Spongeball Dodgeball
Needs:
spongeballs, at least 20 and the more the better
boundary markers
a large field, about 20 paces by 40
2 buckets
staff “spotters” with whistles
at least 14 kids
Preparation:
Mark off a large field as follows: divide it in half with a “no-man’s land” about 5 feet wide in the middle. Each side should be about 20 paces square. Divide the spongeballs equally: place them in a bucket of water in the middle of each half of the field. The fields should have boundaries on the sides and back as well as the “no-man’s land” in the middle.
How to play:
Divide the kids equally. Each team must select a “captain,” whose identity is relayed to the staff spotters. The captain is a secret: the kids should not acknowledge the captain in any way. When the game starts, the kids throw spongeballs at the other team. Unlike traditional dodgeball, if a kid gets hit, he or she is not out. In fact, each kid can get hit many times and nothing happens! Play continues until the CAPTAIN of either team is hit at all at which point the team that hit him/her wins and the process is repeated. Spotters watch the captain and blow the whistle when he/she is hit. Even if the captain catches the spongeball, the game is over and re-started. As for the other kids playing, it does not matter how often they are hit.
Notes:
The “no-man’s land” in the middle is to keep kids at least five feet from one another when throwing (see photo). If a spongeball drops into the no-man’s land, allow kids to dart in and snatch it, but they must return to their own territory before throwing. The same goes with the side and back boundaries: kids may leave the field of play to grab errant balls but must return before throwing. Note that the captain is not allowed to leave the field of play: the back boundaries are to make sure the other team has a reasonable shot at hitting the him/her and if he/she is out-of-bounds retrieving spongeballs, that’s not fair.
Tips:
Have the previous captain pick the next one, as it makes things move faster.
Keep extra water or a hose handy, as the buckets empty quickly.
Implement and enforce a “no throwing at the face” rule.
Spongeballs can usually be found at the dollar store.
Encourage kids to try different strategies, such as surrounding their captain with "bodyguards" or even having one real captain and one pretend captain to try and trick the other team. On offense, they can try to all throw at once or communicate with one another about which opposing team members have been hit and which ones haven't.
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