Not Your Typical Dodgeball

Reflecting back on my school years before university, I realize that I had a love/hate relationship with physical education class. I loved it during my elementary years because gym class often meant little more than playfully hiding under a gigantic rainbow parachute. But with high school, came the beep test, where students would have to do a certain number of laps and drills in a short amount of time… in a nutshell, it is probably the worst creation by the kinesiology gods. But the “fun” sport that I grew to love/hate most was dodgeball. It was scary and aggressive, but also thrilling and rewarding—especially for the winners! Last week while doing my usual search for local Facebook events, I found an event link posted on the MoveU Facebook page that was UTSC PACE-sponsored. UTSC PACE stands for Physical Activity Coaches & Educators. I hung out on the UTSC PACE Facebook page to learn more about the event. When I read the word “dodgeball,” I thought to myself, “hmm, that sounds interesting.” But then, after reading more, I found out that was not just any dodgeball, it was trampoline dodgeball. Even though I have never been to the UTSC campus before, I didn’t let my lack of tri-campus knowledge hold me back. I was determined to jump on those freaking trampolines. So off I went! What I loved off the bat was that there was free transportation to the Skyzone Indoor Trampoline Park from the UTSC campus. The UTSC PACE crew also gave us free refreshments (“free” is one word that will never cease to amaze me). Once we arrived at the park, the realization that I didn’t know anyone coming into this event hit me. And I think the crew at UTSC PACE predicted that there were going to be a lot of students like me attending this event, which was why the mixed the group of over 50 plus students around and separated us into teams of virtual strangers. From that moment on, I was no longer “the loner kid who didn’t know anyone.” I was delegated to the blue team and we all had to find a way to make our team work while getting to know one another.

The first few tries on trampoline dodgeball were overwhelming. Each zone was split in half with six trampoline pods on each side (one for each player on the team), along with side trampolines on the wall. Although it sounds easy, it was actually quite difficult at first. The trampolines were so bouncy that I had to find a way to become more agile to allow myself to turn around and aim my ball at a target. Nonetheless, I still had fun just jumping around and pretending that I was levitating (because that’s a childhood dream of mine). And I wasn’t alone, because while my team spent time getting the hang of playing dodgeball on trampolines, we kind of wiped out the first few times. However, we found a way to work the system midway through. Once a new game would start, we would alternate in each pod in zigzags while switching around. When one of us got out first, no one groaned at them for leaving early. Instead, we worked hard to catch a ball so that we could bring that member back in the zone. And our technique worked. We won our last game!

Afterwards, we were given the option to join around different mixed teams for more games, or to explore around. I decided to play trampoline basketball, and lived my dream of doing a slam dunk after five failed tries (yes, even with the assistance of trampolines). I also jumped into a foam pit because, hey, what’s a zone full of trampolines without any foam pits? It was hilarious to watch people jump in, get stuck, and champion their way out.

Even though I can be shy at times, I loved meeting fellow students beyond the St. George campus. I felt more connected to my university as well. It was refreshing to know that a lot of people agree that jumping on trampolines is fun, and that it’s a form of exercise for the kid in us. Also, aside from realizing a love for trampoline-related events, I’m now interested in tri-campus events. So I’m excited to see what else will come up this school year! And yes, if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, I probably have reached a new record in writing the word "trampoline" the most times in a student life blog post. —Amanda