Taking a shot

• Source: Global Times
• [10:17 April 08 2011]
• Comments

As the game begins players run to grab dodgeballs which they will then throw at each other hoping to get the other team out. Photo: Courtesy of Alex Russell

By Thomas McKinley

In a gym in downtown Shanghai two teams of eight face each other. Half of the players hold balls slightly smaller and smoother than a volleyball. Arms are raised to throw at just the right moment and as hard as possible. But the players are not aiming for a net – their targets are each other.

It may seem fairly simple and untechnical, but these qualities are actually part of what make dodgeball so attractive for its players. While one tends to associate dodgeball with physical education classes in elementary and high schools in the West, in Shanghai it has become a recreational activity for young working professionals who, quite simply, want to play a sport that chiefly focuses on the fun and lets competitiveness take a back seat.

The Shanghai Active Sports Active Social Sport Consulting Co. (ASAS), which describes itself as dedicated to "providing the best sports and fun social events for the community of Shanghai," first started with a basketball league, but launched its dodgeball program in 2007. While Shanghai is abound with organized competitive sports leagues, such as softball, soccer, and even Australian rules football, Carlo Wuysang, a senior member of ASAS, saw something missing. "Dodgeball is a social sport, not too technical," he said. "In the US, dodgeball is very popular with adults, who view it mainly as a social outing. You don't need to be too athletic, and it's even common for girls to participate."

Fun with balls

In fact, at the ASAS dodgeball matches held in a gym on the campus of Jiao Tong University's medical school, it is mandatory for each team to include at least two female members, out of a total of eight players on each side. Aside from that, there are relatively few rules. The only objective of dodgeball is to hit your opponent with the ball without him catching it, which rules him or her "out." Contrarily, if the ball is caught, the thrower is out. When one side has relieved the other of all of its players, the former side wins.

A sport with multiple pumpkin-sized balls being hurled with maximum exertion at fellow humans may sound like a violent war of gradual attrition, but dodgeball manages to avoid being a bloodthirsty, tempers-flaring affair, largely because of its spirit. It is against the rules to hit a competing player in the head and those who do are disqualified from the match. Teams stand as far away as possible from each other, which helps to minimize the impact of the speeding ball – although according to all interviewees, getting hit hard certainly has a sting. Drinking – as in alcoholic beverages – takes place often before, sometimes during, and always after the matches, and the overarching atmosphere is one of people getting together to develop and enjoy friendships rather than achieve new milestones in their sporting lives.

Ken Reich, a business development specialist in his early 30s, got involved in dodgeball chiefly for its social nature. "I was watching some friends play softball, and although it looked fun, it was just a bit too much on the competition side for a way to spend my free time. I spoke with a friend there, and he told me that joining the dodgeball league would be a good way of meeting fellow partiers," said Reich, adding that because of the pressures of his job, where he deals with multi-million dollar contracts, dodgeball is the perfect way to blow off steam after a high pressure day. Albert Chang, who arrived in China in 2009 from the US, stated, "Dodgeball is fun to play, but what I like about it is that it is just a game. We refer to it as 'adults playing a kids' game.'"

With teams carrying names such as "Aim Low" and "The Situation," there is certainly an element of mirth to participating in dodgeball. Teams are generally formed through social groups, though people can sign up individually and be placed on a team with other "free agents," as they are termed. Alex Russell, a marketing manager for a Fortune 500 firm in the city and fellow dodgeball enthusiast, joined with a team that he put together from colleagues and friends, whereas Chang entered as an individual.