2022 Feb 9
Can’t Dodge This, Sri Lanka’s first traditional dodgeball tournament organised by the Rotaract Club of Colombo Uptown, was back with a bang for its second edition on Saturday, the 29th of January, at the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo.
The inaugural edition of Can’t Dodge This, which was held in late 2019, was a resounding success, introducing to the people of Sri Lanka a sport many have heard of but hardly anyone has partaken in. While safety regulations and the need to exercise caution over large gatherings prevented the tournament from returning as planned in the next two years, the competition finally returned last weekend with a strong turnout as expected!
Traditional dodgeball is played on a rectangular court, and the tournament is played between teams of five players each. When a player throws a dodgeball and hits a player of the opposing team, the struck player is out and must exit the court. Players can swerve out of the way of the dodgeball, deflect it with a dodgeball they already hold, or else catch it – which will eliminate the thrower instead. Players eliminated must drop any dodgeballs they are holding and exit the court. A ball will be considered ‘dead’ if it hits the walls, ceiling, one’s own teammate or if the referee signals a dead ball prior to it hitting an opponent. A dead ball striking a player will not require them to leave the court. A ball becomes ‘live’ again when a player picks up a dead ball off the ground and throws it. At the start of the game, all balls are considered dead until thrown.
The tournament was extremely fast paced, and matches were played with three rounds apiece to adjudicate the winner. NDB Zee partnered up as Gold Sponsor for the event. Sky Solutions – Event Solutions Partner and Maggi – Food Partner were among the other partners for the event.
President of the Rotaract Club of Colombo Uptown, Rtr. Akmal Afzal expressed that the Club is delighted to be able to make the dodgeball experience accessible to Sri Lankans, for a second time. “We are excited, we are ambitious, we are proud and happy, to have brought the experience of dodgeball to Sri Lanka, not once but twice. We hope all of you had fun, a lot of it! And we want to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors for backing us up immensely. Viva La Rotaract!” he said.
Rtr. Ammar Mohideen, Co-project Chairperson for Can’t Dodge This 2022 said, “life is like a game of dodgeball. You get hit from left, right and center, but to keep dodging is a choice. ‘If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.’ As a club we are proud to have successfully concluded the largest dodgeball tournament to date, with all your support and enthusiasm.”
