United Kingdom DodgeBall Association

World Record

On the 14th of December at 6:30 pm, the longest dodgeball game in history commenced. It lasted 62 hours, ending early morning of the 17th. This smashed the previous record by a whooping 11 hours. The game was won by the Bedfordshire Bulls, whose team captain was very proud of them. "As a club we are all really happy but we're also relieved as there was a lot of pressure on our shoulders. I haven't really put what we've done into context yet, but i'll probably realise it in a couple of days, after some sleep."

Leagues in the UKDBA

There are 4 different leagues in the association. Schools also have their own leagues. These include the Premier League, the National League, the Leicester League and the Social & Fun League.

Premier League

The Premier League was established in 2010. The six highest ranked teams in the UK competed over six weeks in the inaugural season. Jammy Dodgers claimed the title seeing off Warwick Warriors, Leicester City Ligers, Balls of Steel, Vipers and Derby Seahawks.

Season 2 saw the league expanded to eight teams and it was Bedford Bulls, one of the promoted sides, who stormed to the title in a dramatic final week.

Derby Seahawks claimed the 2012/13 title winning 11 out of their 14 matches over the five week season.

The league expanded again for the 2013/14 season, increasing to 10 teams. Going into the final week of the season Dirty Ducks lead Meteors at the top of the table by 1 point. In the final week The Meteors went on to win the 2013/14 title by the narrowest of margins. The 2014/15 season was also very close but newly promoted Bedford Mighty Eagles clinched the title with Meteors falling runners up by just two points.

As of 2017, the UKDBA runs 5 Premier Leagues: The Premier League (Men's), The Women's premier League, The University Premier League, The Northern Ireland Premier League (Men's) and the Northern Ireland Women's Premier league.

National League

The National League is the second tier of UK dodgeball from which teams are promoted annually to the Premier League.

The first season, 2010/11, saw every team outside the Premier League divided into four regional conferences. Teams were ranked based on tournament performances throughout the season, with the top two teams from each conference qualifying for the play-offs. Bedford Bulls claimed promotion alongside play-off winners Meteors.

The 2011/12 season saw a change in format with the creation of an eight-team Division 1 in a traditional league setup. Division 2 was also set up in this season, running a similar setup to the National League in 2010/11 season, with four conferences divided between university and club teams and regional, North and South. Reepham Raiders claimed the Division 1 title and promotion alongside runners-up Imperial Wolverines. Division 2 play-offs were won by Bullet Dodgers beating fellow promoted side Winchester Bullets in the play-off final.

Fellows Appreciation Society claimed the Division 1 title in 2012/13 season, winning promotion alongside Bullet Dodgers. Balls of Steel reclaimed their Premier League place in a relegation/promotion play-off game against Leicester City Ligers. Fellows Appreciation Society allowed club mates Dirty Ducks to take their place in the Premier League. Division 2 Play-offs were won by Bedford Mighty Eagles, with all teams that made the play-offs getting promoted due to the league restructure.

In the 2013/14 season, the National League was restructured. Division 1 and 2 were split into three regional conferences of five teams, North, South West and South East. In Division 1 the top two from each conference win a place in the promotion play-off for the two Premier League places, the bottom two from each conferences enter the relegation play-offs with the bottom three being relegated into Division 2. In Division 2 the top two from each conference win a place in the promotion play-off for the three Division 1 places, the bottom two from each conferences enter the play-offs to avoid being relegated into non-league.

As of 2017, the UKDBA runs 4 National Leagues; a men's and a women's, each with North and South divisions.

University League

As mentioned above, there is a University Premier League and in addition there runs a University League 1, divided into North and South.

Women's Premier League

In 2013 the Women's Premier League was created. The six highest ranked teams in the UK competed over five weeks in the inaugural season. Bedford Mighty Eagles claimed the title with one week remaining, seeing off Leicester City Ligeresses, Southampton Dodgettes, Leeds Dodge Ladies, Derby Seahawks Women and Bedfoedshire Bulls Women.

Leicester League

Leicester League is a county league comprising Bullet Dodgers, Leicester City Ligers, Leicester Minotaurs, Hinckley Dodgeball Club, Hinckley Revolution.

Social & Fun League

The Social & Fun League is run in London by an organization called GoMammoth.

Women's Dodgeball

Like the men, woman also have their own leagues. 12 woman teams have been made in the last 2 years. It has become a very popular sport in universities around the United Kingdom.

1. Derby Seahawks Woman
2. Southampton Dodgettes 1
3. Bedfordshire Bulls Woman I
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-ettes
5. Leicester City Ligeresses
6. Winchester Bullettes 1
7. Portsmouth Purple Cobrettes
8. Hinckley Dodgeball Club Woman
9. Warwick Warriors Woman I
10. M.U.D. WRESTLERS
11. WINCHESTER BULLETTES 2
12. Coventry Cobras Ladies
13. Birmingham Raptors Ladies
14. M.U.D. Pies
15. Balls of Steel Ladies
16. Bedfordshire Bulls Woman II
17. University Of Leicester Ladies
18. SOUTHAMPTON Dodgettes 2
19. Warwick Warriors Woman II
20. M.U.D. Bluds
21. Manchester Queen Bees

Tournaments

There are some tournaments that take place in the Woman’s League. The European Championships is also a very important tournament for the woman's leagues. Like the England Lions men's team, the England Lion's woman's team also won the European Championships this year.

A major tournament that is run by the UKDBA is the UK championships, which will be held in Cranfield University, Bedfordshire.