Grievance Report from Pumpkinfest II

This document acts as a report from the Office of the President that was filed following several complaints from Members regarding a recent NCDA-Sanctioned Event.

Date of Event: October 17, 2015

Location of Event: Harrisonburg, Virginia – James Madison University – UREC Gymnasium

Name of Event: Pumpkinfest II

Attending Member Teams:

  • James Madison University (JMU)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
  • University of Maryland (UMD)
  • Towson University (Towson)
  • Pennsylvania State University (PSU)
  • Kent State University (Kent)

Any questions or concerns can be sent to ncdadodgeball@gmail.com

Author: Felix Perrone

NCDA President

6 thoughts on “Grievance Report from Pumpkinfest II”

  1. Regarding the recently filed grievance report:

    It has been brought to my attention that there has been some oversight. This is my formal and public apology to Derek Pierce and the JMU Dodgeball Club for not reaching out to them prior to publication to get a formal statement about the Event in question.

    According to the new Bylaws [Section 9] any time a formal complaint is filed by a Member regarding administration, policy, or an Event, some sort of ruling/publication needs to be made.

    This was the first one we’ve done, since the bylaws were put into effect September 1. It was definitely a learning experience for me, and changes will be made for future reports/rulings.

    For one, I should have reached out to Derek and JMU prior to publishing my report. It was a huge oversight on my part and I take full responsibility.

    In short, the purpose of posting these reports is so other teams can learn from them so we can avoid/address issues as an organization to help our growth.

  2. This league has become way too political. I understand that a governing body makes things run smoother but you’re trying way too hard to make a childhood game into a sport, ultimately turning people away from it. The amount of complaining I saw by a team that won’t be named because JMU’s fans are “too rowdy” is just pathetic. They even threatened to leave and it was the first round of games. It’s called home court advantage. You see it 10-20 times worse in football and basketball games. So instead of just throwing everything on JMU (as this league has a history of doing), play the game of dodgeball and stop trying to set rules on every step a player makes. Human error is a part of every sport. I agree that planning could have been better but that’s not the point of my post, but address issues that you all have avoided for years: 1. The amount of stoppage for teams complaining during games (this one is huge but everyone seems to avoid it). I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to walk off the court last year because the opposing captain has to complain about JMU “playing to rough.” It’s dodgeball. Whether your 40 feet away or 2 feet away, I am not going to hold back nor would I expect an opponent to hold back. And 2. Teams not being able to take it thay fans are getting in their heads. I’m sorry to say but that’s sports.

    So that ends my rant. I agree JMU could have done a better job planning but cut a new, senior, president some slack. It’s a learning experience like Felix said but address the issues that seem to get swept under the rug.

    Go back to the first and second year JMU v. Kent state brawls that’s rarely had much stoppage and were great dodgeball. New teams aren’t going to want to join a league when all they do is go to a tournament and witness complaining all day long. Sorry if anyone does not appreciate my opinion or finds it offensive but this is coming from my last two seasons of dodgeball and constantly having to deal with other teams complaining about our fans and our team for childish reasons. We are in college, people! Grow up and play the game!

    1. Based on these comments, it feels like a good and strong Officiating crew would be able to nip this before it became a problem. Flashing a card here and there would help cut the complaining and get people back to playing the game.

      What do you think Gromer? It can’t just be the players, if they are allowed to bicker on calls won’t they keep doing it?

    2. I appreciate your input Brent, it is good to hear from our alumni. The goal here is not to throw JMU under a bus, it was to allow other teams to be able to learn from this experience. JMU does not suffer any penalties from this Event, they just unfortunately became the first team to host a large tournament this year that had a fair amount of public complaints. The complaints about the tournament were already on social media, all we did was compile them into an organized fashion so lessons can be learned.

      I understand hosting a tournament for the first time is a large undertaking, but I stand by my decision to write this report. I want other teams to learn from this experience so we can have more smoothly run tournaments in the future. At the end of the day, it will not be the policies of this organization that turn people away from the sport.

      Maybe it is because I see things from a different perspective, but I don’t know of any new rules, policies, or sub-points of the Bylaws that make this game less fun. The only real changes we’ve made this year, on the average player’s side, is they have to fill out a medical release form stating they will not sue the league in case of injury or death. If you participate in any other organized sport, you will do the same thing.

      I do apologize if the league comes across as more political, but unfortunately that’s what happens when you sign up to be a team leader, you become aware of more things going on in the background that the average show-up-to-practice player would see.

      If you wish to discuss this further, I am always open to conversation about the structure/organization of the league! I’m here as an elected official to serve the Members of this Organization. If you, or anyone really, want to give some input, suggestion, or even just want to talk about it I am 100% always open for conversation.

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