Maya Israel
On the second day of freshers, we take a look at the Dodgeball Society…
For many, Dodgeball is a game known best for its role in rainy day P.E lessons. Ignorant to any rule other than ‘don’t get hit’, I spoke to club President, Marcus, and General Secretary, Rachel, to find out more about the sport and what their society offers.
Q: I’m going to start simple – for someone that’s never played Dodgeball before, what are the key elements of the sport?
Rachel: Throwing, catching and dodging! There are five balls on court and two teams, each with six people. The game is played in sets, with a set being won either by getting all of the other team out (by hitting or catching them) or by having more players left when the time runs out. It’s good fun, and there’s definitely more rules and tactics than you’d think!
Q: So, can anyone join Dodgeball? How would a fresher go about joining?
Rachel: Yes, everyone is welcome! Most of us had never played the sport before when we joined (other than perhaps playing briefly at school). The best way to join as a fresher would be to come along to our taster sessions to see whether you think Dodgeball for you – though of course if you miss those, you’re welcome to come along to one of our training sessions too!
I went along to a taster session in my first year, where everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The session was relaxed and really fun […] but also showed that Dodgeball is a sport that can properly be played competitively
Once you’ve given it a go and want to join, you’ll need to purchase a club membership (£20 for the year) and a gym membership (for access to the sports hall facilities) so that you can keep coming along to training sessions. You don’t need to have played before to play competitively for one of our teams either – we don’t have trials, and the first few weeks of training are about getting everyone familiar with the rules and techniques for playing. We will also be running fortnightly engage sessions again this year for those who want to play when they fancy it.
Q: What inspired you to join the club when you were a fresher?
Rachel: I went along to a taster session in my first year, where everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The session was relaxed and really fun (i.e. we played lots “big games” such as last man standing), but also showed that Dodgeball is a sport that can properly be played competitively. I knew I wanted to keep playing after the taster session, so I went along to the training sessions and socials too, which helped with getting to know everyone.
Q: In terms of competition, how often do your teams compete? What will your season look like this year?
Marcus: In a regular season, each team has seven league meets and also competes in many tournaments. We play competitively on one day at the weekend, and a typical season would have two or three competitive events per month (depending on how many weeks there are that month etc). For this season, we expect it to be similar but with one less league meet and slightly fewer tournaments. Competitive play may be likely to start later than normal, depending on COVID-19 restrictions.
Dodgeball offers a great chance to make friends with people who aren’t just in your halls or on your course. I’ve met some of my closest friends at university through Dodgeball
Q: Outside of the opportunity to compete, what does UoN Dodgeball offer?
Rachel: I’d say Dodgeball offers a great chance to make friends with people who aren’t just in your halls or on your course. I’ve met some of my closest friends at university through Dodgeball: going along to the training sessions and socials is a great way to get to know people in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. You end up spending a fair bit of time together through training and weekly socials (which are a mix of non-drinking and drinking), and often the socials are something I’d look forward to as a highlight of my week.
Dodgeball is also good for keeping generally fit (it can get quite tiring throwing all the time!) and it definitely helps with relieving stress!
Q: How might things be different this year with regards to Covid-19? What will training be like?
Marcus: We aim to continue training as much as we did last year, but with measures in place to keep everyone safe. Following British Dodgeball guidelines, our courts will be made bigger to allow for social distancing and we will also have regular sanitising breaks before and during training sessions. To check that these COVID safety measures are maintained, we will have a COVID safety officer appointed for training sessions.
We do hope to host socials that abide by government guidelines, such as movie nights and quizzes. Hopefully some of our favourite socials, such as bowling, mini golf and ice skating, will be able to go ahead
Our training sessions in general will still consist of warmups, team training (i.e. for working on game tactics, general fitness and skills), general games and “big games”, which are more relaxed and are just a bit of fun.
Q: On the same topic, will you still have socials?
Marcus: Yes, we will still have socials, but it’s likely that they’ll be in a different form than usual for the start of the year. We would normally have socials at Crisis and Ocean, but they will obviously be on hold for the time being. We do, however, hope to host socials that abide by government guidelines, such as movie nights and quizzes. Hopefully some of our favourite socials, such as bowling, mini golf and ice skating, will be able to go ahead with distancing in place – though naturally it depends on the situation at the time.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Marcus: In terms of kit, there’s the chance to buy your own club tops and shorts throughout the year, but the club has also kit tops that can be worn for people who want to play competitively.
Follow UoN Dodgeball on Instagram at @uon_dodgeball to stay up to date with upcoming events!
Maya Israel
Featured image used courtesy of UoN Dodgeball. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of UoN Dodgeball. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of UoN Dodgeball. No changes were made to this image.
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