Two years ago, a league formed that offered students the chance to show off their wiliness in an opportunity most haven’t had since the fifth grade. Every Monday and Wednesday 15 teams gather in the Darby Auxiliary Gym to test both skill and strength in the most noble of intramural athletic pursuits: dodgeball.
Dodgeball works well as an intramural because it’s a simple game. Two teams of six each chuck soft, yellow balls at each other, trying to pick off the opposition. A hit to any part of the body is considered an out. Teammates can bring players back into the game by catching a ball off of the opposing team’s throw. Play ends when a side is completely eliminated or five minutes passes.
Several elements of intramural dodgeball jump out at the casual spectator. The most noticeable is that teams are comprised of a wide variety of students. Although some teams have athletes looking for sports to play in the off-season—the team Soo Big is comprised exclusively of football players—most groups simply pull enough players from a group of friends to form a team.
Then there are the team names. With Grinnell’s varsity teams sporting names like the Purple Roos and Skullcrushers, it is hardly surprising that dodgeball teams do the same. The Colbert Nation, Hawaiian Punch Gravity Bong, Balls to the Wall, and the Sweatband Mafia are all teams in the league.
Although some traditions remain constant in Grinnell dodgeball, new student coordinator Jacob Dankner ’11 did make some notable changes this year. “I shortened the games [and] made very specific rules trying to get everything very organized,” he explained.
The biggest change in rules is that players no longer sprint to the mid-court line, emulating the hit movie Dodgeball, to pick up the balls. Instead, each team starts at the far of the court with three balls each.
Along with the alterations to the rules, Danker tried to ensure that refereeing on the sidelines improved as well. “The whole process is kind of streamlined,” he said.
Danker’s work might seem like overkill for an intramural league, but many of the students take playing seriously. When asked what Soo Big’s team strategy was, Mike Connelly ’11 answered simply: “Dominate”.
Luis Arizpe ’08 from The Spectre Erectors factitiously said, “We basically just want to destroy the other team ... We want to use intimidation.” Indeed, every Spectre Erector comes equipped with a bottle of fake blood to each of their matches.
Veterans “And the Chuckettes” combine a recognizable gimmick with a cunning game plan to create one of Grinnell’s most unique and recognizable teams. “It’s a strategic advantage for us to wear tight short shorts and wife beaters,” said Josh Weber ’09, “because then there’s less clothes for other people to hit.”
