Two teams stare each other down in the silence before the match. In the middle of the floor between them is a line of black orbs, colloquially known as dodgeballs. Students on either side size each other up in the second before they get the signal to leap into action. Upon hearing the whistle, their toes fly off on the line and the arena transforms into a frenzy of chaos.
Intramural dodgeball is one of nine intramural sports hosted by Pomona-Pitzer Recreation. Their league is split up into seven teams ranging from five to eight players, united to battle on the CARW gym floor. Dodgeball is hosted from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays throughout the spring season. It is a well established intramural sport, consisting of both a regular season and a postseason that ultimately culminates in a final championship.
One dodgeball squad, the Average Joes, is made up entirely of first-years. According to one of their members, Noah Pershing PZ ’27, the team’s passion stems from their love of athletics.
“We were all kind of doing as many intramural sports as possible, because we love sports and we like getting active,” Pershing said. “I reached out to, essentially the inner tube water polo team that I had [in the fall] and said, ‘Hey who wants to get in on dodgeball?’ And they were all in.’”
Another member of the team, Leo Godsberg PZ ’27, agreed that dodgeball was a fun way to stay active. He spoke about how he and his teammates prepare for their competitions.
“It’s not the easiest thing to practice for,” Godsberg said. “But a lot of us, we go to the gym, we lift weights, I guess.”
Harold Fuson PZ ’26 corroborated this, noting their frequent presence.
“Yeah, I see those guys putting in work,” Fuson said.
The Average Joes were scheduled to play their first game on Jan. 23, but their opponent, the Dodgydiggers, forfeited the match. However, the Joes attempted to sharpen their skills by splitting into two teams of their own.
“We played ourselves,” Pershing said. “It was really, really fun. We played just to five, my team went up by two and then they came back too but it was really fun. We’re all really excited for our actual first game.”
Another member of the team, Ryan Williams PZ ’27, reflected on what it was like to practice while other games were being played around his team.
“The atmosphere was honestly pretty fun and pretty intense for the games that were going on,” Williams said. “It seems like this semester, they upped the rules to make things a little more serious.”
On Jan. 30, the Average Joes faced off against the Untouchables. They arrived clad in their innertube water polo championship swag and the Untouchables had enlisted the help of a videographer to chronicle their journey to the top of the world of IM dodgeball.
Both teams heckled relentlessly and pep talks a la “Remember the Titans” sounded from both sides of the court as the teams faced off in the win-or-go-home tiebreaker of five.
The battle concluded in the referees taking advantage of the videographer and performing a set deciding video review, crowning the Average Joes as champions with a score of 3-2. Raucous chants of “Whose house is this? Our house” could be heard throughout the CARW as the Average Joes celebrated their win.
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