COURTESY PHOTO/RETROLAND.COM
The teams may not be as intense as those from the gyms of Average Joe’s or Globo-Gym, but the dodgeball club here can be a good outlet for channeling competitive energy or relieving some stress. They play every Tuesday and Wednesday night from 10pm-12am in the HUB courtroom. Andrew Pohl, the president of Dodgeball, joined the club his freshman year and has participated ever since. “It’s a good stress reliever when homework or a class has you a little frustrated and you need a place to manage it.” It doesn’t hurt that it provides an opportunity to be among friends and have fun.
Dodgeball runs as two teams that compete against each other. The teams are created each night by separating the group that shows up into two. After that, the game begins. Dodgeballs fly, people dodge; it’s everything one would expect. It’s also a club that doesn’t need a large amount of equipment, making it accessible to anybody. It is also the club with the least amount of funding, which Pohl believes isn’t completely necessary anyway.
“We have a membership that just applies to one game and it builds up, but we have a large regular crowd that shows up either Tuesday or Wednesday night. The amount of people who play, and when they regularly show up, is always changing due to people’s homework and everyday life schedules. I feel that dodgeball fills a niche that the other programs don’t. We are a group that doesn’t need crazy memberships or lots of time. We are just there to act as a stress relief and a quick way to have fun.”
The best thing about showing up and not having to formulate teams is that no one will ever be left out and there is no need for a Chuck Norris tie-breaking vote allowing the team to play. Next time you’re in the HUB on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, or need to relieve some stress, just take a walk into the Courtroom.