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Dodge ball finally a minor, er, hit
Movie draws adults to the game they played as a kid, and the ball still stings

By JOHN FAUBER
jfauber@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 20, 2004

West Milwaukee - Margaritas or beers in hand, two teams of dodge ball novices stepped onto a converted outdoor tennis court and were briefed on the simple rules of the resurging playground sport.

"First rule: We're here to have fun," said Jim Moon, dodge ball coordinator for the Milwaukee Unconventional Sports Association, which put on the tournament Saturday at West Milwaukee Park.

Keeping in that spirit, a young woman wearing a tank top and sipping a bottle of beer suggested: "Let's play naked."

That might be a mistake given the sting that a dodge ball can inflict.

The two teams took their positions at the far ends of the court, lying prone and waiting for the starting whistle.

In a Le Mans-style start, they raced to center court, grabbed the dodge balls and ran back to more defensive positions.

The two teams, one from West Bend and the other from the Minneapolis area, spent the next 30 minutes testing the strength of their rotator cuffs, twisting and jumping to avoid getting hit and, ultimately, getting whacked, mostly in the lower body but occasionally in the head.

While it's not the most pleasant experience, getting hit in the head does have one advantage: You're allowed to remain in the game.

Nha Rober, 36, of Minneapolis conceded she was a little uneasy about playing in her first dodge ball game.

But, "you have to challenge yourself," she said.

Many of those in the tournament were relatively new to the game, which has enjoyed some renewed popularity with the release of "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," starring Ben Stiller. The movie opened Friday and was the No. 1 movie in the nation over the weekend.

A few, such as Ben Witzlib, 21, of West Bend, remember playing the game as a child.

Witzlib's team won all three of its games. The nine-member team, which included three women, is mostly an athletic group of men and women in their early 20s.

"This is our first game," he said. "We've got wrestlers, baseball players and soccer players."

Meghan Miller, 31, a member of another team, said she never played as child but tried her first dodge ball game this spring.

"I love it," said Miller, of Milwaukee. "It's non-stop action. I accidentally hit a girl in the face. I apologized later."

Miller also got hit a few times.

"It stings a little bit," she said.

For those unfamiliar with the rules, the objective is to hit opposing players with a ball and send them to the sideline. Once all of a team's players are eliminated, or 10 minutes have elapsed, the game is over. Players can get back into the game if a team member catches a ball.

The balls are relatively harmless, air-filled and coated with rubber. Women can throw a smaller ball while men must use a larger, more cumbersome ball unless all the women on the opposing team have been eliminated.

Moon said the association, which also puts on kickball tournaments, began holding dodge ball events in 2002. In the winter, the games are played indoors.

"It's getting much more popular," Moon said. "With the movie coming out, everybody's going ballistic."

About eight teams paid the $80 fee to play.

From the June 21, 2004, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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