Dodgeball Is Not Just for Gym Class Anymore

 

Dodgeball — that sport you might have played in middle school gym — has an adult league in the Twin Cities. The Open League is open to all gender identities, from beginners to veteran players. The Lavender League is for the queer community and cisgender female allies. There is also an adult Women, Trans, and Nonbinary League (WTNB), which started in 2024. The league offers youth programs for ages 7 to 18, and open gyms for casual pick-up games.

At a recent game in the WTNB league, I saw competitive games, but also a safe community space for bonding. One of the players, Caitlyn McGrath, says she needed a social outlet after relocating from the East Coast. She knew little about the sport, but after one game she was hooked. ”It’s a community where I can be all of the parts of myself at once, and it’s safe to be all the parts of myself at once.” Already she has been player, captain, and referee, and now she is the first non-male member of the team advisory council.

 

 

Founder Anh Phan built the opportunity in Minnesota, modeling it on his dodgeball experiences in West Hollywood, where he started playing 16 years ago. “It was where I found my closest friends and where I got to enjoy what the [Minnesota queer] community could feel like,” Phan says.

Dodgeball requires strategy, teamwork, and focus. Each eight-person team has 40 minutes to complete as many games as they can play. Six balls line mid-court, three left and three right to avoid collision of the players after the whistle is blown. The balls fly as soon as the game begins. Any player that is hit by a ball leaves the court. As the number of players dwindles, the game intensifies. A player might call out “pressure” as they approach the opposing team, side by side, never turning their backs.

Although the games are intense, captain Sarah Mitzen says dodgeball is freeing. “All the anxiety, everything that I’ve been carrying and worrying about, turns off, and I’m completely in that moment.”

Each season lasts around eight weeks, with spring, fall, and winter opportunities to play. After the latest WTNB league registration opened, it sold out in hours.

 

Ashley Cook was a teenager, working at Sky Zone, when she was recruited to join a Twin Cities dodgeball league ten years ago. She has since competed in four world championships, and other national and international competitions, as a member of the USA women’s dodgeball team.

Cook already loved the sport when the queer Minnesota Dodgeball league was created in 2024. It is “awesome,” she says, to have a dedicated space where people feel successful in a sport — “while learning about controlling mechanics, strategy, and being welcomed.”

Minnesota Dodgeball is hosting the first-ever international Lavender Challenge in August in Bloomington. Teams from around the world will compete in a tournament exclusively for queer, trans, nonbinary, and women players.

No matter what skill set any player brings to the table, empowerment is the end goal. McGrath encourages others to join — they plan to expand the league teams. “It’s a supportive and inclusive environment. People make you feel welcome.”

Details: minnesotadodgeball.com