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Our Story

Find out about key events of our history.

The World Dodgeball Federation came together in the early days of the sport’s international development, as several key nations recognized the need for an overarching governance to develop and regulate the sport. In July of 2011, representatives from several countries, including Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, United States and the United Kingdom agreed to form the World Dodgeball Federation.

2011

The WDBF is formed.

Formed as a committee of federations, the WDBF drafted its first mandate July 20, 2011 and its first ruleset to regulate competition on August 10, 2011. The first WDBF headquarters were based out of Los Angeles. 

2012

The first world championships take place.

The first world championships take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hong Kong captures the first men’s gold medal and a combined USA / Canada team takes the first ever women’s gold. 

2014

The organization continues to grow.

Australia officially joins the WDBF bringing a total number of members to seven. The third world championships are hosted in Hong Kong after being hosted in Queenstown, New Zealand the previous year. 

2016

Setting the precedent for the future.

The fifth world championships is hosted in Melbourne, Australia, which set the standard for upcoming world championship hosts. At the fifth WDBF Summit, the (then current) members voted in favour to relocate the WDBF headquarters to Edmonton, Canada.

2017

New members contribute to WDBF’s growth.

With Canada hosting it’s first ever championships in Toronto, Canada, ten new member nations join the WDBF bringing the total to 17 total members. The new additions are Argentina, Brunei, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Costa Rica, Gabon, Haiti, Italy and Pakistan.

2018

The WDBF membership more than doubles in size.

The WDBF membership grows from 17 to 34. The new member nations are Botswana, Colombia, Nepal, Trinidad & Tobago, Peru, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Chad, Kenya, Comoros, Brazil, Rwanda, Chile, Dominican Republic, Tanzania, Burundi and Turkey.

The seventh world championships are hosted for the second time on United States soil in Los Angeles (previously Las Vegas.)

2019

Europe (EDF) joins the WDBF. New additions bring total to 63 members.

The European Dodgeball Federation votes to join the WDBF in addition to a few other nations. The new members include Nicaragua, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia, India, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, România, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Iran, Nigeria, American Samoa, Togo, Russia, Bangaldesh, Malta, and Sri Lanka.

The eighth world championships go tropical and are played out in Cancun, Mexico. The WDBF acquires TAFISA membership and dodgeball is set to be introduced at the World Sport for All Games in Lisbon, Portugal taking place in 2020.