stake. The Dodging Samurai emerged victorious despite facing a pool of 21 teams and one crotchety old man wielding a wrench.
![Herokai Dodging Samurai](https://heroku-blog-files.s3.amazonaws.com/posts/1473343693-6278132752_abf28d2789.jpg)
![Man yielding a wrench](https://heroku-blog-files.s3.amazonaws.com/posts/1473343693-6277530941_fc62099df8.jpg)
Through brute force, covert strategies and pink tutus, the Herokai were able to persevere through two teams from both GitHub and Engine Yard, a solid team from Code for America, as well a mysterious unnamed lucha libre fighter from Twilio. We commend both the spirit and the dodginess of all our competition and look forward to next year's event.
![playing dodgeball](https://heroku-blog-files.s3.amazonaws.com/posts/1473343694-6277545259_57ab007443.jpg)
![Playing dodgeball](https://heroku-blog-files.s3.amazonaws.com/posts/1473343695-6277534899_bf053cdd44.jpg)
What's the best part? The bulk of the entry fees will now go to our charity of choice, Heifer International. $28,500 will now be donated to empower families around the world to become self-reliant through sustainable development projects.
The Octocat trophy has found a lovely home at our lunch table. We weren't sure if he was actually a cat in an octopus costume or a fully different species, but we bought catnip and various toys for him anyway. Check out this Quora thread about the Octocat's proud lineage.
![Octocat trophy](https://heroku-blog-files.s3.amazonaws.com/posts/1473343695-6277654167_3248f3b53a.jpg)