March 4, 2004 - If you missed this tournament, you should be kicking yourself. There were over 100 people here to play dodge ball Tuesday night, and every last one stayed until at least 12:30. Below is a picture of the rules orientation. It was quite honestly one of the most fun and most enjoyed tournaments we've ever run. There were obviously a few growing pains, mostly in the rules department, but everybody was very understanding of the fact that this was the first time anybody's done this. It was the first time you've ever played dodge ball here, and I'd be surprised if you told me that you've ever played by these rules anywhere else, it was the first time we've ever tried to run a dodge ball tournament, it was the first time we've ever tried to run anything past 10pm, and it was the first time our refs have ever tried to ref dodge ball. And most everybody was a good sport about it which made the tournament that much more fun for everybody involved.

NIGHT OF THE FREE AGENTS 

The following is an account of the final game by Hessam Afshari , one of the free agents pictured below:

So the Free Agents all came to the court before we started and we weren't sure if we'd be our own team or if we'd be playing back-up on a full team. You could tell though that we all came to play and not to stand around. Ultimately, we became the free agent team and played in the first mens game. As team members, most of us didn't know each other but we got along well enough. Miscommunication on some of the rules with the student refs made for an interesting start (i.e. starting over) but eventually we got into the game. The free agents didn't do so good in the beginning and we were down after the first set of games. Nevertheless, we managed to win a bunch of games by large enough score margins that we were actually the first place team going into the finals. After a tie breaker to determine second, we were playing the championship game against Pi Kapp 2. The Free Agents killed the first game and were up by 8 but lost the second game by 4. Near the end of the third game there were 2 (Ariel and Hessam) Free Agents left and 4 opposing team members in. If the opposing team managed to hit both of us out before we could get any more of their team member out, we'd have been tied up. So sticking to what seemed like a strategy, Pi Kapp 2 kept going for one person (Hessam). I managed to twist, jump and, dunk for a little while (about 8 or so shots) but finally got clipped in the foot on the 9th or so shot. Somehow (possibly an off my foot rebound) the ball ended up in the hands of an opposing team's IN BOX member who fired at the last remaining Free Agent (Ariel) for the tie. Ariel caught the ball and with that, the player was gone and so was Pi Kapp 2's last chance at a possible championship win. Disclaimer: This is what I remember, so there could be "wrong" or incomplete information. If so, I take 0% responsibility. Thanks again for the fun night. -Hessam. You're welcome, Hessam. And thanks to SAE and expecially Pi Kapp for supplying enough people for two teams to keep the mens division alive.

Free Agents, UMBC Spring 2004 Intramural Mens Dodgeball Champions

GET DOWN TONIGHT

Congratulations to the Baltimore Area Dodgeball Association of Super Stars (B.A.D.A.$.$.) for their victory in the coed championship game of our first ever late night dodgeball tournament. Their victory over the Funky White Zulu Warriors was a competitive, fun-spirited and intense game, the way intramurals is meant to be. And all the playoff matches seemed to come down to a last play. In this game, I believe a ricochet knocked out both Morgan and J, leaving Dan in the box to fend for his life and he couldn't do it for the war paint-wearing warriors, so the only team with actual experienced players won the first coed title. But had two balls bounced another way, Team Inches could have been facing the East Siders from Harbor Hall in the finals. But like I said, it's a learning experience for everybody, including us. We'll do it better next time. Thanks also to Rufus for coming out and a special thanks to the Deadly Venoms who was the only womens team to enter and had to borrow Ariel and Hessam from the Free Agent team when possible for some extra guy-support to compete in the coed division. Maybe next time, we'll have a womens league. But for now, congrats to BADA$$ for their championship victory.

Balt Area Dodgeball Association of Super Stars (B.A.D.A.$.$.), Spring 2004 UMBC Intramural Coed Dodgeball Champs

We took some more pictures and here they are. This is the first time in all the years I've played or reffed or whatevered an intramural league where an entire team has ever painted their faces for the contest. These Zulus get some serious style points.

The Funky White Zulu Warriors, Spring 2004 UMBC Intramural Coed Dodgeball Runners-Up

And here they are with their friends from the championship game:

The Funky White Zulu Warriors and B.A.D.A.$.$.

We don't really have a great action digital camera. It takes a picture about 1.5 - 2 seconds after you press the button, so it's not condusive for movement. But we managed to get a few action shots that night. Check it out:

Pi Kapp 2 races the Free Agents for the ball in the championship match.

The East Siders chase the Deadly Venoms around the court.

The Funky White Zulu Warriors take on Rufus in the quareterfinals.

March 10, 2004 - I finally got around to cropping and uploading all the pictures we took at our first ever late night dodgeball tournament last Tuesday night. I believe the last picture I took was at 1:45am. That's a late night. Check out all the pictures that I could salvage with our non-action camera:

February 26, 2004 - It's the question everybody is asking now. Well, let me try to explain this a little bit. I'll begin by saying that you need to sign up by tomorrow, Friday 2/27 if you want to play. Secondly, you need to be available between 9:00 pm and approximately midnight on Tuesday 3/2 to actually play in the tournament. There will be a managers meeting Monday 3/1 @ 1:00 in RAC 224. OK, so there are all the dates you'll need to know.

The actual game format will be what I'm told is the old Ninetendo-style dodge ball game. I don't know, I was always playing Super Mario Bros. Anyway, the teams will be comprised of 7 people per side and it will be played on a volleyball court without a net. Each team will start with four players in the 30x30 feet playing area. These players will be known as the "dodgers." The team will also have three players standing out of bounds around the outside of the opposing court. They are known as the "tossers." The goal is to get the four dodgers out of the game. Once a team is down to one dodger, the other three tossers will enter the court and become dodgers. Once all four of these new dodgers are out, the game is over. Both the tossers and the dodgers can get the dodgers out, but the tossers cannot be eliminated. There will be a lot more rules we will go over at the managers meeting, but that's the jist of it.

As far as players are concerned, we realize that not everybody that's interested is going to be able to pool together 7 players. Don't worry about it. There are a lot of people in that same boat. We'll easily be able to put two teams of four together or find a few free agents from the free agent pool to round out a team of 5 or 6, etc. And if you don't think you can find anybody else, sign up as a free agent. We'll definately be able to find a team for you or make a free agent team if we have to. And if you miss the signup deadline or the meeting, just show up at 9pm and somebody will probably need another dodger or two.

Now the actual tournament format will be determined when we find out how many teams there will be. In all likelihood, we'll have at least two of the three courts running, possibly all three. Every team will play at least three games and we'll have a playoff after all of the round robin play is finished. We'll stay as long as we need to and I'm estimating that it won't go too much passed midnight if it even gets that far. But we won't know that until tomorrow when everybody signs up.

If you have any questions, please let me know at dfishe1@umbc.edu or 410-455-1540. It should be a good time so I want to see everybody out there. Tuesday 3/2 @ 9:00pm.