Haljit Basuljevic—Reporter
Five small dodgeballs were lined up in the center court, in the Moore Field House, perched on top of the same number of colored plastic cones. At the start of the whistle, players had to jet to grab the balls before the opposing team could get a grip on them with play. With players rapidly backpedaling to avoid a sneaky throw, balls shot back and forth like ricocheting volleys as spectators stayed alert to avoid a stray headshot.
The Physical Education club hosted their first Dodgeball Tournament in the on Wed, April 24. Traditional dodgeball rules applied. Crossing over the boundaries which extended to the center court line and out-of-bounds resulted in an elimination. Throwing at a player and then having it caught leads to an elimination. The player who caught the ball has a teammate revived.
Members of the softball team, whose name in the bracket was Fluggle Cakes, had dominating underhanded cannons. This especially worked to their advantage since the balls had a uncontrollable curve to them.
“For me, I had never much of an arm, so probably for me [the hardest part of dodgeball] is getting people out”, said Jase Trelli, junior physical education major. “The hardest part is the balls come at you fast, the balls curved a little bit, probably just dodging in general.”
Trelli found the dodgeball exhibition games exciting and said that the importance of physical well-being helped develop his passion for fitness.
Determining the winner relied on points as opposed to the single-elimination games traditionally played. Each matchup was 15 minutes of play, and whichever team had scored the most eliminations when time ran out won. Prizes included gift cards and frisbees.
However, the close matchup between Fluggle Cakes and Flying Richards resulted in a sudden death elimination. With two remaining players standing, Flying Richards had taken the title. The prize for that title was a blue, SCSU logo T-shirt for each of the winners.
PE club Treasurer Steven Samela, physical education major, said he had organized the event in an effort to gain more attention to the events that the Physical Education club had been coordinating. Each student paid $5 to participate, and the money garnered from the tournament went back into the physical education program.
Samela said he looks forward to the possibility of organizing the event again next year. He added that in previous years after he had switched from business major, he found enjoyment in teaching athletics, particularly football. He that the dodgeball tournament is mainly about having fun.
“It’s fun. It’s exciting to come to,” said Jordan McHale, a senior sports management major. Like most of the other players, McHale said she heard about the event through her being in the PE Club and on a sports team.
Samela said with the possibility of student teaching next year, he hopes if he can not be there, someone else will take the helm and coordinate the event.
