Hosting a dodgeball party

I know what you are thinking….you’ve always wanted to host a dodgeball tournament with all of your friends. All it takes is child-like joy, some creativity, and friends who are down to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.

Step 1: Rent a public school gym

Most public school gyms can be rented for a tournament. The catch is that they usually can’t be rented for private events. In my Cambridge, MA neighborhood, the way to get around this was to create a community organization that hosts public events such as dodgeball. I registered the “Inman Square Recreation League” with the mission of “neighborhood recreation” and applied for a permit with the Cambridge Public Schools to use one of the local gymnasiums for “recreation”. All Inman Square Recreation League events are technically open to the public.

Step 2: Buy dodgeballs

There are lots of dodgeballs you can buy online. I went with the recommendation from USA Dodgeball on ball types (yes…there’s a USA Dodgeball. How cool is that.)

Step 3: Buy a whistle

Not required but I can’t tell you how empowering it is to blow a whistle in a school gym. 10/10 would recommend.

Step 4: Familiarize yourself with the rules of play

As I mentioned previously, USA Dodgeball has great resources. Here’s their Rules of Play PDF.

Step 5: Invite your community to play!

Turns out most people love revisiting their elementary school days. At least my community did 🙂