Every Friday after school, students can be heard cheering as they pelt each other with dodgeballs in BSGE’s cafegymatorium. The dodgeball club has become a huge success, attracting about 100 students from grades 7 to 12. When asked his opinion of this club, leader Malcolm Sherman-Godfrey ‘17 said, “it’s exceeded my expectations.” Originally, the club was a way to gain Activity hours for CAS, which is a requirement for the IB Diploma. Juniors and seniors joined out of the convenience and freedom that the club provides, unlike in official school teams which require regular commitments from the student. However, after several months of dodgeball, the club has started to attract students as a genuine interest rather than an obligation.
On Friday, December 16, 2016, the club held a dodgeball tournament to raise money for charity, in which students created their own teams consisting of five players. Admission cost $10 per team. One of the tournament’s objectives was for students to engage in a more competitive, physical activity. Many students were excited for the tournament on Friday, ready to have their names signed up to participate. Others showed up as onlookers.
Although the club has gained massive popularity in the school, Malcolm recognizes some of the challenges, including the long lines waiting to sign up to participate in the games. He’s looking into “trying to shift into an online sign up, rather than have students come in and sign up as they walk in, because it’s time consuming.” Fortunately for regular members of the club, more ideas and tournaments are being considered in the future. “This year we’d like to continue with the club, having weekly meetings, and a few more tournaments, to give people a chance to prove themselves consistently throughout the year, [and] see who is really the best,” explained Malcolm. The club will continue to strive forward, as Malcolm plans on handing the club to next year’s seniors to continue its success.
Frequent members tend to be very satisfied with the club. Nafiz Labib ‘22 thinks of it as a great way to “increase our running and arm strength skills, by catching and throwing.” However, Nafiz suggests taking the club to a different location. Currently, all games are held in the school’s cafegymatorium, which he finds to be “small, with a low ceiling,” and potentially raises the risk of injuries. Nafiz suggested going outside as an alternate possibility. Regardless, the dodgeball club has gained recognition among the students at BSGE, and its success is only growing.
The BACC Rag 