British Dodgeball launch Higher Education Dodgeball Activator Scheme

We are excited to announce that we are launching an important next step in supporting the growth of university dodgeball, the Higher Education Dodgeball Activator (HEDA) scheme.

The HEDA scheme is our investment in the future of university dodgeball in the UK. The objective of the scheme is to empower driven ambassadors from each institution through training to ensure that dodgeball is integrated into each university’s sporting menu. HEDA’s are active players and committee members who want to support the sport and see dodgeball grow at all levels in their individual university, or those working to set up a session/club with their sports officer/athletic union’s support in the case of universities new to dodgeball. There will be up to two HEDA’s from each university across the UK, with each activator acting as a key link between each institution and British Dodgeball. They will help dodgeball to grow by providing important strategic guidance, supporting participation programmes to increase attendance and encouraging engagement with development opportunities such as coach education and varying competitive opportunities to improve session quality, player development and team performance.

HEDA volunteers will receive the following support & training from British Dodgeball in order to fulfil their role effectively:

• Level 1 Award in Coaching Dodgeball (or £60 towards a Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Dodgeball course if the Level 1 is already held)
• HEDA University Training Day –  a day in the sports hall & classroom developing knowledge of promotion, marketing, growing participation, assistant refereeing and improving session quality.
• British Dodgeball HEDA apparel (hoody/top)
• References from British Dodgeball to support future employment

Aden Woodall, development manager for British Dodgeball, said of the scheme: “I started my own journey into dodgeball at university level and reaped the benefits both physical and beyond, and understand the sense of belonging that it can provide. Our sport is full of amazing people at all levels, and students are no exception; we want to invest in those individuals so that they can raise the profile of dodgeball in their institution. We are delighted to be in a position to be able to take this next step in supporting university dodgeball – by training and empowering these key individuals at each university across the UK, we will create a strong network of ambassadors with the motivation and knowledge to have a positive impact on dodgeball at university level.”

The HEDA scheme will provide support to the value of approximately £9,000 each year to university dodgeball, a significant investment for a non-core funded national governing body, as we continue to work towards Objective 6 of our 4 year plan. We are accepting applications from individuals now to form our first HEDA team, and will conduct training in early September before they begin their role next academic year.

You can find out more information about the role and how to apply below – the application deadline for those looking to become our first ever activators for the 23/24 academic year is 31st May 2023: