When I began thinking over who to center my first main article of this series, one name stuck out from her play this past season and the new honor of becoming the 2019-20 Women’s MVP: Kathryn Mays. She quickly developed her skills through hard work and dedication, proving that she’s among the top tier of players on Ohio State’s roster. Most people may know her for her incredible catching abilities, but fail to realize that she’s frequently called on as a thrower for the Buckeyes. In three short years, she has climbed to the top of the women’s rankings. With her impressive resume in mind, there seems to be no better choice to kick off this series about strong women in the league than Kathryn.
Category: Feature
A League of Our Own – Rebecca Shappell
Ten percent: that’s the percentage of women that comprise the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA). The percentage who actually start and play? Significantly smaller. Looking from roster to roster across the league, a woman’s name seldom pops up, however their impact on the court can be significant. Women have been a part of rosters since the league’s conception in 2005, however they did not begin consistently being rostered members with frequent playing time until roughly 2008. The NCDA first began to recognize women’s involvement with the establishment of the Ladies’ Match in 2011 and things have slowly grown from there, adding the women’s All-American list in the 2016-2017 season. As important as this growth was for the NCDA, there’s still a long way to go. Being a woman in the sport of dodgeball, you are continuously over-looked; you’re seen as under-sized, under-powered and, if we’re being honest, under-valued. We’d like to change that mindset. As Michelle Obama once said, “there is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” My intention with this series is to tell the story of the powerful women, past and present, in the sport of college dodgeball in hopes to begin to erase that stigma. In order to start this, let’s begin with the easiest story to tell: my own.
Continue reading “A League of Our Own – Rebecca Shappell”Rocket League Fundraiser
On August 8, the NCDA teamed up with the Dodgeball Club at UW-Platteville to host the league’s first ever Rocket League tournament. Rocket League is a fast-paced, exciting online video game featuring remote control cars with special abilities whose goal is to push a larger-than-life soccer ball into the opponent’s net as many times as possible in a given time limit. This event raised money to go towards the Tim Ebert Memorial Scholarship, which goes to help the NCDA’s internship program. The goal of the event was to raise $500 and I’m excited to announce that we raised over $750 through entry fees and donations.
The NCDA teamed up with current players: JT Warren (UWP), Jacob Sebranek (UWP),Caleb Frank (CMU & NCDA intern) and myself to host this competition. This tournament consisted of 9 teams that went head to head to be crowned champions. We started with a round robin tournament followed by a double elimination bracket, and the games were live-streamed for everyone to be a part of the experience. Teams consisted of current and former players from the league. Some of these schools included: UWP, VCU, and WKU. In the end, a team from WKU took home the title as the NCDA’s first ever rocket league champions. There was no one more excited about this than Felix Perrone (WKU alumni). As his response to the victory of his former teammates was, “WKU wins their first championship tonight”! A very much deserved win for sure!
Continue reading “Rocket League Fundraiser”NCDA Scholarship Fundraiser
This year the Platteville Dodgeball Club will be hosting an online tournament to raise money for the Tim Ebert Memorial Scholarship. With all the uncertainty going on, Platteville wanted to ensure that they could continue to help the NCDA with their internship program. For this year’s fundraiser, the Platteville Dodgeball Club will be putting on a Rocket League tournament. The tournament will be held August 8-9. Registration is due by July 26th, at 11:59p.m eastern time.
NCDA Internship Program Continues
The NCDA believes in the development of our student-athletes’ education and is proud to announce that we will be able to continue our Internship Program. The NCDA offered an internship last year and was able to develop a startup guide for new and current teams (Startup Guide). As part of the completing the internship and meeting our expectations, the NCDA was able to offer a scholarship to that intern for their work.
Continue reading “NCDA Internship Program Continues”Ballistae Dodgeball Gear Becomes Official ‘Dodgeball Gear’ Sponsor of the NCDA
Starting October 1st, the NCDA and Ballistae Dodgeball Gear will begin their partnership for the 2020 NCDA season. Ballistae Dodgeball Gear offers supplies designed by dodgeball players for dodgeball players. Their gear is second to none in the dodgeball world for both quality and comfort, and is a valuable asset to add to the NCDA’s growing list of partners.
As part of the partnership, the NCDA will receive back 10% of sales through Ballistae’s website if individuals use the following code: ncda2020. Additionally, use of the same code will provide players with a $5 discount on knee pads purchased through Ballistae. You can also find other useful equipment through Ballistae such as headbands, throwing sleeves, and more. Please check out their website today and get yourself equipped with the best gear in the game!
NCDA Reaches New Partnership Deal with Lucid Travel
The NCDA has renewed their partnership with Lucid Travel, an organization dedicated to helping college club sports teams and organizations raise money through travel. Lucid Travel provides a quick and easy way to compare hotel deals across multiple sites and finds the best deal that fits you and your team’s needs. For every room per night that your team books, the NCDA receives a rebate which will go towards helping us run the league. Additionally, you can make a customized page for your own team so that you can have rebates whenever other teams or individuals book hotel deals through your link! Be sure to check out Lucid Travels and our other partners on our ‘Partners‘ page, and book your next hotel deal today!
A President’s Final Thoughts from the Last Four Years
As some of you may or may not be aware, the 2020 fiscal year officially begins today. With this comes a change in leadership for the NCDA. Keeping consistent with the expectations set forth for nonprofit organizations in the US, our Member Teams have voted in new board members as others will be making their way out. For me, my second two-year term as President of the NCDA came to a close last night at midnight. Though I would have loved to stay in the position for many more years, the bylaws of the NCDA state a president cannot hold the position for more than two consecutive terms. When I authored the bylaws, policies, and constitution in 2015, I specifically put this clause in place to make sure the NCDA doesn’t get stale. With new leadership comes new ideas, methodologies, and opportunities. Selfishly, I would love to keep the title, but in the best interest of the organization I’ve been so intimately involved with since 2008 I know this is the correct thing to do. I have full confidence in Hunter Ford who will be a great president and continue to lead the NCDA into new and exciting ventures. Over the next two years Hunter will become frustrated, overworked, and underappreciated, but if his experience as president was anything like mine, getting to see the joy, friendships, and game highlights that college dodgeball brings will all be worth it.
Continue reading “A President’s Final Thoughts from the Last Four Years”Mad City and NCDA Reach Partnership for Nationals 2019 Streaming
The NCDA will be partnering with Mad City Events and Mainstream Media, LLC for this weekend’s College Dodgeball National Championship Tournament held at Grand Valley State University!
Games will be broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch from 8AM-4PM EDT on Sunday, April 14, 2019.
We are confident that this weekend’s top-notch production will have an extremely positive impact on our league, and the sport of dodgeball as a whole!
The Complete History of the WDBF
The Complete History of the World Dodgeball Federation
Every Member Nation’s relative strength after every game
Technical Documentation – WDBF Global Rankings
WDBF Womens, Sorted.
| Standing | Nation | Rating | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 44.681 | 2017 Gold |
| 2 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 44.411 | 2017 Silver |
| 3 | 🇺🇸 United States | 43.973 | 2017 Bronze |
| 4 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 41.186 | 2017 4th |
| 5 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 40.543 | 2017 Attending |
| 6 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 38.403 | 2017 Attending |
| 7 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 36.167 | 2017 Attending |
| 8 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 41.350* | 2018 Non Attending |
| 9 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 38.650* | 2018 Non Attending |
* denotes a provisional rating (< 6 matches)
Gonzalez Standings WDBF Womens
WDBF Mens, Sorted.
| Standing | Nation | Rating | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 48.665 | 2017 Gold |
| 2 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 44.058 | 2017 Silver |
| 3 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 44.877 | 2017 Bronze |
| 4 | 🇺🇸 United States | 42.773 | 2017 4th |
| 5 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 41.832 | 2017 Attending |
| 6 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 40.791 | 2018 Attending |
| 7 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 39.595 | 2017 Attending |
| 8 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 37.799 | 2017 Attending |
| 9 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 40.000* | 2018 Attending |
| 10 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 42.135* | 2018 Non Attending |
| 11 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 40.215* | 2018 Non Attending |
| 12 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 39.000* | 2018 Non Attending |
| 13 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 38.650* | 2018 Non Attending |
* denotes a provisional rating (< 6 matches)
Gonzalez Standings WDBF Mens
Ranking Order:
- Inactive Member Nations are not listed
- Sort Worlds attendees first, then others.
- Sort the most recent Worlds medalist according to their placing; Gold, Silver, Bronze, 4th finishers of the last Worlds will always have a standing of 1-4.
- Sort by Gonzalez rating
In late October of last year, 2017-10-21 to be precise, I had the privilege of watching live results of “Worlds” come in from an event hosted by Dodgeball Canada in Toronto.
These results were barely “live” like other sports might be privileged to experience, but dodgeball is in a nascent state despite the NCDA’s efforts and contributions. There were posts from fans watching the live stream, but the results I went for were the cell by cell updates to a simple Google Sheet.
We have a fellow Chicagoan and DePaul alumnus Vegim Begolli’s Mad City doing great things in developing event production and streaming quality live feeds. Dodgeball has much to learn from the achievements of eSports. Other organizations are coming to appreciate the value of records. At the very least, we are improving from hand written poster boards of brackets posted to social media. With actual reliable data gathering, we can evaluate competitors based on quantitative analysis and avoid the many pitfalls of opinion based Captain Polls.
As my first feature article as part of the new Statistics Committee of the WDBF, and as the United States representative of Dodgeball Canada’s Statistics Committee, I present the Complete History of the World Dodgeball Federation. Continue reading “The Complete History of the WDBF”
League Expansion and Retention: Fall Edition (18-19)
INDIANAPOLIS – Office of the Director of League Expansion & Retention: With Colleges and Universities already heading back to school this weekend (some went back this past weekend), most if not all of our upcoming teams are hinging on having success at their school’s respective fall recruitment fairs. Many of our current member teams depend on this success as well. Before clubs start competing in late September, we will go into detail who our prospective clubs are, and how soon we see them competing this season. As an update in itself, Brett Hadwin (CMU alum) and Kyle Dattelbaum (UNG alum) have taken on the role as my assistants for this season, and have already started much of the leg work required to get us off on the right track for the 2018-19 season. Continue reading “League Expansion and Retention: Fall Edition (18-19)”
My Dodgeball Story: Nathan Council (SVSU)
I approached Kevin a while ago (he probably stopped believing I’d actually write this) about telling my Dodgeball Story. I read some of the others that have been submitted this summer and it made me want to tell mine. I know there is a story inside of me but I have been struggling with how to tell it. How do I tell my story which is personal but also make it meaningful, insightful, and at least somewhat entertaining to the people reading it that do not know me? I decided to simply go for it and not worry about it. Selfishly, I’m telling this story in hopes that I can move on. I’m hoping that once I am finished I will feel a sense of closure. Closure that I have been missing since I left SVSU in 2014. Continue reading “My Dodgeball Story: Nathan Council (SVSU)”
My Dodgeball Story: Sean Smith (Towson)
It seems all too common for dodgeball stories to begin with an obscure story about how an individual discovered the sport on their college campus. This story will be no different.
Before moving in to campus as a freshman in Fall 2011, I knew I wanted to play a club sport, but I wasn’t sure which one or how to even get involved. The smart kids went on Towson’s website and researched this type of thing, meanwhile my lazy behind decided to just show up and hope I could figure it out. Little did I know my laziness would actually turn out to be the best thing of my first year at Towson.
Who Will End ‘The Streak’?
The state of Michigan’s 11-year national title run will come to an end eventually (maybe even this year). Here’s a look at the teams who came closest to ending ‘The Streak’ in the past, and those best positioned to do so this year:
The state of Michigan has had an unprecedented amount of success in collegiate dodgeball over the past decade or so. In fact, a team from Michigan has won each of the last 11 NCDA Nationals Titles. This 11-year-run has been incredible, but there have certainly been a few close calls along the way.
Here we are, less than a week away from crowning yet another College Dodgeball National Champion, and ‘The Streak’ is still alive and well. Before I dive into which teams have the best shot to end this steak in 2018, here is a quick history lesson on the closest misses that have occurred during the 11-year stretch:
NCDA Regional Hierarchy – November 2017
The question often arises: “Which Region is the best in College Dodgeball?”. While Michigan has historically had the best region in the country by a large margin, the argument for 2nd and 3rd place was always a big debate.
While reviewing the most recent Power Rankings, I noticed that the race for strongest region is much closer than some may anticipate. In fact, depending on what one determines to be the most important criteria, there could be a case made for several different regions as the best in the NCDA.
Over the past decade, many have accepted the narrative that the Michigan Region is the best in College Dodgeball and that it will never change. After taking a closer look at our current power rankings, the distinction of ‘strongest region’ is more up in the air than people may think.
I used two different methods to analyze the NCDA’s ‘Regional Hierarchy’, both of which were based off November’s Power Rankings. For reference, here is the top 20 for November: Continue reading “NCDA Regional Hierarchy – November 2017”