Dodgeball

A dodgeball player dodging a ball.

Dodgeball means any game in which players try to hit other players with balls and avoid being hit. There are many such games; see List of dodgeball variations. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured in a movie, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. In the United States, the game is typically played among children ages 6 - 12 in elementary school; physical education programs have stressed that as a game it develops balance, eye-hand coordination, and reflex skills among young children. However, internationally, the sport is growing, and has emerged as a popular middle school, high school and college sport as well. It is also popular in informal settings and is often played on a playground, in a gym, or in organized recreational leagues. There are many variations of the game, but generally the main objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, catching a ball thrown by a member of the opposing team, or forcing them to move outside the court boundaries when a ball is thrown at them.

Players

Rules dictate both a minimum number of players needed to start the game and a maximum number of players allowed on the court at any one time. The maximum number of per side is typically the same as the number starting the game.

After a player is eliminated, he may re-enter the match if another player on his team catches an opponent's thrown ball on the full (provided his team does not already have the maximum amount of players on the court). In some versions of dodgeball, if the game is played on a basketball court and you throw the ball and it hits the backboard on the full, everybody gets resurrected. Players must re-enter the game in the order in which they were eliminated.

Some leagues allow players that have been eliminated to assist their team by directing thrown balls back to the players on the court, while other leagues confine eliminated players to a designated area off the court and prohibit them from participating in the game until they are allowed back on the court.

Equipment

One to ten dodgeballs can be used in a game, but between five or nine is really common. Exceptions are usually made if a court is particularly small or if many people participate.

There is no standard worldwide measurement or material for a dodgeball.However, most dodgeballs are roughly the size of a volleyball and composed of foam with a thin plastic shell.Some dodgeballs are made of rubber. Some leagues allow the use of multiple sizes of dodgeballs in a single match (often with restrictions on whether men or women can throw certain sizes), while others use one standard size for all balls.

Court

A typical dodgeball game is usually played on a basketball court, netball court, gymnasium, parking lot, a bunch of tennis courts or fenced area. There is no fixed dodgeball court design.

Uniform

The uniform for playing dodgeball is usually Physical education uniforms or short sleeve shirts, shorts and runners. Like the court, there is no fixed uniform.

Rules of play

At the beginning of a dodgeball game, the ball are lined up on the central dividing line (in some versions of the game, the balls are thrown in the air for people to catch). The players then try to grab one of the dodgeballs ard throw or roll it backwards to their teammates. Once the game has commenced, players throw balls at members of the opposing team.

When a player has been hit by a ball on the full (i.e without bouncing or hitting an outside object and rebounding off), that player has been eliminated and must move to his team's designated bench area (players can get out if the ball rebounds off another dodgeball and/or player and hits another player on the full ).

If a player catches a ball thrown by the opposing team on the full , then the player who threw the ball is eliminated and the team that caught the ball can reinstate one of its eliminated players. If the dodgeball game is played on a basketball court, if the ball hits the basketball backboard, the whole team gets resurrected.The same thing happens when the ball is played in a non-basketball gymnasium or fenced area except for the fact that the ball has to hit the back wall or fence.

Players can pick up dead balls and throw them back at the other team. Players are allowed to leave the confines of the court to gather balls, but cannot throw the ball until they are back inside the court. A ball thrown from outside the court cannot eliminate an opponent who is hit.It only succeeds in getting the thrower eliminated. A player who moves completely out of bounds when a ball is thrown at the player and does not catch that ball is also eliminated.If a player moves into the opponent's zone or picks up a ball from inside the opponent's zone without it fully rolling inside their zone, the player is out. Players can also get eliminated if their throw hits an opponent on the head, displays bad sportsmanship or cheats.

Depending on the rules of a particular game, a ball in the possession of a player can be used to block incoming balls thrown by the opposing team.

Once all the players on one team are eliminated, the game ends.

Dodgeball in Popular Culture

In literature, dodgeball in which smaller or weaker children are forced to play against older and stronger children is sometimes depicted as licensed bullying for the amusement of cruel gym teachers.^[1] Other writers retain better memories of it.^[2]

• In the Babymouse series' 2nd book Babymouse: Our Hero, baby mouse plays dodgeball; he fails as a kindergartener but wins at age 10. Dodgeball has made cameo appearances in other books such as Babymouse: Heartbreaker & Babymouse: The Musical.
• The 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is generally credited with reviving interest in the sport, especially among young adults, despite referencing the sport as being about "violence, exclusion and degradation".^[3]
• The South Park episode "Conjoined Fetus Lady" and Season 1 of Freaks and Geeks depict dodgeball as a potentially violent sport.
• In The Simpsons episode "My Fair Laddy", the new gym teacher has the students play "Bombardment", a variant of dodgeball.
• In TV sitcom According to Jim, Jim, the main character, while a kid, hits Pierson with a dodgeball during a game. Pierson calls for a timeout, but Jim argues that dodgeball does not have timeouts. Pierson never forgives Jim for that hit even after 30 years, when he becomes a vicar.
• In the movie Chicken Little during gym class, the little animals appear to be playing dodgeball.
• In the Total Drama Island episode "Dodgebrawl", the campers compete in a game of dodgeball.
• In the series Ed, Edd n Eddy, the character Edd never removes his hat from his head due to what he calls the "dodgeball incident."
• In the 2006 movie Jackass: Number Two, one of the skits involves playing dodgeball both in the dark and using medicine balls rather than traditional dodgeballs.
• In the Discovery Channel series Wreckreation Nation, host Dave Mordal competes in a WASA Dodgeball tournament in Denver, Colorado.
• In Greek, the ZBZs take on the IKIs in an all-girl match, resulting in a winning blow by Jordan to Frannie.
• In Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters,Percy and his friend Tyson must play a dodgeball game to the death against cannibal giants who want to eat him.

In addition, the dangerous nature and associated risks of dodgeball have resulted in controversies, lawsuits, and calls to eliminate the game from school physical education programs.^[4]

Variations of Dodgeball

Japanese Dodgeball

Similar in concept, Japanese dodgeball have rules not found in other variations of rule sets. For example, the number of steps a player can take after receiving the ball is limited. Only one ball is played. The type of ball used is also different from the type commonly used in North America.

Usage in American Vernacular

In some American idioms, the act of avoiding something or someone mildly unpleasant can be referred to as 'playing dodgeball.' Additionally, in a variant of the same concept, the term "dodgeball" is sometimes used to describe a situation in which an individual is caught between two untenable positions, in a reference to the version of the game in which players from the same team can surround opposing players from two opposite sides.

See also

• Ga-ga
• Prisonball
• U.S. intercollegiate dodgeball champions

Notes

References

• Keyes, A. (2005). The Complete Book About Dodgeball. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1420875485
• International Dodgeball Federation rule book
• YMCA School Playground Partners: Dodgeball Games YMCA of San Diego County

External links

• National Dodgeball League, directions for member clubs, and leagues in the United States.
• Dodgeball Is Life - San Diego's Only Player Run League, Features League and pick-up play in San Diego.
• National Amateur Dodgeball Association
• National College Dodgeball Association
• International Dodge Ball Federation
• Fun and Games
• UK Dodge Ball Association