Sunday, July 4, 2004

League Dodgeball

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NAYSI Activity Tip
July 4, 2004
No. 13

League Dodgeball

No winers here. The GSN network, a cable alternative, featured a show called Extreme Dodgeball. The major sponsor of this program is Burger King. Extreme Dodgeball is played between two teams, five per side, on a modified box type court. Teams consist of two females and three males with colorful names and theme outfits.

The objective, as in the dodgeball games we grew to love in school, was to eliminate your oppponents. Hit them and they are out. Catch the throw from an opponent and the thrower is out. Block a throw from an opponent with a ball in your hands and you are safe. Drop the ball after the block and you are out.

I judged that this made for TV court to be about 50 feet long by 30 feet wide with a center line. There is also a hot spot circle on each end wall about eight feet off the ground. This is a Get Out Of Jail Free spot. Hit the hot spot of your opponent and your teammates who have been eliminated can come back on the court and resume playing.

This dodgeball game is fast paced and played in a best two out of three format. Game One is played with two standard soft red rubbber playground balls. Game Two is played with three balls, one being about twice the size of the other balls. Players just fire away at each other as would be expected. Head shots are not permitted. A Game Three is played if needed. When this occurs, the game goes back to two balls. However, one player on each team is designed as a hot player with a headband. Hit that banded player and the game is over. You win.

As a side light in this program, an announcer interviews people, both male and female, about their experiences in dodgeball. I can see it now. This made for TV program could expand easily into the International Dodgeball League with state and then regional play that leads to elimination tournaments around the globe. Like tennis, there could be leagues for men, women, mixed and seniors. You gotta love it.

http://www.dodgeballusa.com

http://www.Dodge-It.com

http://www.osudodgeball.com

For more information about dodgeball, do a search through your favorite search engine or http://www.naysi.com. For kicks, try this new web search engine called Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com. -jh