Dodgeball is the interactive medium through which we gather. Harkening back to grade school days of dodgeball and moving beyond a simple playground game, we keep this nostalgic game alive and we introduce it to the unfamiliar. This social outlet is color-blind, gender neutral, translatable across all cultures and languages, and it does not require super-human strength and athleticism. Our members of all ages come from a variety of backgrounds. These features strengthen our club, and we strive to maintain our diversity.
Our opponents have dubbed us as ninjas, and we embrace this title. Conventional dodgeball sufficed for our early years, but as new talents and abilities emerged, our group's style of play evolved and now, we encourage acrobatics, stealth, cunning strategy, and endurance -- all traits of a successful ninja.
For six years, our dodgeball group expanded and evolved. Our membership began with a few city colleges, expanded to include the wider Chicago area; now, we have members from the suburbs who commute to play. Recently, our members traveled to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Lansing, Michigan, Columbus, Ohio, and all across the metropolitan Chicago area playing dodgeball and representing the Aberdeen Street Dodgeball Ninjas. As a result of these trips, we have formed relationships with national and international groups.
Aberdeen Street Dodgeball is an all around good time. Please join us.
OUR COURT AND RULES
Starting The Game
Each team starts at their back fence.
Balls are placed on the center red line.
The ref yells "Dodgeball!" to start the game.
Balls must cross behind your own safety line before you can throw them at opponents.
Game Play
If an opponent throws a ball at you and hits you, you're out.
A hit is when a thrown ball hits an opponent before hitting ANYTHING else.
If you throw a ball at an opposing player and they catch it, you're out.
When out, line up in your Out Queue in the order you got out.
If you catch an opponent's throw, a teammate from your Out Queue comes back in.
Players rejoining the game from the Out Queue aren't in play until they touch their back fence.
Catches bring in teammates from the Out Queue in the order they got out.
You may use a ball to block, but if your ball gets knocked loose, you're out.
If you throw a ball over the fence, you're out.
If you step over your opponents' safety line, you're out.
A throw hitting multiple opponents results with only the first person hit being out.
If an opponent's throw hits you and deflects up, you may save yourself by catching it.
If you're hit and a teammate catches the deflection: you're out, no one's in, thrower stays in.
Head-shots count as hits. The thrower should hug the victim before play continues.
Holding onto a ball and tagging an opponent isn't a hit.
Balls kicked/spiked/slapped/hit/punched at opponents don't count as hits.
Stripping a ball from an opponent results with them being out.
When it's 1-on-1, there are no boundaries.
If teams are excessively stalling a game, the ref may call "No Boundaries". Stalling is no fun.
A team wins when all opponents are out.
See Our Court and Style of Play