[published on British Dodgeball, 04/01/2022]
What’s happening in 2022? In short, a whole lot. We’ve got over 100 events on the calendar for the rest of the season, varying from school events to super leagues, from Euros to Uni champs. There are still plenty of spaces left in opens across 2022, so make sure to check out the British Dodgeball website and register your teams in our Adult, University, Junior, and Schools competitions throughout the year.
[published on House of Dodge, 09/12/21]
Since the last BUCS report, two teams have held onto their leads; three have been usurped; three leagues simply didn’t meet; and two were cancelled due to hall booking problems, because, well, of course they were. It’s comforting to know that even with the relative glitz and glamour of the BUCS label, some things will always remain the same in University Dodgeball.
Let’s get into it.
[published on Bandit Fiction, 24/10/2021]
Finishing Zorrie and finding out, through his acknowledgements section, that Laird Hunt kept a copy of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves on hand throughout the writing process is the least surprising part of a novel that, generally, does not try very hard to surprise you. Zorrie is a gentle book, or at least is trying to be. It follows the life of its titular character, from young orphan through to attempted pregnancies, from wide-eyed, young adult, to stay-at-home wife, to widower.
[published on Bandit Fiction, 11/07/2021]
Lynn Buckle is the author of two novels, the latest of which, What Willow Says, was published by epoque press in May 2021. She lives on the Bog of Allen in Rathangen, Ireland, where she is a UNESCO Cities of Literature Writer in Residence. She is the founder of the Irish Writers’ Center’s Climate Writing Group and has benefitted from awards by the John Hewitt Society, Greywood Arts, Kildare Arts & Library Service, and was shortlisted for the Red Line Short Story Award. She is deaf/hard-of-hearing. Bandit‘s review of What Willow Says is available here.
[published on Bandit Fiction, 05/07/2021]
How do you fill the gaps where no words exist? That’s the question at the heart of What Willow Says, a novel which follows the interactions of a deaf granddaughter and her grandmother as the two connect over their shared love of nature.
[posted on House of Dodge, 29/10/2021]
This season, there are a total of six national dodgeball leagues for adults in England. In the women’s division, there’s the Super League and League 1; for the men, there’s Super League, and Leagues 1, 2, and 3. This isn’t even counting the numerous other leagues that have already gotten underway or are starting soon, such as the BUCS University League (which we’ve covered here), Junior Leagues, Mixed Leagues, and Regional Leagues. There’s also men’s and women’s Super Leagues in Northern Ireland this year, though none in Scotland or Wales – though Carmarthen Wizards and Rhondda Dragons have been welcomed into the English Men’s League 2.
That’s a lot of leagues to keep track of; a lot of teams to cheer on; and a lot of reshuffling that can make it hard to know exactly where we stand at the start of the season. So, to help, here’s a breakdown of what to expect in each league going into this opening weekend – compiled by yours truly, with some help from the new Beverz Rating and the wise minds behind the Neutral Zone Podcast (NZP).
[published on House of Dodge, 26/10/2021]
The first BUCS dodgeball weekend has come and gone at last, and the scores are in. Some familiar faces litter the tops of all the tables, though, surprisingly, not in the orders we’ve come to expect. Off the back of two COVID affected seasons, it may be that these initial fixtures will be less impacted by historic wins and years of training, and more by the density of PhD candidates, med students, and integrated Masters students in each team.
[published on House of Dodge, 04/09/21]
This is the final showdown: which is better, foam or cloth dodgeball?
You probably read the title, sighed, and clicked anyway. We’ve all been there. We’ve heard the arguments. We know which form is the best – it’s the one you already play – and every other form is boring/slow/dangerous/overcomplex/just plain bad. Oh, and sorry to any rubber players… maybe we can discuss that another time?
But we’re here today to break it down properly. Scientifically, even.
[published on House of Dodge, 28/07/2021]
What do Greek poems, Ben Stiller, and Norfolk have in common? Besides being acquired tastes, they’re all key moments in the great, sprawling history of dodgeball.
For millennia, people have gathered together to enjoy the great act of trying to pelt each other with flying objects in a fun, friendly, sporting manner. In this abridged history of dodgeball, we’ll follow how the sport became what we know today in the UK, moving through ancient epics through to ball changes and national governing body dilemmas.
Ready?
Let’s start at the beginning.
Zoë Wells // Writer Editor Translator