World Adult Kickball Association
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The World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA) is the largest sanctioning body for the recreational sport of adult kickball.[1] WAKA was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1998 and now has leagues acoss the United States, as well as in countries such as India. Although independent community and church leagues had existed for years prior to its founding, the growth of WAKA is widely credited for the popularization of the children's game as a recreational and social activity among adults. Today, there are hundreds of adult kickball leagues nationwide, both affiliated and unaffiliated with WAKA.
WAKA holds seasonal kickball divisions across the nation. Divisional winners are invited to the annual World Kickball Championship called the Founder's Cup. The location of these tournaments varies from year to year. The 2006 Founder's Cup tournament was held in Miami, with the 2006 Leader's Cup tournament in San Diego. In 2007, WAKA switched to one national tournament per year, which is scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Boston.
Charities are also a staple of the WAKA experience. Each division is encouraged to participate in at least one charitable event each season.
WAKA recently sanctioned a division in Iraq in support of U.S. troops.
WAKA has published official rules for its kickball league. In 2005, WAKA filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against a rival, DCKickball.[2][3] In the suit, WAKA claims intellectual property to the official rules of kickball, and seeks $356,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit was settled on April 15, 2008.[4]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Parker, Ashley. "Getting a Kick Out of Kickball", The New York Times, 2006-09-15. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- ^ McKenna, Dave. "Playground Bully", Washington City Paper, 2006-03-03. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- ^ Mike, McCann (2006-03-09). Kickball: A True Litigation Story. Sports Law Blog. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- ^ WAKA LLC v. DCKICKBALL et al Document 36 - :: Justia Docs
[edit] Further reading
- Dreazen, Yochi J.. "Playing kickball is much less fun with adults", The Wall Street Journal (accessed via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), 2005-07-06. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
