Time to dip, duck and dive as dodgeball comes to Wolverhampton

That's right, for those who have not seen the classic 2004 film Dodgeball, the sport is heading to Wolverhampton for a 2016 campaign.

From tonight, at the Wolverhampton College in Bilston, anybody and everybody is welcome to lob balls at members of the other team – all in the name of sport.

Do not worry if you are a beginner, the rules will be explained and players of all abilities are welcome, all you need is five team-mates to get involved.

If six cannot be found, players or groups can be placed together to form a team.

There is no registration fee to join, just weekly match fees of £5-per-player are charged.

Dodgeball Leagues, a company based near Woking, oversee the leagues across the UK, including Blackburn, Coventry, Hull, Ipswich, Nottingham, Sunderland, Weston-super-Mare and Wolverhampton.

Team captains need not worry about any preparation as the fixtures, league tables, equipment and referees are all taken care of by the league.

A typical season runs over around 10 weeks – with Wolverhampton fixtures being staged every Tuesday night at the college on Wellington Road at 8pm, with the final match scheduled to get under way at 9.30pm.

Dodgeball co-ordinator Harry Harding said: "We believe we can become a sport which is played daily on a national scale.

"After having years of success with football and netball leagues, our team looked to branch out into other sports which might not be considered 'high profile', a sport that can offer something to everyone, no matter what level of ability, age or gender.

"And what better sport than dodgeball?"

Harding added that the positive response from locals in the West Midlands area has left the organisation confident that the new dodgeball leagues can prove a big hit.

Last week new leagues began in Coventry, to a very positive response.

"Since starting to promote the leagues we have had overwhelming responses on our Facebook page and we were successful enough to start our first league in Coventry with good feedback," added Harding.

"Wolverhampton was our next point of call, over the second weekend of promoting we received five team applications in a matter of days for the Wolverhampton league, which shows how popular the sport can be.

"These kind of numbers are what we aim to maintain so everyone has a chance to play in one of our dodgeball leagues all over the country and play a sport which can benefit you socially, physically and mentally. Not to mention the incredible amount of fun that can be had."

To register interest, visit www.dodgeball-leagues.co.uk/wolverhampton-league/, and complete the simple form and Dodgeball Social Leagues will register your side.