Sacramento State Recreational Sports hosted their annual “Get Rec’d Night” dodgeball tournament at Yosemite Hall today. It was the largest one ever for the spring tournament, setting a new record at 29 teams with more than 300 players and spectators, said Assistant Coordinator Ryan McCallum.

Another first was the inclusion of the other intramural sports teams and fitness classes that were made part of the event tonight. Various demonstrations were held in the north end of Yosemite Hall ranging from men’s and women’s volleyball to the cardio kickboxing and boxing boot camp while the women’s lacrosse and rugby teams were also present to make a recruiting drive.

But it was the dodgeball tournament, and the free pizza, that drew the most attention from everyone who came out tonight. There was an intense competitive atmosphere that was infectious among the teams who played, but it wasn’t like that for everyone involved.

“It’s a good way to bond,” said Danh Nguyen of The Nursing Class of Fall 2009, which fielded three teams for the tournament this semester. “It’s the number one reason why we do it.”

Many of the spectators felt the same. Kinesiology majors Joseph Whang and Chien Hmong were among the many who lined up on the sidelines to watch the players pummel each other with rubber balls for their amusement. After watching a few games, they said they definitely wanted to come back again next semester and probably compete once they scratched up a team of their own.

“I think it’s a little cool, makes the campus a little more fun,” said Hmong.

But to the players, a lot of the fun was in trying to win.

“We live to play, play to live. Bottom line: We’re here to play,” said Mitch Vogl of team Git Rad, which was comprised mostly of members from the Wakeboard Club and was given the Spring 2008 Best Dressed Team Award for their bright and colorful uniforms of contrasting colors.

With 29 teams playing, the games were divided into two tournaments on three fields of play. The 17 men’s teams played in one tournament and the 12 coed teams played on the other.

The champion of the coed tournament was the Physical Educators of America team, which is comprised mostly of majors of the Physical Education Department. This win marks the second time in a row that it has won this tournament.

On the men’s side, defending champions, the Blue Ballz, edged out Sigma Phi Epsilon in the regular games to meet their arch-rivals in the finals: Tau Kappa Epsilon. After two heated games, the Blue Ballz also came out on top for the second time in a row.

Tyler Dove of the Blue Ballz said that for the past three years they only made it to the finals until they won last semester’s tournament.

“Back to back champs. It feels great,” he said.

Justin Tejada can be reached at [email protected]