Talk:Dodgeball/Archive 1

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Does this game qualify as a team "sport" and if so, shouldn't it be added to the team sports cateogory? --98.210.94.140 (talk) 21:37, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Probably a local name for it where I grew up (Roseville, Minnesota) but we knew of the game as 'Bombardament'. I remember clearly how we'd commonly play 'boys vs. girls' with the Phy-Ed teacher (a real-life persona of

The only kind of Dodgeball I'm familiar with is the kind I played in Finnish PE. No teams, one ring, one or two throwers at the edges and anyone hit with the ball (possibly excepting a few areas, there's a bit of variance there) joins the throwers. The last person in the ring wins. I'd add this to the variants list, but don't know how I'd do it. -- Kizor 23:15, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

dude that called poison ball

I live in rural Virginia in the US and that's the version of dodgeball we played in elementary school as well.--Champignonne 19:26, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Growing up in Southern New Hampshire, we knew the game described in the article as Bombardment and the game described by Kizor and Champignonne as Dodgeball. I think some mention of this alternate name and/or the "Dodgeball" / "Poison ball" alternate naming scheme explained, would all be beneficial! I will try to add when I think of it, or someone else can! Isoxyl 16:44, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

I grew up in the Chicago area. Same there: in a circle is dodgeball; across a line is bombardment. Kensol1 15:11, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

SilverTen says..

Dodgeball is the funniest movie since happy gilmour, everyone should be smoked in the face with a dodgeball, it really doesn't hurt. Then maybe our children will learn to be tough and the little weaklings we teach them to be with all these laws. Parents, throw something sharp and pointy at your kids, they'll learn a lot faster then if you were to put them in there rooms for half and hour and then buy them anything they want after they've cried there heads off the whole time they were in there.

I had a sadistic PE coach in junior high (late '50s) who thought dodgeball was "manly." He made us use *basketballs* and we damn well hated it. Everyone limped around the rest of the day with bruises. The bastard finally was fired for making a kid do punishment push-ups and then beating him on the butt with a track shoe for going too slow. PE does not have good memories for many of us. --Michael K. Smith 17:01, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Gdowns says... I just want to say that dodgeball is an exclusive game, and with the aim of physical education to be INCLUSIVE it really doesn't fit. Some kids are forced to play when they really don't want to.

---I live in New York, which means that dodgeball doesn't exist in our schools. It really sucks. Me and my friends are attempting to start a dodgeball club though.

I don't understand what the problem is. Dodgeball isn't any more dangerous than football or basketball or hockey. They get hit with a foam ball. Even in the face, it's not going to cause you to bleed or anything. And if needed, just kick kids out if they start aiming for the head on purpose. --72.226.224.251 03:25, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

I didnt see it under the controversy part, and I'm not sure if others have used this argument, but I've always contended that Dodgeball is good for unathletic kids because it forces them to learn to dodge and keep away from the ball, something they should already be familiar with. In something like basket ball, they have to develop the same skill set as the athletic kids, and will of course get completely PWN'd -- Eds01 23:18, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

Does Dodgeball exist outside of the U.S.? I've talked to many people who have spent their childhood in Latin America, and none of them have heard of anything even similar.--200.44.6.157 20:07, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, Japanese kids play dodgeball a lot. Especially in Elementary School, but even in junior high and high school. They generally use the rules referred to the article as "Munkenai", with one ball.

Yep, I played Dodgeball all the time at my school in Canada. We mostly played a variant of what the article refers to as JailBall, which we called "Swedish Dodgeball". Arianna 14:58, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

I am German an here we play this game even in tenth grade, depends on the gym teacher though :). Even when I served in the german army I played this game. It's rules are so easy yet it is amazingly fast and exhausting and most of all FUN. I wish I'd find some people to play it with me nowadays... Martin --217.17.197.166 14:08, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Seen in Australia too; the rules described here seem to be American, and only recently gaining ground over here, but the basic idea of tagging players out with a thrown ball, calling it 'dodgeball', is probably pretty widespread. One particular primary school variation I remember involves the throwers standing in a circle around the dodgers. -- Perey 09:17, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm from Argentina, we play the game in primary school (middle school). Buaco (talk) 22:35, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Under the "Controversy" section:

Dodgeball, when it emerged in about 1922, was touted as the "nerd's sport".

This seems unlikely, since in the nerd article, it's mentioned that the word "nerd" dates only from the 1950s. Loganberry (Talk) 01:59, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Some suggestions if anyone wants to help:

• Not a single
  citation
  for the entire article.
• The Variations section is much too long.
• The Tactics section is a pretty clear violation of
  Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information
  .
• The External links section needs a cleanup to comply with
  WP:EL
  .

Cheers --Pak21 08:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to see the rules for dodgeball. I'm sure it's instinctive for Americans but as an Aussie I don't know the rules. --Bren ^talk 13:50, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I've got comprehensive rules that are the standard in NYC adult leagues. They're the same that I remember as a kid. They're listed at http://www.nycssc.com/index.php/rules/dodgeball-rules and are used verbatim in at least 3 other local leagues. NYCSSC refers to the version as NY Dodgeball. Obviously the stuff near the bottom specifically about the league wouldn't want to be included. Its tough to put comprehensive rules, since there are so many variations; tight be a good starting place, though... I am an employee of the league (lover of the game), so I should say that I'm not hoping for any links or anything from this. Mattarch 12:40, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

According to gullible.info , "The first game of dodge ball was played in 1493 in Belgum, where it was traditionally played dead rabbits." Any way or verifying this? —The preceding

This is a Saskachewan varient of the game it's the same as the original except you only win when you hit the other teams doctor you keep secret who your doctor is but the other team will eventually find out because the doctor pulls the wounded in alowing them to continue playing it's typically only played by younger kids. Jamhaw 16:33, 26 January 2007 (UTC)jamhaw

i live in calgary and some schools call in doctor dodge ball but i kept calling it doctor mario becase i was always on the red team and i was always the doctor.... howa bout crazy ball? theres not eams just like 3 balls and the last one standing wins? there's basic moral rules like no head shots or cheap shots like if you're tying your shoe or something that's how i played it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.145.39.134 (talk) 00:03, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Are these names actually real or made up, can anyone or the person who put them there reference the names? I tried some clean up, more is needed.--BaRiMzI 04:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

This article claims "Dodgeball, when it emerged in about 1922, was touted as the "nerd's sport" " But looking at the article for Nerd it is stated that this term only dates back to 1950. If so, why does this page make the "nerd" claim? Deckchair 10:48, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

I am the Creator and Commissioner of Big Apple Dodgeball in New York City. I added info about this league but Snowwolf deleted it. I added the info again since I am the one who started the league.

Thank You Wikimjm (talk) 18:59, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does the rules section of this article not make sense? For example:

• "seven to ten that compete per team at a time" vs "The first team to eliminate all 45 opponents".
• "20 game balls on the center line" vs "three on each side of the center hash mark"

In general, the "The Game" section seems far more proscriptive, which clashes with my memories of dodgeball being a far more freeform game. — PyTom (talk) 05:14, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

The article List of dodgeball variations has been proposed for deletion if anyone wants to comment. ChildofMidnight (talk) 08:17, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

I gotta say, I think the list of variations is fine. Dodgeball's got a lot of variations, and I think this list is a tremendous source for people looking to see what they've been playing, and those looking for a new variation to try. I do understand, however, that this section could be added to without basis. Maybe we should look at who added these variations and find out where these variations are played and where/how they originated. Mattarch 12:40, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

I didn't put the tag up, so I'm a bit confused over why the 'worldwide view' is inaccurate (I'm also from the US, so maybe that doesn't help). Can someone either improve or explain what is missing? Basket548 (talk) 18:10, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Dodgeball is not played in US and Canada only, but in Europe as well. Since it's an international and universal sport, it's safe to assume it's a worldwide sport. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.157.251.33 (talk) 21:20, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

For your information, you forgot to add Australia. Australia plays dodgeball.122.107.158.194 (talk) 08:46, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I just undid a revision on the Dodgeball page. The revision had removed a bit about a ball having to "die" after hitting a person in order for that person to be out. The ball must "die" after hitting a person in order to make an out.

This is an important distinction. If a ball hits a person, then is caught by someone else on his team, that person is not out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattarch (talk • contribs) 19:24, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

To add to what you have said, the thrower will be out and the catching team can resurrect one of their fallen players.Also, if two or more people get hit by a single dodgeball but the dodgeball hasn't touched the ground yet, they are still out because they still got hit on the full by a dodgeball. 122.107.158.194 (talk) 08:45, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Unlike most of the other articles about sport in wikipedia, this one doesn't talk about the history of dodgeball. Can somebody please help make this article better by doing so?122.107.158.194 (talk) 08:42, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Isn't there a variant of Dodgeball called Animal Ball? I remember playing it before.

No — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.219.22.50 (talk) 18:22, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

We don't actually "know" that dodgeball could be the cause of Double D wearing a hat. Ubuntude (talk) 13:30, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

I am removing the following-In literature, dodgeball in which smaller or weaker children are forced to play against older and stronger children is sometimes depicted as licensed bullying for the amusement of cruel gym teachers.[1] Other writers retain better memories of it.[2]. This is Ridiculous and POV. And the refs given are from 2 Memoirs by two authors that are not even notable. Even if the Authors were notable, it is still just someone's OPINION, not a FACT that Dodgeball is used by cruel PE teachers.--74.179.215.67 (talk) 21:54, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

I am afraid that is true, and I know many who feel this way. But what would you consider a "credible source?" For some reason, it seems from my own experiences that a lot of heartless people end up teaching PE. But that is beyond the scope of this article and needs credible sources.74.124.177.165 (talk) 15:44, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

(Line 2) ...the sport has also emerged as a popular middle school, high school, Investment Banking and college sport. Wut? Mgs2804 (talk) 21:24, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

When did this sport begin? The history and origins are not in this article. I am trying to do research for another wiki project, and the historical evidence is conflicting. Did cavemen invent it by throwing rocks at each other, or was this an invention of children or school teachers? It started with me trying to remove vandalism to questions about the origins of dodgeball. Then I came here as I often do, to find that the origins were missing.74.124.177.165 (talk) 15:40, 30 June 2013 (UTC)