Australian Dodgeball League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Australian Dodgeball League

Sport	Dodgeball
Founded	2015
No. of teams	31
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Doncaster Demons (3rd title)
Official website	http://theadl.com.au

The Australian Dodgeball League (ADL) is a professional dodgeball competition in Australia. It started in 2015. The league has many teams spread across different Australian states. The biggest state leagues are in Victoria and New South Wales. At the end of each season, the top teams from these state leagues come together. They play in the Australian Dodgeball Championships to find the best dodgeball team in Australia.

About the ADL Professional League

How the League Started

The Australian Dodgeball League began in 2015. In the beginning, the league mainly played in two states: Victoria (VDL) and New South Wales (NSWDL). When the Victorian League first started, it had 23 teams. The New South Wales league had 8 teams join in its first year.

Where Games Are Played

Unlike many other sports, the Australian Dodgeball League holds all its games in central places. Teams do not play at their own home venues. In Victoria, games are held at the Melbourne State Netball & Hockey Centre. For New South Wales, the games take place at the Fairfield Youth & Community Centre.

The Regular Season

During a season, each team plays against every other team in their state league once.

• Teams get two points for winning a game.
• They get one point if the game is a draw (a tie).
• No points are given for losing a game.

Teams are ranked by how many points they have. If teams have the same points, their "point difference" (how many points they scored versus how many were scored against them) helps decide their rank. The top two teams from each state league then move on to the Australian Dodgeball Championships. Here, the best teams from all over Australia play in a knockout style to win the national title.

Championship Rounds

After the regular season ends and the final rankings are set, the top two teams from each state league enter the championship rounds. The team that finished first in their league is called the "first seed." They play against a "second seed" team from another league.

The first round of the championship is called the Round of 16. Teams from nearby states often play each other in this round. After the Round of 16, teams might play against other teams from their own state, depending on who wins.

Official Rules

The Australian Dodgeball League has its own special National Dodgeball League rules. These rules are used for all professional dodgeball games in the league.

Victorian Teams Were Strong

In the early years of the Australian Dodgeball League, teams from Victoria were often the strongest. New South Wales teams were also very good. Because dodgeball was very popular in Victoria, their teams had many talented players. This often made Victorian champions the favorites to win the national titles. Fans of the Victorian leagues developed a strong rivalry with the New South Wales clubs, who were their biggest challengers.

However, this strong lead by Victorian teams is slowly changing. While Victorian teams are still among the best, more new teams are starting up and getting better across Australia. This means that Victorian teams might not be as dominant in the future.

State Rivalries

Just like in other Australian sports like rugby league and cricket, Victoria and New South Wales have a big rivalry in dodgeball. Their games, especially outside the regular season and in the Championship Rounds, are often very close and exciting. Even though players sometimes move between the leagues, games between teams from Victoria and New South Wales are known for being tough and competitive.

The people who organize the Victorian (VDL) and New South Wales (NSWDL) leagues are even talking about a special competition. It would be similar to rugby league's State of Origin series. In this event, Victoria and New South Wales would pick their ten best players to compete in a "Best of 3 series." This would help decide which state is more dominant in dodgeball!

Teams in the ADL