The new semester has kicked off as incoming and returning students fought to claim the Nationball Champion title. The long-standing tradition of dodgeball between Biola’s “nations,” dorms and the off-campus+community (OCC), ushered in dozens of students to represent their teams with pride.
“I decided to attend because I like dodgeball but also because it was a good time to hang out with friends and teammates,” said junior accounting major Robert (Bobby) Brown II. “[I] even made some new friends because I attended.”
The gym was filled with students wearing all colors of the rainbow — Alpha in blue, Stewart and Hart in red and orange, Horton in Black, Sigma in yellow, Hope in pink and OCC in purple.
“I couldn’t escape an opportunity to help and root for my team,” junior psychology major Moses Lopez said. “This event has helped me feel grounded in my community.”
NEW NATIONBALL MEMORIES
Before students took the court, a match between staff and faculty took place to the students’ surprise. Among those playing were Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University, and John Ojeisekhoba Sr., chief of Campus Safety. These two teams went head-on for two rounds, eventually ending in a tie.
This year, the structure of the game was changed. Instead of winning based on how many people stayed in the game, teams won based on the number of people they eliminated. For the first time ever, all teams could compete evenly which resulted in a round of 10 men and 10 women representing their teams. This was a result of Alpha being a co-ed team for the first time. The teams competed for the first physical trophy in Nationball history.
THE CHAMPIONS ARE CROWNED
Blackstone was fighting to defend their title after winning Nationball in 2022 but was eliminated three rounds before the final round. The fight for the championship was down to 2 teams — Alpha and OCC. Students were throwing dodgeballs at their opponents, aiming to eliminate players or run out the clock. The buzzer sounded and waves of purple flooded the center of the gym as MCs announced that OCC was the 2023 Nationball Champion.
“Winning was great,” Brown said. “Really loved how all of OCC came together. Esther [Hwang] told me to bring the trophy home for OCC so I did just that.”
Many OCC student felt a wave of excitement when their team was announced as the champions.
“I felt so overjoyed and proud that OCC won Nationball this year,” said Lopez. “I felt proud because it was not only a single-person effort, it was a team effort. It’s an amazing feeling to know that [OCC] is alive and thriving at Biola University, and what better testament is that by winning and being champs of NationBall 2023.”
TOO INTENSE
Before the start of the game, the MCs emphasized that the safety of students was of importance. However, a student from Hope was injured during this time.
“It’s quite an unfortunate happening,” sophomore psychology major Sean Rho said. “I was jogging off the court after I got out. I must have stepped wrong because my leg gave out and due to already having predisposed knees one thing leads to another and I dislocated my [right] knee.”
Paramedics were called to treat Rho but were unable to. He was told he would need to be treated in the emergency room.
“It’s a difficult injury to try and treat due to it just being an awkward injury,” he said.
Rho is now worried about what this might mean for his season with the men’s swim and dive team.
