Monday, February 6, 2012

  Largest Dodgeball Game: University of Alberta sets world record (Video)

EDMONTON, AB, Canada-- More than 1,250 spongy red balls flew between 4,979 players for about an hour at the University of Alberta Butterdome - setting the new world record for the Largest Dodgeball Game, according to World Record Academy (www.worldrecordacademy.com).

  Photo: Students at the University of Alberta won the World Record for the most players in a dodgeball game. They had 4,979 people partcipate. Photo: University of Alberta/HO ( enlarge photo )

  The previous Guinness world record for the largest game of dodgeball was played by 2,136 participants and was organized by Phi Kappa Psi and Dodgeball Club at the Rochester Institute of Technology (all USA) at the Rochester Institute of Technology Gordon Field House, in Rochester, New York, USA.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the longest marathon playing dodgeball: 31 hr 11 min 13 sec, by the teams Hometown Dodgeball and Albany Dodgeball (both USA) at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York, USA .

  "We cut it off at 5,000 people,"Colten Yamagishi, Students' Union Vice-President (Student Life) told Examiner.com.
  "It's going be a tough record to break, but we gave them a number that is beatable in the future."

  "The best part was that this brings the community together; student, staff and alumni," said Yamagishi.

  Adding to the intensity of the game is the rift between the U of C, Irvine and U of A. The two schools fiercely fighting to reclaim what each feels belongs to them.

  U of A officially took their first dodgeball record in February 2010, nearly tripling the previous record, with a total of 1,198 participants.
  That win was short-lived, when the University of California, Irvine took the record in September of that same year, with 1,736 participants.

  The Air Force Academy leaped into the game May 2011 and snagged the record from U of C, Irvine with almost 3,000 players. That record was also short-lived, returning to its U of C, Irvine home last September in a game consisting of about 4,000 participants.