Athletics Department is pumping new life into the school’s community with recreational events
Justin Scott // Managing Editor
On Sunday Nov. 19, the Capilano University Department of Athletics and Recreation is partnering with the CapU Residence and the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU), to host a dodgeball tournament at the new gymnasium located at the CapU’s recently opened residence. Running from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the event aims to pit 12 teams against one another in a recreational tournament, with prizes up for grabs.
The tournament will see teams engage in six-on-six games, with a few roster stipulations. Each team must start each game with two women on the court and only one varsity athlete is permitted per team. While a dodgeball tournament is an exciting prospect on its own, according to Chris Raeside, the athletic events & sport development officer for CapU’s Athletics Department, there’s more to this tournament than just dodgeball.
This year has seen the Athletics Department make campus community engagement a priority. “It’s a very conscious effort in terms of working with other groups on campus and trying to collaborate on events and work with other groups and make things happen,” Raeside explained. While this is the first tournament of the year to be held by Athletics Department, they’ve already been far more active in the CapU community than in past years. When the school’s new residence was opened earlier this year, Blues athletes were there to help residents move in. “On the first day, the move in day, we were out there helping people move in to residence,” he said.
Through this, the Department built a strong relationship with the residence’s Resident Advisors (RA), which made the organization of the tournament seamless. Another group that the Department has been working closely with is the tournaments co-organizers, the CSU. Mikko San Ramon is the CSU’s new recreation coordinator, and Raeside has already been very impressed by San Ramon’s work and initiative. “We’ve been reaching out to them a lot, and it’s been going very well,” Raeside said.
With the upcoming tournament being the first of its kind, dodgeball seemed to be the obvious choice of game. “For one, we have all the equipment,” Raeside explained. “Secondly, they have a brand-new gymnasium down there and no programs have been run, so we wanted to do something that would be a nice introductory event to that venue.” Additionally, dodgeball is a classic game, that’s easy to play, even for beginners. “Dodgeball is always super popular, and a lot of people enjoy it, as long as you run it properly and in a recreational,” he added.
Being mindful of the nature of the game, rules such as no headshots have been implemented. As much as the event is a tournament, Raeside emphasized that it’s recreational, and at the end of the day, the goal is for everyone to have fun.
While the tournament is the first of its kind, it won’t be the last. Raeside has already begun laying the groundwork for more tournaments next semester, with ultimate frisbee and flag football being the two main options. The Department is open to suggestions however, as their main goals for the events are to build community and of course, promote health and wellness. “We’re trying to see how we can support campus recreation and health and wellness in new ways,” Raeside said.
Students interested in participating are encouraged to go to CapU’s Campus Regreation page and register their teams.