The UMPI Disc Sports Club is inviting campus and community members to take part in the inaugural National Amateur Dodgeball Association [NADA] Dodgeball Tournament, to be held from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, in Wieden Gymnasium.
The tournament will serve as a fundraiser for the club – so it can purchase more disc baskets and complete its disc golf course, and also so it can donate some of the funds to the Easton Girls athletic program. The group is hoping to raise $1,000.
UMPI’s Disc Sports Club, which was established as a university recognized club in the spring of 2008, has more than 30 members. Aaron Tomlinson serves as the club’s advisor. Tomlinson said the club supports all disc sports, mostly Disc Golf and Ultimate Frisbee. The group currently has an indoor Ultimate League in Gentile Hall and travels to between two and four different tournaments during the academic year.
It was when the club received funding approval from the University’s Student Senate for nine baskets, however, that the club became a very visible part of campus. Disc golf baskets originally were set up in a course that stretched from Gentile Hall to UMPI’s cross country course. To improve course flow, the start and end point for the course is now located at the tennis courts and stretches around the soccer fields and Merriman Hall. The club is sharing baskets in order to create a 12-hole course, but hopes to raise enough money so it can install a full 18-hole course.
Tomlinson said his wife, Rachel Tomlinson, came up with the idea for the dodgeball tournament as a fun way to raise money for the disc sports club: “It’s different than what most people do for fundraisers,” he said.
The dodgeball tournament’s round robin play will begin at 1 p.m., and play-off brackets will be assigned when the round robin is complete. Each game will be three minutes in duration. For more official rules, please visit the official National Amateur Dodgeball Association website at www.dodgeballusa.com.
Teams must register by May 2. The cost is $40 per team for 6 players and $5 for every additional member. Up to 10 players per team is allowed. All team members must complete the appropriate forms and sign the safety waiver (under 18 requires a guardian signature) and be returned with entry fees. Checks should be made payable to UMPI Disc Sports Club. In addition, all team captains must attend a mandatory captain’s meeting at Noon on May 8 in Wieden Gymnasium. For more information, please contact Aaron Tomlinson at 768-9474 or email him at aaron.tomlinson@maine.edu.