{"id":356,"date":"2015-01-10T03:41:06","date_gmt":"2015-01-10T03:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/"},"modified":"2022-04-21T00:51:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T00:51:56","slug":"dodgeball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/","title":{"rendered":"A Date with Dodge Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holidays are traditionally about relaxing, exploring a city’s sights, and generally doing whatever it takes to take your mind off the stress of home and work. This holiday suggestion may come as a little bit of a surprise for some travellers.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Los Angeles<\/a>, I decided to leave the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for the thrills and spills of one of America’s biggest recreational sports. Tying up the laces on my sneakers, I headed to the World Dodgeball Society’s “open gym sessions” to play one of the all time classic schoolyard sports.<\/p>\n

I’m of the belief that many of the players of dodgeball internationally do so in an attempt to address their adolescent emotional angst. Regardless, it is an activity that just oozes Americana, and in my opinion, is a randomly unusual experience for travellers to the United States. The open gym session is an afternoon event on Sundays where any individual can turn up, join a team and play a few games of dodgeball. It’s perfect for travellers (and locals) that are keen to get a workout, experience a fantastic sport, and release a little bit of aggression at the same time.<\/p>\n

The rules of dodgeball haven’t changed much since our schoolyard days. To get someone out, hit them below the neck with a ball. If you catch an opponent’s ball, you\u2019ll get the thrower out, and you’re also allowed to bring back a player from your team that’s been eliminated. I can’t lie \u2013 I did have concerns about getting hit by the balls. Would they hurt? Could I sustain permanent damage to my perfectly symmetrical nose? Would my ability to have children be at jeopardy? I was assured that none of the above were an issue. The balls themselves are rather soft. They’re inflated rubber balls that, despite packing a punch, don’t actually hurt the skin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holidays are traditionally about relaxing, exploring a city’s sights, and generally doing whatever it takes to take your mind off the stress of home and work. This holiday suggestion may come as a little bit of a surprise for some travellers. In\u00a0Los Angeles, I decided to leave the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for the… Continue reading A Date with Dodge Ball<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,2,15],"tags":[229,178,343],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-destination","category-experiences","category-usa-canada","tag-america","tag-los-angeles","tag-sport","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holidays are traditionally about relaxing, exploring a city’s sights, and generally doing whatever it takes to take your mind off the stress of home and work. This holiday suggestion may come as a little bit of a surprise for some travellers. In\u00a0Los Angeles, I decided to leave the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for the… Continue reading A Date with Dodge Ball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expedia NZ Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-10T03:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-21T00:51:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brian Perkins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brian Perkins\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/\",\"name\":\"A Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-10T03:41:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-21T00:51:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/a063f80eea569cd04299829959eb3200\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Explore\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Experiences\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/experiences\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Adventure\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/experiences\/adventure\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"A Date with Dodge Ball\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Expedia NZ Stories\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/a063f80eea569cd04299829959eb3200\",\"name\":\"Brian Perkins\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bed760c1f2d186fcaff54b90eb387abb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bed760c1f2d186fcaff54b90eb387abb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brian Perkins\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/author\/brian-perkins\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia","og_description":"Holidays are traditionally about relaxing, exploring a city’s sights, and generally doing whatever it takes to take your mind off the stress of home and work. This holiday suggestion may come as a little bit of a surprise for some travellers. In\u00a0Los Angeles, I decided to leave the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for the… Continue reading A Date with Dodge Ball","og_url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/","og_site_name":"Expedia NZ Stories","article_published_time":"2015-01-10T03:41:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-04-21T00:51:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Brian Perkins","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brian Perkins","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/","name":"A Date with Dodge Ball | Expedia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg","datePublished":"2015-01-10T03:41:06+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-21T00:51:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/a063f80eea569cd04299829959eb3200"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/8550_16_HT_1280x960.jpg","width":1280,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/dodgeball\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Explore","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Experiences","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/experiences\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Adventure","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/experiences\/adventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"A Date with Dodge Ball"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/","name":"Expedia NZ Stories","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/a063f80eea569cd04299829959eb3200","name":"Brian Perkins","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bed760c1f2d186fcaff54b90eb387abb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bed760c1f2d186fcaff54b90eb387abb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brian Perkins"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/author\/brian-perkins\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1451,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/1451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.co.nz\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}