Students will lace up their tennis shoes and test their dodging abilities on Friday with victory in their hearts and balls in their hands.
The Urban Gaming Club at Youngstown State University will host its first dodgeball event at 2 p.m.
Nick Uroseva, president of the Urban Gaming Club, started Humans vs. Zombies at YSU in the fall of 2010. Humans vs. Zombies is a prolonged game of tag that chooses a team member to stalk others with foam darts or rolled socks.
Uroseva said he wanted to expand the group into something more general.
The group obtained the Urban Gaming Club title this semester, and its members expect big things. Uroseva said his goal is to schedule one game each month.
“It was a suggestion of one of the members we have, just as something different to do,” Uroseva said. “When the weather gets nicer, we hope to play in the Rec 5 area and the tennis courts by Kilcawley.”
Uroseva said he wants to incorporate four square and Nerf wars in addition to outdoor dodgeball games.
Joe Conroy, intramural sports coordinator at YSU, helped the group plan, and said they were organized with exactly what they wanted to accomplish.
Conroy gathered information about other universities that participate in the same type of games and how often each university plays.
Conroy used this information to help with organizational meetings and planning. However, he gives the group credit for bringing the idea to life.
“When students want to do something, half of the job gets done. They will push it, and they have the student population at their hands,” Conroy said.
Danny Bogue, vice president of the Urban Gaming Club, regularly visited his brother at Ohio State University during weekends and said they have a similar system that he actively participated in.
After being part of an even bigger group with the same motive, Bogue stumbled upon YSU’s Urban Gaming chapter. He immediately knew he wanted to be a part of it.
Bogue traveled alone to Pennsylvania State University for a Humans vs. Zombies invitational and met YSU’s team for the first time. His dedication took the rest of the team by surprise.
Uroseva said Bogue wrote on the group’s Facebook page, saying that he wanted to meet them there. No one had ever talked to Bogue before, though, so they were unsure whether he would make it.
When Bogue did show up, Uroseva said he was instantly excited.
“That’s what is great about a group like this. You immediately have something in common with everyone, and everyone becomes so close,” Uroseva said.
After traveling to different colleges such as PSU, Purdue University and Bowling Green State University, the team recognized the positive energy surrounding the events and knew that YSU needed to be on board.
Uroseva and Bogue each said they hope the Urban Gaming Club will improve the reputation of YSU’s events and build a community within the university.
“We want to kind of design different games and events for different people to come to,” Uroseva said. “We want to get away from the stigma that this is just a commuter school, and give people the option to be a part of something other than just class.”
