Dodgeball Tournament

A group of Trinity International University (TIU) alumni, by the team name of “Balstin” split $300 Sunday as they won the annual Dodgeball Tournament, hosted by Student Government Association (SGA).

“I don’t care about the money,” said competitor Heidi Ebersole of Getting’ After It. “I just want to win.” Ebersole’s team had the manpower to go all the way, but took third after eliminated by Balstin in two different overtimes of single-player face-offs.

The SGA event drew 23 teams, with names like “Slippery Gerbils,” “Ball in the Face,” and “Not Creative Enough.” Some 150 spectators, largely made up of teams waiting to take the court or teams already eliminated, dwindled over the course of the three hours it took for the tournament to expire.

The tournament was played round robin and single-elimination style. A match was won by best of three games. Trinity Intramurals appropriately documented rules for the game, but competitors voiced their usual disagreements with calls made by the referees.

“Bogus! Bogus! Bogus!” shouted a player in disgust to his cheating opposition. Several players took advantage of missed calls and remained inside the volleyball-sized court despite knowing they had legitimately been knocked out. The biggest discrepancy, mostly a misunderstanding, concerned the definition of a “live” ball.

“It is a ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor/ground, another ball, another player, official or other item outside of the playing field (wall, ceiling, etc.),” according to the TIU Dodgeball Tournament Rules. It was often difficult to decipher whether a ball had skimmed anther ball before hitting a target.

The key for success was speed and accuracy of throw and agility of body. The ideal dodgeball athlete would have the arm of a baseball player, the accuracy of a pitcher, and the agility of a football player.

Football senior Cole Goodenow showcased his skill as he impressively dropped and rolled to duck a live ball, and soccer junior Natalie Zierten displayed alertness as she jumped in what looked like a mid-air quasi-double toe-touch to escape a live ball, and ultimately both their eliminations. Zierten’s team, Dodge This, lost in the final and took second place, a repeat from last year’s tournament.

Teams played with a minimum of two girls, who weren’t too detrimental to the team if they were bad and, conversely, weren’t too beneficial to the team if they were good. Few females had much of an arm, so the strategy became catching her ball instead of throwing her out. To win a match, a team relied on at least one male sniper.

For Balstin, that sniper was an anonymous alumnus. Soccer senior Megan Pelland was the solo girl for the champion alumni, who played a man down. Pelland earned $50 for her performance and plans to save it for her wedding this summer.

The next college activity on the calendar requires a little less competition and a little more gracefulness. College Union has organized transportation for Ice Skating at Millenium Park tomorrow (Saturday). There is no cash prize for top skater.