Every year, thousands of Princeton students dodge, duck, dip, and dive in Dillon Gymnasium for the Colosseum Club’s celebrated dodgeball tournament. 

This year’s 7th annual tournament on April 12 brought together more than 100 teams, competing for a total of $2,250 in cash prizes. Sports teams, eating clubs, residential colleges, as well as dance troupes, religious groups, and student publications volleyed against each other in one of Princeton’s largest and most popular campus-wide traditions. 

“Dodgeball, in my opinion, is a universal sport,” said Steve Server ’14 of the Whitman College team. “It’s simple: pelt or be pelted. And I think that simplicity appeals to people.”

All participants received free T-shirts and food, funded by the Alcohol Initiative Committee, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS), and the Projects Board.  

The 2012 Princeton Dodgeball Tournament drew 105 teams.

The dodgeball tournament was launched in 2006 by Freddy Flaxman ’07 and John Boscia ’07 in partnership with ODUS. The Coliseum Club began organizing it in 2007.  

In previous years, the tournament has included a costume contest for teams that dress in wild, themed outfits. Colosseum Club president Dave Slovenski ’12 said that the contest prizes were discontinued this year, but many students still dressed up to show their spirit.  

Varsity athletes headlined the list of champions. The men’s lacrosse team was this year’s overall winner, after capturing the small bracket. The eating club Tiger Inn was the runner-up and winner of the “huge” bracket. A co-ed team of basketball players won the medium bracket, and the large bracket winner was track and field.