Reinventing fun
Crazy Sports brings back dodgeball and lots of other games we almost forgot
By Carl Kozlowski 06/25/2009
Douglas Klaif doesn’t believe that growing up means having to give up our favorite games. In fact, as head of Pasadena-based startup Crazy Sports, Klaif’s goal is to make those games even better than anyone remembers.
The 36-year-old Klaif launches his attempt at reinventing fun as we know it Saturday, hosting the first-ever No Sting Coed Dodgeball Tournament at a local church.
Teams are comprised of eight players, paying a total of $120 to compete for a grand prize of $500. Perhaps best of all, the balls are softer, lighter and foamier than before — not the old-school rubber bruisers of your childhood nightmares, though these are still able to pack some speed.
Just remember that while it may have been hilarious to see people get clobbered in the movie “Dodgeball,” actually being the one getting clobbered is another matter altogether.
“I own a day care center in South Pasadena and set up some of these games for my staff and saw them really enjoying them with their friends,” said Klaif. “So I thought if I just do it for everyone, it could really take off.”
Klaif isn’t stopping with dodgeball. In July, he’s starting a series of other games, including slip and slide kickball, where players slide from base to base slip-and-slide style rather than running the bases. Things get even crazier with slip and slide bowling in which the lane itself is a slip and slide and the “balls” are players’ bodies sliding down the lane to knock over giant inflatable pins.
And then there’s Battle Zone, which Klaif described as “capture the flag, but with water balloons, super soakers, sponges, water hoses and more. It is a super-wet game.”
In addition to the games, he plans on hosting Howl at the Moon camping trips for weekend get-aways which include “music, food, fun and dressing up.”
“We want adults to play like kids and have a great time,” said Klaif. “How often do we get to be young again? We will make you young again, and your job is to just have fun.”
The No Sting Coed Dodgeball Tournament runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the New Revelation
Baptist Church, 855 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena.
Email dklaif@live.com for registration and rules. Those who register after 6 p.m. Friday will have to pay an additional team fee of $30 at the door. Call (626) 676-4947.
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