Following the success of its landmark 2022 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, the World Dodgeball Federation (WDBF) has continued to expand its global footprint with record participation, new youth programmes, and community-driven initiatives that reflect the sport’s inclusive spirit among its 70 national federation members.
From regional championships in five continents to the largest world event in the sport’s history in Graz, Austria, dodgeball’s international journey has accelerated in communities around the world – in both high-performance programmes at multi-sport events and grassroots initiatives in refugee sport programmes.
From Edmonton to everywhere: 2023 Continental Championships
The 2022 World Championships in Edmonton were a defining moment for the WDBF. For the first time, the federation’s two official disciplines – foam, a six-ball variant of the sport popular in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and cloth, a five-ball version dominant in Europe and Africa – were contested together on the same stage, signalling a unified global vision for the sport.
Building on that momentum, the WDBF sanctioned five continental championship events in 2023, marking an important next step in global alignment and regional development.
Over 50 countries took part in regional tournaments hosted in Argentina, Morocco, Croatia, Singapore and the United States, each event showcasing local energy and international competitiveness. These championships provided athletes with more opportunities to compete at a high level while strengthening ties between national federations and their continental governing bodies.
The success of this regional model reinforced the WDBF’s commitment to sustainable growth – one rooted in collaboration, accessibility and consistency across continents.
“Our focus has always been to create a sport that connects people,” said WDBF president Duane Wysynski. “The 2023 season showed that dodgeball can thrive anywhere – from North Africa to Southeast Asia – while maintaining the same high standards of play and community spirit.”
Graz 2024: A record-breaking world stage
The WDBF achieved a new milestone in 2024 with its tenth World Championships, held in Graz, Austria. The event was the largest in the sport’s history, bringing together more than 1,400 athletes and officials from 36 countries, with representation from all six continents – a first for international dodgeball.
The tournament highlighted not only the sport’s expanding reach but also the growing professionalism of its presentation. Matches were held in world-class venues, supported by international broadcast coverage and professional event operations that set new standards for future editions. The WDBF was pleased to welcome Miami and Mexico-based PX Sports, who brought the finals to more than 25 million households in Latin America and the southern United States.
“The Graz Championships were a clear demonstration of how truly global our sport has become,” said Max Golda, WDBF vice president and president of the European Dodgeball Federation. “To have every continent represented for the first time shows the strength of our community and the appeal of dodgeball around the world.”
The success of the championship had the added effect of attracting new federations to the fold, including longstanding organisations that had not been aligned with the WDBF in past years. This included the Egyptian Dodgeball Federation, which attended Graz as a guest, and the Saudi Dodgeball Federation, which joined the WDBF in May 2025.
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