Dodgeball Tournament Hits Participants With Lots Of Fun
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dodgeball. The ultimate grade school game with the red rubber ball.
There was a 2004 comedy about the game starring Vince Vaughn. But dodgeball is actually a serious sport.
This weekend in the southwestern suburbs, the Global Trampoline Dodgeball Championship will crown a new champion.
Thirty-five teams from three continents are competing for tens of thousands of dollars at the Skyzone Trampoline Park in Orland Park.
"This is a hobby. I'm a nurse and a dodgeball player," said Kiki Caudana, who traveled from Los Angeles to compete.
"It's really fun. You get to throw balls at people," she said.
One team came all the way from Australia.
To see the action up-close, CBS 2 put a GoPro camera on William Hong during warm-ups.
"If it hits in the face, it hurts," said Hong. "I busted a kneecap once. There's a lot of strategy in the game."
Of course, the name of the game is dodgeball. Some players are really good at dodging the ball.
Just like in the fourth grade, if you get hit, you're out.
Kaiju is one of two teams from the Chicago area.
"We're constantly battling the stereotype of the movie," said Jake Mason, president of USA Dodgeball. "It's a lot more than a goofy movie. We'd like to take dodgeball from the playground to the world stage. It's definitely not a kid's game anymore."