Chris Leung-Chee-Hang dodges his way to the 2019 WDBF World Championships

Monash’s own Dodgeball Club President and Coach Christopher Leung-Chee-Hang will be representing Australia at the 2019 WDBF World Championships in Mexico later this year, following a rigorous selection process.

The fourth year Electrical Engineering and Commerce student came from a tennis background, but only began playing dodgeball in his first year of university, after chatting with a friend at the dodgeball stand in O Week.

Chris was not able to attend the tryout day for the Australian Team 

selection camp, so he was chosen based on a video he sent of himself 

competing in a Dodgeball competition. Photo: Australian Dodgeball Federation. 

“From tennis, I think having a good shoulder and arm has helped me a lot, and also the footwork,” Chris said.

“With dodgeball, if you play any other sport there’s always something that’s transferrable to one facet of the game.”

To make the Australian National Dodgeball team, Chris first had to apply by sending in a video of himself playing. From there, 50 athletes were invited to attend a selection camp at AIS, and the team was gradually cut down until the final 12 team members were announced last month.

Chris said he has never competed at this level before, but the Australian team are hopeful they may be able to take out the ultimate prize at the competition.

“I guess the ultimate goal is the gold medal. There are quite a few other strong teams that usually go up, from like Malaysia, USA and Canada, they’re the main competition. I think recently the Australian team has been just subpar, but I think maybe this year we can try to bring it back,” he said.

“Personally, my goal is to go up there, gain some experience, and if we win that would be great. Also something I can bring back as a coach for Monash, there’s a lot of experiences I’m sure I can get that will enhance our own team as well.”

The Monash University Dodgeball Association (MUDA) is a relatively new addition to Monash’s various sporting teams, becoming an affiliated club with the University in 2018.

MUDA teams won Gold and Bronze at Dodgeball Federation Australia's University 

Championships earlier this year. Photo: Sagar Jamini, Australian Dodgeball Federation

Chris said as president of the club he is often asked how competitive dodgeball differs from the more relaxed game we all remember from high school PE classes.

“I think the physicality of the sport is a lot more different when you’re playing seriously. A lot of people get injuries doing things their body has never done before, especially in the dodging component, where you’re trained to do anything to get out of the way,” he said.

“Besides that, there’s a lot more structure to the play. In the more competitive style of play there’s a lot of strategy that goes on behind the scenes, a lot of counter playing to that, and then counter-counter play. It becomes a whole mind game in the end, of who’s going to do what.”

Although some dodgeball competitors may be stronger in certain skill sets, such as throwing, Chris said he would consider himself an all-rounder. He plays the wing position, covering the far right or far left of the court.

Monash Alumni Ashley Chan was also selected to represent Australia at 

the 2019 WDBF World Championships. 

“Because this is somewhat the safest position on court, you’re given quite a lot of responsibility in protecting the rest of the team. So I found that being an all-rounder has helped in that role,” he said.

“The other teams know that you’re important, and then it becomes a bit of a mind game again. Are they going to target you, or target players that are easier to get?”

Training for competitive dodgeball involves gameplay, fitness training, and technical training, such as finessing dodging skills and throw speed.

The Australian representative team are attending various weekly and monthly training sessions in preparation for the World Championships, which will be held in Cancun, Mexico, from 26 November to 1 December this year.

Good luck Chris, TeamMONASH are right behind you!

Written by Nell O’Shea Carre, Media Coordinator.