Judy Allen stopped in her tracks as she passed the dodgeball players.
“Oh my God, this is insanity,” she said, checking out the dudes battling it out wearing barely anything. “Speedos are sexy!”
For player Paul Lent, it was just painful.
“It is terrible. It’s really uncomfortable,” he said.
One of the funnest events on Orange County’s coast came back to the beach today on the blacktop of Newport Elementary School, where 24 teams battled it out during the “Shorevival of the Fittest” dodgeball tournament.
Now in its fifth year, the event is getting bigger and better. They go after more than just the trophies for who beats out the other players - but also get props for who has the best creative costume.
“We’re trying to top it each year,” said one of the organizers, Stan Divranos.
There were the dudes in Speedos, of course, but also a lot of other wacky things to laugh at - like the “Magnum P.I.” team, wearing Hawaiian shirts and fake mustaches, and team “Black Out,” sporting tight cut off jean shorts and rockin’ mullets.
But the winners of the Best Costume contest were the Newport Cougars. It was a tough decision, but because they got a guy to dress in a school girl outfit, they took home the win.
For others, it was all about the game. Team Newport Legend came ready with strategy this year: keep calm, and don’t hesitate, said team member Eric Mendeza.
Lauren Machanis, of Newport Beach, gave love to organizer Khari Johnson for pulling together the event.
“He created something amazing for the community,” she said. “He put his heart and soul into the event.”
Spectators lined three chain-linked fences that created the battlegrounds, where the six players from each team hurled blue balls at each other and jumped and weaved to miss being tagged out.
Each year, the teams get more into the competition, challenging the refs’ calls and letting emotions flow during each match.
“It’s competitive, there’s so much invested in this tournament,” Machanis said.
One girl took the game a little too serious, coming after one of her opponents with a closed fist after getting nailed by the ball. Mind you, there’s an Ultimate Fighting team that has been competing for five years - and no one saw them throwing blows!
It didn’t take long for the refs to break up the cat fight, and spectators went nuts. When the game was resumed, the girl got boo’d when she got back on the court.
“I don’t know what came over here,” said Jackie, the players who was attacked.
“You get the girl’s teams out here, and they start swinging,” said Mike Ryan, of team Green Room. “I think we could market this.”
Congrats to the winners of this year’s Dodgeball on the Beach tournament:
First place: Magnum P.I.
Second place: Young and Hung
Third Place: Woody’s Wharf
Fourth Place: Loose Cannons
Best Outfit: Newport Cougars
It seems every surfers worst fear is seeing a shark in the lineup at your local surf spot. Just the other day an even deadlier creature you don’t typically find swimming in the sea was spotted at a popular break in Florida.
Ok, this is a bit out of our area - but too good not to share.
