I think we owe each other a big round of applause!

That was the most relaxed, quick-paced, and all-inclusive Dookie Tournament that we’ve ever put on.

So… who says “Old Dog’s” can’t learn new tricks??

Thank you to EVERYONE for helping put on an awesome weekend!

Each of you were willing & able, and then you helped us execute.

I’m cheers’n my yinling’s to yinz as we speak.

Let’s start by giving a huge congratulations to our mighty Conquerors:

Metcalf, Artascos, Garyn, Beiter

It’s Danny’s 16th title!!

He’s now won 2 in a row, and 3 of the last 4!

Though he didn’t win any events this year, he is still the only Dookie to have won every event.

Tony wins it for the 4th time, his first title since Dookie XXI in 2019.

That year he was also partnered with…

Garyn, who wins his third title.

(Maybe these two are the secret winning formula??!?)

Jeff wins it for the 3rd time, as well. His first title since Dookie XVIII in 2016.

Our Conquerors *dominated* Golf by taking  the top 2 places, with Jeff & Garyn putting in a par-level round. Tony & Garyn stormed to victory in *both* field events on Saturday, all but securing their names on The Mugs.

Well done, boys.  An excellent victory.

There were *zero* repeat event champions. Even Euchre, which was last contested when “The Mayor” was around in 2019, had a new champion.

This has only happened 4 times *ever,* though it’s been 3 of the last 8 years:

2024, a Covid-affected 2020 tourney, and in 2017. The last being a nascent 2002 version of Dookie, that’s been named the “most competitive tournament ever,” where the top-4 spots were just 3 points apart.

It’s not unheard of for someone to go for their third or fourth year in a row winning the same event.

And in the tournaments from 2003 to 2004, we had a repeat champion in *every* event.

It seems that more and more, there are no clear "favorites" in any of the events. Now, there are a handful of guys that “can” win a particular event, *if* they get the right partner.

And addressing the competitive nature of the weekend:

I’m glad it got a bit "fiery" on Saturday.

It’s supposed to.

That shows us all,

that this really does means something.

That our silly little “boys” weekend,

actually matters to our personal pride.

We may say that it’s the weekend where we “act like kids,” but the competitive juices make it a Grown Man’s battle during the events.

Once the adrenaline subsides, we quickly slip back into the “arm around the shoulder” dude-love.

But when it’s game time,

it’s like watching some grizzlies battling it out for a prime salmon fishin spot.

..or maybe moreso like sumo wrestlers belly-bumping to claim the center circle.

From slow-trodding athleticism, to nimble viciousness in a matter of seconds.

Personally, I love the competitiveness.

If we didn’t care, it’d be boring.

But the most important part, is that we most usually end the weekend with a goodbye hug —or at least a heartfelt handshake— recognizing the mutual respect, love and meaningfulness of the tournament, and of each other.

Big thanks to our Chef, Jeff, and the guys that helped you auht!

The food was delicious, and exactly what was called for. It filled us up, without overstuffing us. And every meal was perfectly timed, opposite of the events.

Also, shout-out to the guys that brought salad’s & sides for the weekend.

Those really were some proper classic backyard barbecue meals we ate over the weekend. Dookie wouldn’t be Dookie without all of your efforts.

Much appreciated.

We made the RSVP $$ for Dookie XXVI very inexpensive on purpose, charging less than half of what Dookie XXV was ($150/$350).

As such, our bank account ended up in the hole about $700.

There should be enough money in there to solve our trophy problem, but expect next year’s RSVP $$ amount to be back up to full tournament price.

Speaking of our trophy problem, we are intent on seeing *everyone’s* names on a couple of trophies before next year’s tournament (..well…everyone except Jay McQuade, that is!! #JayIsTheNewRay).

It’s been way too long without a proper memorialization. The Conquerors *deserve* to see their names engraved in honor,

and for others to see it and weep in jealousy.

(and since Jeff won for the first time in almost a decade, he’s making a big push to resolve this himself! Haha)

We got some good feedback from a few guys about the events.

It seems that Darts was missed.

And we were very orderly and quick about completing the events in Dookie XXVI.

As such, we saw that bocce can be played while we also play a second event beside it.

So, expect a return to 6 events next year. We’re still working on the actual order, and which events will be played concurrently, so we *may* see another one of those improvised “only in Dookie” type of things where we’re playing outdoor, steel-tip darts up on the hill in the grass on Sunday.

We also had a couple of guys express interest in new Original Dookie t-shirts with their name and the first year they competed on the back. The clip-art of the old-timey, tapped wooden barrel is a bit dated though, so we’ll have to update our logo a bit.

We’ll consider this when deciding on how much RSVP $$ to charge for next year’s tourney.

Which brings up the point:

don’t be afraid to express your opinion on anything Dookie.

Either in the “offseason” when you meet up with one of us, or by text, or even during the tournament itself.

Tell us what you like, or what we can improve upon, *and* how you would like it improved.

We don’t like wasting money,

but we also want to host one of the most kick-ass things you do all year.

We like how strong our “brand” is overall:

the tourney itself, the website, the trophy’s, the competitors, our history.

And we make small changes every year to tweak it, and keep it from becoming stale.

Hopefully we’ll be back to our full compliment of 16 guys next year. But if we do ever fall short again, we think we’re gonna go to two-man teams. Four-man teams work great for 16 guys, and most people like that format, but two-man teams where we change partners each day would be pretty exciting (especially with 6 events, two events each day). And everyone would most likely get 3 different partners over the course of the weekend, just as we do now with 4-man teams.

(..and I have my eye on Dookie XXX to possibly be another “civil war” 8 versus 8. Both previous teams, Legend of Snoopy & Ancestors of Odin, have “lost” one guy since then, SNJ & **Spence. So, that battle could easily be recreated)

We’re going to continue the use of the Chores List, as a way of giving everyone a clear set of expectations. This allowed people to do their tasks at their own pace, whenever they had time between events and eating. And created the smoothest tourney in our history.

We will also have another “set-up day” the weekend before Dookie again. This set us up for success for the weekend, and spread the tasks out more evenly across everyone.

That about sums up our current, and as much as we know about our future events.

So…. cheers!

…my brothers…

To 26 years of craziness.

Nearly three decades of debauchery.

A score & a third of awesomeness.

And to each other,

for holding on to our youth in the best way possible:

binge drinking and over-eating for an extended weekend, while doing the most athletic thing that many of us do for the entire year.

And cheer’s to Dookie XXVII,

in July of 2025!!

We look forward to doing it all over again.

Remember: there's no "laying up" in Dookie.