Is Dodgeball The Next Olympic Sport?

The score is dead even and both sides are down to the last three contestants left. An anxious audience cheers as bright, rubber balls rip through the tense air towards the opposite team formation. Agile bodies jump and twist to avoid being hit as they compete for a coveted spot on top the three-tiered podium to receive the gold medal for their country…

Wouldn’t it be great to see this scenario rise to global acceptance? Perhaps soon you will. There're two organizations truly committed to presenting dodgeball as an Olympic event, the National Dodgeball Association (NDA) and the International Dodgeball Federation (IDBF). These two organizations are striving to further the sport in the United States. Both have promoted strenuously on the US circuit more than anyone else. By working together, both organizations are focused on accomplishing the goal of spreading dodge ball globally.

The two largest dodgeball organizations in the US are the National Amateur Dodgeball Association and the International Dodge-Ball Federation.


The NADA, incorporated for over six years, have been offering a very successful package deal to anyone interested in starting a league or tournament in his or her geographical area. The NADA have been hosting national tournaments regularly on the eastern front of United States. They invite players from established leagues to tournaments they host as well as others outside of organized leagues, receiving accolades by publicizing the sport while operating as a park and recreation department!


Yet on the international scene, the IDBF have also been promoting strenuously in their quest to see USA unite dodge ball as a whole. They’ve been in operation since 1996 and have since incorporated and hired a full time executive director for league development. The IDBF has dodge ball federations in several countries and govern state organizations in about a third of all US states. Their goal is to organize the sport in all states and project 300,000-sanctioned players by the end of 2007. The IDBF have more than thirteen countries under its belt, however the United States is not one of them. IDBF founder Rusty Walker said, “The USA is the most fragmented country in the world, due to the fact that there are so many people trying to run their own dodge ball leagues and companies”.

Work is now in progress where there’s only one set of rules for competition. In some situations, dodgeball is played with six balls per game, however it’s harder to officiate. The only way this style of play can be enforced is through an honor system where a player steps off the court when hit on his own accord. Traditionally, an honor system is not used for any sport. For instance, a football player doesn’t tell the game official his body was down before contact or a basketball player doesn’t admit committing a foul before a shot attempt. The honor system will not work for organized dodge ball competitions.

The IDBF allow competition with one or two balls as a maximum. If you think about it, which ball would live television focus on? And how would an official make the right call with six balls flying from either side? Fewer balls would force players to focus more on tactics. This style of play will influence more players to increase skills of aim and power for throwing.

The IDBF has spread dodge ball across the globe more than any other organization. Therefore they have done a lot for the promotion of the sport. Children make up the largest group of IDBF play but adults aged 25-35 are the largest and hottest growth segment in recent years. There’re other organizations spreading dodge ball into their geographical area such as The National Dodgeball League and the LA Dodgeball Society.


Many schools across the nation have intramural programs and several institutions have introduced dodge ball as a club sport. Most of these schools are in the Midwest Dodgeball Conference, a collective group who schedules matches and tournaments. They’ve also established a set of college dodge ball rules.

The National Dodgeball League, for instance, held a tournament with $25,000 as the cash prize in Las Vegas, NV. The tournament cost was $95 per player. One enthusiastic player named Cory from Desoto Dodgeball commented he paid a total of $700 to play, which covered his travel, hotel, food, and other expenses. While impact of this event isn’t certain, it has helped promote awareness of the sport.

And last, yet certainly not least, there’s The National Dodgeball Association (NDA). We work with the IDBF, unifying dodge ball in the USA. With access to the IDBF e-mail database, we do our best to answer questions, help established leagues grow and run leagues in our own established area. Even though we are in our beginning stage, we have the help of this global federation to further the sport. While money isn’t our focus, getting more people involved in dodge ball and unifying it is.


Our commitment for the sport is unmatched. In the past year, the NDA hosted events with several community centers, Arena Football Team stadium tournaments, self-funded city events, the California Police Activity Leagues, and our own leagues and pick up games. Despite all this activity, we still manage to keep cost to a bare minimum. We’ve sponsored kid leagues charging only $10 for 8 weeks of play and have ran numerous free events. We’ve even worked closely with leagues in other states, helping them grow and referred players to other organizations!

So what can players and organizers do to help the sport grow more in 2007? By working with companies that are willing to assist and unify with other companies, everyone can do their part. The only cost anyone needs to be concerned with should be to buy balls, insurance (added benefit with membership) and a place to play. Any company or individual can get dodge ball started in their area. If you need help advertising and money is limited, please contact the NDA at WW.N-D-A.COM and we will do our best to direct you in the right direction.