Duck and cover: Dodgeball intramurals now offered at MRU
Unlike many other sports such as basketball, volleyball or hockey, the key concept behind dodgeball, the evasive action itself or process of dodging, has been perfected over thousands of years.
Long before the sport was even born, humans were honing their dodging skills, waiting to grasp those bumpy red rubber balls that we remember from our elementary school days.
Before those red balls were lined up at centre court, humans evaded rocks, arrows, taxes, military service and even the Maginot Line. Charles Dicken’s character, the Artful Dodger, shows the literary world that even social responsibilities cannot withstand our ability to twist and turn out of a tight situation.
For the first time in Mount Royal campus history, MRU students are dodging, dipping, ducking and diving in recreation’s newest intramural sport.
The idea of bringing dodgeball to Mount Royal originally came about three years ago, according to Andre Bordage, assistant intramural co-ordinator for Mount Royal Recreation. However, their first attempt was denied.
“No one had taken the time to see actual statistics. There was the thought that dodgeball was a more accident-prone sport and had more liability issues,” he said.
After conducting his own research into the sport by phoning other post secondary campuses that ran intramural dodgeball, his findings were accepted by recreation administration and given the go-ahead. Bordage said the biggest component of his research was risk management and accident prevention.
He said many other intramural sports have a higher risk of accidents because of collision between players, and that he does not see a difference between dodgeball and any other intramural sport offered through Mount Royal Recreation.
For Bordage, dodgeball is one of his favourite sports and he has played in Calgary leagues at the Calgary Sport and Social Club. At an earlier age, he remembers enjoying playing at home on Prince Edward Island. “Our class, for six years, dominated at dodgeball. I remember not even being able to hold a pencil because I was so sore from throwing,” he said.
Since they have started the league, Bordage said they have received a lot of positive feedback. He said there are a lot of students who wanted to play again because they remembered enjoying the sport when they were young.
“It gives them a chance to recapture their youth,” he said. “Dodgeball was surprisingly well received. We were hoping for four teams but we have 10. It was a pleasant surprise to see interest right off the bat.”
In countries around the world, variations of dodgeball are played. Tejas Pandya, a Mount Royal student who comes from Gujarat state in India, remembers playing two different dodgeball-like games. The only major difference from western dodgeball and the game in India is they use a small, hard cricket ball, he explained.
The second game, which he called “saatodiyu,” consists of throwing a ball towards a set of seven piled stones. If the ball is caught off the first bounce, the player who threw it is out. When the stones are knocked over, players on the opposing team have to pile them up again without being hit.
After the MRU dodgeball semester finishes up, recreation staff will look at rule adjustments in order to expand for the next season. Bordage said the sport will expand and they have to make sure everything is in place for sustainable growth. For increased safety precautions, staff is looking at placing foam borders around the courts.
