In the popular movie "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," legendary dodgeball coach Patches O'Houlihan offers his players the following words of wisdom: "Always remember the five Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!"
Tonight, students and faculty alike will have an opportunity to dodge, duck, dip and dive their way around Dillon Gym at the Official Princeton Dodgeball Tournament.
Last year, the men's water polo team was crowned champion of the court. Two years ago, members of Cap & Gown Club took home the title. This year, a field of 112 teams — representing everything from figure drawing to football — will compete for a grand prize of $2,000. The event will bring together an estimated 3,000 people.
Dodgeball changes
According to coordinators Freddy Flaxman '07 and John Boscia '07 — who are in their third year of planning the event — several things have changed since last year's tournament.
Last year, 64 teams competed in an NCAA-style tournament that started at 9 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m. Since 48 more teams have joined this year's roster, Flaxman and Boscia set an earlier tip off — the tournament will start at 5 p.m.
Also, the increase in participants has created a demand for more referees. Flaxman noted that between 15 and 20 referees — members of the Colosseum Club — have been employed, a large increase from the eight referees that monitored last year's competition.
A big challenge was finding 112 different t-shirts for all of the teams. Flaxman explained that he found a way to dodge that bullet.
"The company we are using has 50 colors to begin with," Flaxman said. "For the rest, we needed to use different combinations of shirt colors and writing."
Participants will also see a difference in the ball they'll be throwing — and dodging. The coordinators purchased official dodgeballs for this year's tournament. The Rhino Skin balls are smaller, which makes them easier to grip and control. Flaxman and Boscia are hoping that the new balls will lead to fewer bloody noses, a common injury in any serious dodgeball match.
A level playing field
The game of dodgeball is known as "the Great Equalizer." Where else can you find an a capella singer narrowly missing the whizzing fastball of a varsity baseball pitcher? With so many different organizations competing this year, Flaxman and Boscia attempted to design the bracket as fairly as possible.
The 112-team bracket is divided into four quadrants. Quadrant One and Quadrant Two include a total of 64 different campus organizations and clubs. Quadrant Three is composed entirely of varsity and club sports teams. Some men's and women's teams — such as the varsity basketball and varsity volleyball squads — are competing as one unit. Quadrant Four, which mainly comprises the eating clubs and residential colleges, has 16 teams.
In previous years, the coordinators made a conscious effort to pit arch rivals against each other. This year, they shied away from such matchups in hopes of promoting a more diverse playing field.
"This year, we did everything randomly so as to promote fairness," Flaxman said of the new bracket. "Any rivalries you may see on the bracket is purely coincidence."
Of course, there are some big-time rivalries that the coordinators left on the schedule, including a traditional first-round matchup between Ivy Club and Tiger Inn.
Going all the way
All eyes will be on the four lucky teams who survive their individual brackets and reach the Final Four.
During regular pool play, teams can use as many different players as they desire. But for the Final Four matchups, the teams will select their 20 best players to compete. The games will be played at Dillon Court 1, and the gym bleachers have been moved to the far side, creating stadium seating and the atmosphere of a big game.
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