Four black dodgeballs are lined up in the center of the court.
Four men are lined up on either side with one hand and one foot touching the wall.
Eight pairs of eyes are locked on the four balls.
“3-2-1 dodgeball.”
The players dash for the balls and only four lucky players get the chance to take the first shots. Screams from each of the players and the screeches of tennis shoes on the floor resound as the eight players battle it out, trying to get the other team off the court first.
This is the world of dodgeball at N.C. State and it can be found on the squash courts of Carmichael Gymnasium every Thursday at 8 p.m. with the Wolfpack Dodgeball Club.
According to Damon Hughes, a senior in biological sciences and president of the club, the idea for the club came about last year.
“I was wondering where the fun was being a junior with 18 hours as an RA with no free time. So, I thought about something we did for fun in middle school — dodgeball,” Hughes said.
Hughes said he got some friends together to help him start the group, and they began filling out the forms to make themselves official. Jay Vigen, a sophomore in aerospace engineering and vice president of the club, said it took a lot longer than they expected to get the club started.
“It took about seven months to get [the club] together,” Vigen said.
The team played its first game about two weeks into the fall semester after its first interest meeting. Teams of six to eight players can sign up to be a part of the club. As of now, there are ten teams, including “The Dirty Half Dozen,” “Ballistic,” “The Bombsquad” and “Balls-to-the-Wall.”
Each game lasts until a team reaches five wins, so there can be up to nine rounds per game.
During a game, players get hit in a variety of places on their bodies.
“When I hit somebody on the head, I celebrate and when I get hit on the head, I just shake it off,” Tyler Hall, a freshman in civil engineering, said.
According to the players, the games are a good way to eliminate stress and anger they have toward school.
“I’m taking 20 hours this semester,” Hughes said. “It’s the perfect game for stress.”
The dodgeball club has a group of fans as well. During a game, the ledge over the court fills with people leaning over to catch a piece of the action.
“It’s kind of funny sometimes … very entertaining. I come to hang out with the guys and support my friends,” Heather Fogleman, a sophomore in communication and political science and dodgeball spectator, said.
Vigen said the squash courts are a great place to have the games.
“The ball can’t go anywhere and it’s quick and easy to judge,” Vigen said.
Just like any other club, the Wolfpack Dodgeball Club has an entire board of directors. Matt Aycock, a sophomore in biological sciences, is the secretary of the club.
“I keep all the scores and send out all the e-mails. I decide who plays who, so that every team plays every team,” Aycock said.
So far, the club has had a total of 23 games this semester. And as of last week, the teams now play multiple games each Thursday night.
Rob Cagle, a sophomore in business finance and economics and the treasurer of the club, said he really enjoys being a part of the club.
“Eveyone seems to have fun, and it is great to see everybody having a good time,” Cagle said.
And all the teams and players said they are only there for one reason — to have a good time.
“Dodgeball’s awesome. We saw the information written in the tunnel and we joined last minute. There’s seven people on our team,” Scott Foster, a freshman in electrical engineering, said.
Foster admits a team probably should practice outside of the Thursday night games, but he said practice is definitely not necessary.
After the games conclude, the players hang around the courts and talk about some of their best moves.