Pride, honor, success. This is the motto of Pearland High School, host of the country’s largest high school volleyball tournament, the Barcelona Sporting Goods Texas Volleyball Invitational (TVI), powered by VYPE. Each year, Pearland teams up with other schools in its district to offer the tournament, showcasing the top volleyball talent in Texas and raising money for charity. They recently announced that they will be partnering with The Side-Out Foundation in 2013 to make the 16th annual TVI a Dig Pink® tournament.

Eighty teams from across the state will compete in the prestigious event at schools throughout the district beginning Thursday, August 15th. It will be the first year Side-Out and TVI come together, and both organizations are looking forward to working together.

John Turner, tournament director, shared his thoughts on the partnership: “As one of the top charitable donors in high school volleyball in the nation with over $60,000 in donations over 6 years, the Texas Volleyball Invitational saw it only fitting that we partner with The Side-Out Foundation to help bring awareness to breast cancer and provide educational support through our tournament. The continued hard work of The Side-Out Foundation team and the unselfish contributions by the volleyball community will only champion both our causes to fight breast cancer.”

Side-Out is honored to work with TVI, widely recognized as the top high school volleyball tournament in the state. Rick Dunetz, executive director of Side-Out, is thrilled to be part of an event that highlights both passion for the sport and the importance of philanthropy “Texas has really embraced Side-Out’s Dig Pink events. In fact, they were ranked #1 in the country for their Dig Pink fundraising in 2012! TVI represents all that is wonderful with Texas volleyball and we look forward to creating a lasting partnership.”

About The Side-Out Foundation

The Side-Out Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in 2004.  Inspired by one mom and embraced by the entire sport of volleyball, the mission of The Side-Out Foundation is to educate young athletes and their communities about breast cancer, both with respect to prevention and treatment, and to fund cutting edge breast cancer research.  Side-Out is focused on changing the way breast cancer is treated forever.

The term side-out refers to a situation in volleyball when one team wins a point while its opponent is serving, thereby regaining serve or control of play.  It is hoped that Side-Out will do the same for breast cancer patients, providing them with the support, education and best available treatments to regain control of their lives.