Listen Here
By: Abigail Frye
Twitter: @Abigail_EF
Email: fryea@findlay.edu
The University of Findlay Athletic Department hosted a dodgeball tournament for women’s sports teams on Sunday, Jan. 21. The games took place in Croy gymnasium from 1-3 p.m. with a multitude of teams participating in a battle for the trophy.
With the bleachers pulled out, and the clock set at 12 minutes for each game, the women’s swim, lacrosse, basketball, softball, tennis and soccer teams all competed for first place.
Jacelyn Litman, a junior lacrosse player and criminal justice major, was the driving force behind this new tradition. With a little help for setup from Lisa Liotta, the Assistant Athletic Director, the tournament was ready to go.
[It] gives them the opportunity to get to know other female athletes outside of their team in a different athletic venue,” said Liota. “A little healthy compeition isn’t bad.”Litman says that the goal of the tournament was to get to know each of the other players and be able to all play in the same game for once.
“I really wanted to get to know the other athletes,” said Litman. “I wanted to be able to cheer on the other players personally at their games.”
The dodgeball tournament was deemed a success as many players were thankful for the opportunity, including Corrina Talamo, a fifth year early childhood education major and member of the swim team.
“This was a good way to bond women athletes,” said Talamo. “When we do something silly and everyone is laughing, that’s the best way to bond people.”
The winners of the tournament not only received bragging rights, but also a dodgeball trophy to commemorate their victory. The women’s basketball team came out on top and was undefeated throughout all of their games to earn the prize.
This was the first year for the dodgeball tournament, but as Litman and Talamo both agree, they’d like to see it again in coming years.
“I want to make it an annual game, and since everyone said they loved it so much, we might do it in the fall and spring,” said Litman.
With the success of this first competition, there is a chance that male athletes will be putting on their own tournament as well. Litman also described certain improvements for upcoming years, like making sign ups with a limit of how many players can be on one team, as the swim and lacrosse teams had to be split in order to make the groups more even.
“The only thing I would change is the day, since Sundays are busy for the swim team with meets on Saturdays,” added Talamo.
UF will definitely see another dodgeball tournament for student athletes in the future, considering the positive feedback that was received. “Overall, it went really well, everyone had a lot of fun and was really thankful for the chance to play,” said Litman.
