Being active doesn’t always have to be a solo struggle at the gym.

Being active while also having fun and being social is the goal of a group meeting every Thursday evening in February and March.

The Vicksburg Dodgeball Association will start play Thursday at Hawkins United Methodist Church Abundant Life Center.

The league is brand new, and organizer Jennifer McAlpin said it is mainly just for fun. The idea was that a dodgeball league would be a great way to meet new people.

“We don’t have referees that have any experience. We don’t have players who have a lot of experience. We wanted to just have fun. We want it to be social. We want people to have a good time with it and be safe with it,” she said. “Some of us have very little experience playing, but we figured why not?”

McAlpin said the league is based on the New Orleans Dodgeball Association and said its very straight forward. A rulebook can be found on the league’s website.

“It really breaks down to 10 basic rules,” she said. “It looks like it could be difficult, but it really isn’t.”

There are six balls on the court. When a player is hit, they are out. If a player catches a thrown ball, the thrower is out and a member from the catcher’s team gets to come back in the game. The game continues until everyone on one team is out. Four teams of eight to 15 members have registered to join the new dodgeball league.

“We play with eight (players) on a side for each game and then the others will rotate,” McAlpin said. “We’re limiting ourselves this season to six teams.”

Games will be held at 6 p.m. each Thursday at Hawkins. The season will last eight weeks and each team will play at least eight games. There will be up to three matches each night that last 40 minutes each.

“We are being very flexible this time,” she said. “We want to allow as many people as possible to play within our limitations. The idea is to bring people together.”

Even though the deadline to enter has passed, the league is open to two more teams or individuals who are interested in joining a team. Teams are made of eight to 15 players who are 18 and older. To join the league, teams pay a $150 fee for use of the building and the balls.

Although Hawkins is the sponsor, McAlpin said the league has no religious affiliation. Many of the organizers happen to be members of the church, but she said people of any faith or people with no religious affiliation are welcome. She wants the league to be inclusive of the entire community. If the league grows, the group hopes to expand to another venue.

“Even though Hawkins is sponsoring this initially, our goal is to turn it into a community organization,” McAlpin said. “Hopefully, eventually, we can move to some place that is seen more as a community organization-type place.”

For more information, visit vicksburgdodgeball.weebly.com.