Aiming to dodge the ball
This week: Find out about dodgeball, a popular sport in North America
Dodgeball is relatively new to Hong Kong. You might not know much about it. You might not even know there's such a sport. Will Cheung is a member of a dodgeball association and he is preparing some publicity material to promote the sport in the city. Let's take a look at what he has prepared
About dodgeball
Will has written down 10 sentences to introduce dodgeball to people who know nothing about it. But the two parts of the sentences have been separated. Can you match them?
1. The game of dodgeball as we play it today ____________________________
2. It is a game played on ______________________________
3. Did you know the verb 'to dodge' _____________________________
4. Dodgeball involves players trying to _____________________________
5. A dodgeball team is _____________________________
6. When a player is hit by a ball he is eliminated, but he can
_____________________________
7. Players come back into the game _____________________________
8. A dodgeball match consists of a _____________________________
9. Male and female teams or mixed sex teams_____________________________
10. The team who hit all the players _____________________________
a. means to avoid something?
b. began in schools in America and Canada.
c. in the order in which they were eliminated.
d. set number of games and each game lasts five minutes.
e. avoid being hit by a ball thrown by a player on the opposing team.
f. can play dodgeball matches.
g. in the opposing team wins the match.
h. an indoor or outdoor court by two opposing teams.
i. come back into the match if another player on his team catches an opponent's ball.
j. usually made up of six players.
Rules and regulations
Can you complete these sentences from Will's notes using the words below? There are more words than you need.
colour, shoes, team, size, jewellery, throw, half, referee, rules, throw, spectacles, foam, remain, hide, court, floor, pick up, plastic
1. No _____________________________ of any sort may be worn by a player in a dodgeball match.
2. Players may not wear _____________________________ unless these are of specialist sports design.
3. A dodgeball _____________________________ is usually 7.3m wide by 12.8m long.
4. There is no standard _____________________________ for a dodgeball, but most balls used in a match are the size of a volleyball.
5. A dodgeball is usually made of _____________________________ with a thin _____________________________ covering.
6. Players are allowed to leave the court to _____________________________ a ball, but they cannot _____________________________ the ball from outside the court.
7. During play, players must _____________________________ inside the lines of their _____________________________ of the court.
8. Each dodgeball team member must wear shirts of the same _____________________________ so they are easily
identified.
now do this
Questions
Will is talking to a school sports club. He starts off by asking the pupils to ask him questions about dodgeball. Here are some of their questions. Can you answer them for Will? There's no need for full sentences. Once you have worked out your answers, practise the dialogue with a friend.
1. How did dodgeball begin?
2. Is it an outdoor or an indoor game?
3. Is it an individual game?
4. What is the aim of the game?
5. Do girls play dodgeball?
6. Do you need special equipment to play dodgeball?
7. How big is a dodgeball?
8. How many players make up a dodgeball team?
Answers
About dodgeball: 1. b / 2. h / 3. a / 4. e / 5. j / 6. i / 7. c / 8. d / 9. f / 10. g
Rules and regulations: 1. jewellery / 2. spectacles / 3. court / 4. size / 5. foam; plastic / 6. pick up; throw / 7. remain; half / 8. colour