Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Be the underdog!



Dodgeballer Anthony Remo
By IAN YEE
NOW that the R.AGE Campus Dodgeball Championship is just a little over a month away, it is about time you start sizing up the competition.
At this early stage of the sport’s development in Malaysia, it really is anyone’s game. A perfect setting for a true underdog story, if you will. You see, very few teams have proper coaching (there aren’t any dodgeball coaches around anyway), and nobody’s figured out any sure-win killer tactics just yet. So your team may be the lucky ones to figure it out on the day and walk away with part of the RM9,000 cash prize!
But even then, there are a few teams already on the dodgeball circuit that you may want to be wary of. It’s not like these guys are the Manchester Uniteds, Real Madrids or Barcelonas of dodgeball, but on paper, they have a bit of a headstart in the sport. For starters, all the 16 clubs registered with the Malaysian Association of Dodgeball (MAD) already have some experience in competitions, and they’ve been playing the sport regularly for more than a year now. MAD has already organised two major tournaments since they started out, and they both gave a good picture on the strength of some of these teams.
First up would be the Taylors Hyenas from Taylor’s University College. They’re one of the most active campus dodgeball clubs, and last August they won the Battle Royale, which was probably Malaysia’s first inter-campus dodgeball tournament. They get pretty good support from their club members as well. They made a surprise early exit at the Unity Dodgeball Tournament, but their supporters kept the atmosphere positive by cheering on anyway. They also have a team of dodgettes (dodgeball cheerleaders) who stand by their team all the way.
Dodgeballer Anthony Remo, 20, is glad that Mad About Dodgeball (MAD) has been around to help promote the sport.
Another consistent performer is the KBU Boltz, previously known as the Thugz. They finished third in both Battle Royale and Unity, and they’re a pretty intense team that always puts up a good fight. They also have a star player in Anthony Remo. Those who have been to MAD tournaments or games would notice an amazing dodger sporting a mohawk. That’s Anthony. His quick reflexes and dodging ability allow him to stay close to the attack line, ready to dodge and counter attack whenever an opponents makes a throw at him. It’s “living on the edge” kind of dodgeball, but it sure is exciting to watch.
The MIT Mitans seemed to have come out of nowhere to win Unity, but those who have been at MAD’s weekly games would know that these guys practice very often and have a strong group of male players. Their female players unfortunately, feature less prominently than the Hyenas, and that could give them some problems at the R.AGE Championship.
The MIT Mitans here to beat home team SEGi Kota Damansara Barbarians in a fiercely contested final at the Unity Dodgeball Tournament.
Our tournament requires teams to have at least one player of a different gender in the starting line-up, meaning you can’t have an all-male or all-female starting six. A mix of male and female players is important to keep the balance of the team, as female players are generally harder to hit because of their size (and they still can make catches to win the game), while guys usually throw harder.
Another up-and-coming team is the KDU Ronins, the underdogs that dumped the Hyenas, defending champions of Battle Royale at the time, out of Unity. They had only started playing dodgeball a few weeks before the start of the competition, but their in-your-face style was a bit too much for the Hyenas on the day.
The Ronins put up a strong showing to make the semi-finals of the tournament, but unfortunately they only managed fourth place. Not many would bet against them doing better this time though, as their club has grown quite a bit since then.
But who knows, maybe your team can give the Ronins a taste of their own medicine? Maybe you and your friends could be the team to upset some of these favourites, and win yourself some of the RM9,000 up for grabs? It only took the Ronins a couple of weeks to get in shape to beat the Champions. You guys still have over a month. Time to get dodging, y’all!

End of Party

 
 
 
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Gawai 2009 at Bukit Rimau

 
 
 
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Gawai 2009 at Bukit Rimau

 
 
 
 
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Gawai 2009 at Bukit Rimau

 
 
 
 
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