Dodgeball - The latest trend in Austria

Have you heard about “Dodgeball”? It seems like it’s THE new kind of sport in Austria this year. 

It’s a game that’s very similar to “Völkerball” which you probably all still remember from school. However, other than what you might think it’s not a game exclusively aimed at children attending elementary school, middle school or high school. In Austria it’s quite the opposite – students and adults from all over the country are teaming up and playing against each other at various dodgeball tournaments.  

The organization of the game is pretty easy. Players on two teams try to throw large balls at each other while avoiding being hit themselves. It is often played in a gym with the main objective to eliminate all members of the opposing team. Members can be eliminated by hitting them with thrown balls, catching a ball thrown by a member of the opposing team, or forcing them to move outside the court boundaries when a ball is thrown at them. The number of dodgeballs varies depending from the number of players and the size of the gym but three to ten is common. 

The form that is most common in U.S. schools was popularized by the 2004 film “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. I haven’t seen the movie yet because I am not a big fan of Ben Stiller movies but in case you are, you should maybe watch it.(Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUpzAw5Kw7M)

Here’s a short instructional video showing you how to play dodgeball. 

What’s so special about dodgeball in Austria is that Austrians seem to place more emphasis on their costumes than on the actual sports game. They are very creative, designing their own costumes and thereby making sure everyone knows which team they belong to. Just recently, on May 9^th, a dodgeball tournament called “Dodge and Style” took place in Vienna. So, I guess the fact that the players are dressed up is probably linked to the name of the tournament. What’s more, the various dodgeball tournaments include an after show party with live DJ’s, great entertainment and lots of fun. Sounds like a perfect event to me! I haven’t tried it out yet, but I think I will some time soon :)

Here’s a video about Dodgeball in Austria which I can highly recommend you to watch in order to see what these dodgeball tournaments are really like.

 For further information here’s a website including all the information you need in case you want to participate in a dodgeball game yourself: http://dodgeball.at/