Dodge, Duck, Dip and Dive

The Student Alumni Council, Eyas, will bring the dodgeball-like game of Bombardment to campus this Wednesday night for a class-vs.-class tournament. With no limit to participating players, each class is hoping for a good turnout for their chances to win the championship t-shirt and year-long bragging rights.

Sign-ups begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday the 18th in the hallway outside of Hitchcock, and the dodgeballs will start flying at 7:30 p.m. Like all Eyas events, there is no cost to participate.

Chair of Eyas Jordan Parenti explained that one of Eyas' goals is to unite each individual class during their years at Messiah in hopes that there is a strong bond and identity amongst them by the time they graduate.

"Bombardment is basically a giant dodgeball tournament, but each class is its own team," Parenti explained. "So this event definitely gets the classes together to get a win in a competitive environment."

The game is played similarly to traditional dodgeball, where a team must win by eliminating opposing players from the game by hitting them with dodgeballs. In Bombardment, there is also a line of cones behind each team with a tennis ball resting on each. Teams may win by either eliminating all opposing players or by knocking off all tennis balls.

This second option adds a further element of strategy to the game. However, Parenti ensured that the game remains "fast-paced and a ton of fun."

The secret behind winning seems to reside in numbers.

"Part of the fun is the fact that the senior class team is usually around 80 people, which makes things intense," Parenti said. "The teams are as big as you can make them."

For those who fear that they are a little less Peter La Fleur, showing up to cheer on their classmates is encouraged.

"There's always a crowd watching from above on the indoor track," Parenti said. "That always adds an awesome element to the excitement."

Seniors and first-years will face off in the first round of the tournament while the juniors battle the sophomores, and the winners will compete in a final championship game. The team who wins the tournament will be rewarded with champion t-shirts and the Bombardment trophy for their class.

The seniors took home the trophy the past two years, but the junior class is itching to come out on top this year. Junior Gabe Capoferri hopes his club hockey game won't interfere with Wednesday night's tournament so he can play.

"The seniors aren't looking too good this year, but I think the juniors have a solid line-up," Capoferri said. "I'm feeling a championship for the Class of 2013!"

Sophomore Caleb Miller hopes he has a chance to play against the first-years.

"After being a freshman R.A. for the first semester, and having to deal with a lot of problems those ‘freshies' kept giving me, I can't wait to give them some of their own!" Miller joked.

Will the first-years get smoked? Will the seniors earn another victory? The games will tell all in only two days.