Time will tell if theirs is a true underdog story, but a Winnipeg team is headed to Las Vegas to compete in the tournament popularized by the movie DodgeBall.
The Manitoba Triumph, an all-star squad plucked from the Winnipeg Rec League, is believed to be the first Manitoba team, and third from Canada, to compete in the Dodgeball World Championships, which this year run in Las Vegas Aug. 8-11. And while the 2004 Ben Stiller-Vince Vaughan vehicle did help popularize the game and standardize the rules by which it is played, the squad won’t be hoping it’ll be an inflight movie.
“Once you run against the 400th team going, ‘Remember the five D’s,’ you kind of get sick of it,” team captain Mat Klachefsky said.
For the uninformed, those would be dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge. Comedic licence aside, throwing and catching are much more important to the game, which has really taken root here. There’s more than 100 teams in the recreational league, with four all-star members coming from the Majestic Triumph, and the other five being those who’ve “given us the most trouble over the years,” Klachefsky said.
While they’re going in blind to the co-ed no-sting division — which generally means a foam ball as opposed to rubber — the feeling is they should be a competitive side.
“As far as talent and brains, we’re going to be all right. We may not win this year, but maybe down the line,” Klachefsky said.
The Manitoba Triumph Open Dodgeball tournament goes June 21 at Crescentwood Community Club, with an after-party that night at the Windsor Hotel featuring Klachefsky’s band BOATS along with DJ Co-op and Mike B in an effort to help the team cover the cost of the trip. They’ve also launched a fundraising campaign at indiegogo.com in hopes of lightening their load before finally hitting the road.