Dodgeball becomes serious business for Winnipeg enthusiast

Stacy Huen has made a career out of his love for adult dodgeball.

Huen, 28, started playing the growing sport in Winnipeg in 2012, and justfive years later, it's no longer a hobby it's his full-time job.

"It's the only sport I've ever been any good at," says Huen, 28, the managing director of Dodgeball Winnipeg.

It turns out he's also good at organizing the sport thanks to the efforts of Huen, head referee Mat Klachefsky and a small group of players, Winnipeg will host the Canadian National Dodgeball Tournament in April 2018. The event at the University of Winnipeg Duckworth Centre will also serve as a tryout for Team Canada for the 2018 world championship.

"Our package was Olympic quality compared to the other bid packages we saw," Huen says.

Not bad for someone who created Winnipeg's international-style dodgeball league just two years ago.

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While there was already a dodgeball community in the city Huen started playing adult dodgeball in the Winnipeg Rec League it didn't follow the rules set by the World Dodgeball Federation.

After a group of Huen's friends went to Barrie, Ont., for the National Dodgeball Festival two years ago and returned raving about the rules and difference in ball size, Huen wanted the Winnipeg Rec League to switch to that standard.

'They said no'

"I asked them if they would change to international rules and they said no," Huen says.

Huen played privately with friends using international rules, then created his own league in 2015.

"Eventually I was able to quit my day job and take over Dodgeball Winnipeg full-time," he says.

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Dodgeball Winnipeg uses world federation size foam rubber balls (seven inches or almost 18 centimetres in diameter), as opposed to the eight-and-a-half inch diameter balls used in the rec league. It allows players to carry as many balls as they can hold, which is the international rule, rather than the rec league rule allowing players to only hold one ball at a time.

Rec league balls weigh 200 grams, and a top-level male player can throw those balls 85-100 kilometres per hour. The foam balls that Dodgeball Winnipeg uses weigh 140 grams, and the top throw measured came in at 120 km/hour.

"But when you consider the weight difference, Dodgeball Winnipeg balls hit you with less force," says Huen. "That's why the game we play looks scarier but hurts less."

Serious recreation

The major difference, Huen says, is the referees -- Dodgeball Winnipeg has officially trained refs at every game, while the rec league is self-officiating.

"[Winnipeg Rec League] creates their own rules," Huen says. "People just show up and decide what they think dodgeball is and what the rules are."

When Huen started Dodgeball Winnipeg,he had eight teams and 64 players. Now,two years later, the league boasts 82 teams and about 600 players.

"We've experienced growth every season including summer, which is generally when dodgeball registration drops off because people like to be outside," he says. "Manitoba winters are huge for dodgeball."

You don't need to be a skilled player if you sign up at the lowest level, Huen says.

"We have drop-ins for people that want to improve. Literally anybody can play so long as their body can handle it," he says. "We've had players in the league as old as 54 on their first game."

Huen's parents are both entrepreneurs, so starting his own league wasn't such a leap for him.

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"I've never known what it's like to have medical or dental benefits," he says. "My parents have always taken whatever interest they had and turned it into a business."

Upside: no sports parents

For Huen, managing sports at the adult level has its challenges, but the referees help make things a lot smoother.

"You want everyone to be honest and a good sport, but the reality is that isn't the case," he says. "And most of my job is dealing with people who are aren't being good sports or mature."

Playing dodgeball with adults has its benefits.

"You don't have to deal with sports parents, which are far worse than any player you might get in an adult league," he says.

"Even though the community is getting large, it's still tight knit and a great thing to be a part of."