"Students dodge, dive, duck, dip, dodge"

After movie stars Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn splashed the big screen this summer as dodge ball warriors, the ball-chucking sport has seen a surge in nationwide popularity.

Now UB has joined in on the gym class fun, offering dodge ball for the first time as an intramural sport.

Because dodge ball is a standard sport in many elementary, middle and high schools, Edward Michael, director of recreation and intramurals, said he believes recent popularity along with nostalgia for the childhood game will generate plenty of interest.

"Students love the sport. It makes them feel like kids again," Michael said. "It was one of the most popular activities that we offered at Fun Fest, so we bought the proper equipment and we're ready to roll."

Michael said he anticipates a significant number of students will sign up for the newly offered activity. Edward Wright, the coordinator of intramurals, agreed and said he thinks dodge ball intramurals will be a good outlet for stress during the winter months.

"It's something that you don't have to have a whole lot of skills to play, and it's just a fun thing all around," Wright said. "We're just trying to provide a good stress-relief activity that allows students to enjoy themselves and stay active."

The coed intramural is listed at the "carefree" level, which means playing is just for fun and winning or losing is not as important as playing the game, according to the Recreation and Intramurals Web site.

Sammy Fallas, a senior marketing major, was one of the first students to sign up for dodge ball intramurals, starting two teams himself.

"Everybody knows dodge ball, so I figured it'd be a fun thing to do," Fallas said. "I didn't have a problem getting team members, so I think the rosters are just going to fill up. Everybody's going to want to do it."

Fallas isn't the only UB student who thinks turnout for the sport will be big.

"It's a great idea. It'll be a lot of fun to play and even to watch," said Sara Burneal, a sophomore communication major. "I bet it's going to appeal to a lot of students, especially since (the movie) 'Dodgeball' was so big."

Robert Piurek, a graduate student in the geology department, started a team and joined a local league a year ago. The team is a part of the Western New York Dodgeball Society, and consists entirely of UB students.

"We heard about a local tournament on the radio and decided to get a team together. We liked it so much that we've been playing in the league ever since," Piurek said. "Dodge ball has gotten pretty big in the past year, especially with the movie that came out, so I think there will be a good response on campus. I definitely would want to do it, as long as I don't have any scheduling conflicts."

The Western New York Dodgeball Society plays at the Delaware Avenue YMCA in Buffalo and offers two leagues, both of which are part of the International Dodgeball Federation.

Tychsen Yager, the New York State commissioner for the federation, said that the sport appeals to a lot of people because "it's a great time."

"It's something different for people to do, especially in the winter months. It's a great workout, a lot harder than most people think, and it's a great way to spend time with your friends," Yager said. "There's a little bit of taunting and definitely some competition, but it's really just something fun to do. Most of us learned to play this as we grew up, so it's like we get a chance to relive our youth."

Yager, like Michael and Wright, also said he anticipates a large interest for the UB intramural.

"When we first started, we got a lot of UB students playing in our leagues. You could get hundreds of kids turning out to play this, it really is limitless," Yager said. "Part of the sport's appeal is the fact that you're trying to physically hit somebody with a ball and you're running around the gym, dodging hits. You can classify this sport as whatever you want, but when that first ball flies by, people go all out."