Meet the North Edinburgh Dodgeball team hoping to build a winning team ahead of national tournament

An Edinburgh youth dodgeball team, with dreams entering a national competition at the end of the year, are on the lookout for new recruits ahead of the upcoming tournament.

Founded last year, The Granton Giants train each week at Wardie Residents Club with two junior teams (6-11 and 11-15 age groups) hoping to secure a sport at this year’s Scottish Junior Open on December 9.

Dodgeball teams are made up of six players with a squad of up to 10 members, but whilst the younger age bracket has enough teammates, the older squad needs more players if they are to be competitive in the upcoming open.

Club founder, Keir Liddle, a former player of Edinburgh Dodgeball, said he is now encouraging more people in the 11-15 age bracket to join the club to make their squad more competitive ahead of the national open.

Keir said: “There’s been a lot of interest with the 6 to 11-year-olds but we’ve only got four kids in the older age group and they’re really keen to play as well but with only four it doesn’t make a full team unfortunately. So we’re keen to encourage people to come along so they can get a chance to play as well.”

Keir added: “It would be a real shame for them not to have a chance, they’ve been coming along regularly, training and getting better, and they don’t get many chances to compete against people their own age.”

The 42-year-year-old launched the Granton based club to provide an alternative sport for children in the local area, charging just £2.50 to cover room hire costs. Keir said: “We try to keep the costs as low as possible because Granton is one of the areas in north Edinburgh where there is a lot of deprivation. And especially in a cost of living crisis, you don’t want to be asking people to pay too much to try a new sport. So they can take part in something new without breaking the bank.”

This year’s Scottish Junior Open is being held at Jack Kane Sports Centre in Edinburgh and Keir said this will be a great opportunity for the club’s members to compete at a national level. The dodgeball coach said he is encouraging people of all ages to come along to their weekly sessions where they can learn more about the sport, socialise and have fun as well as get some exercise.

Keir said: “A lot of dodgeball is usually based in north so It would be good to take advantage of it being down here and kick off the club’s competitive career. The sport attracts people who are confident and keen in other sports but there is also a fair amount of kids whodon’t play traditional sports and it gets them involved in a team game. When the kids are starting off I can see some of them are quite quiet and reserved but after a few sessions you can see their confidence grow and it’s great to see.”

Keir added: “The rules are quite simple but when you’re faced with another team it gets quite tactical – its almost like high-speed chess in a sense.”

For more information about the Granton Giants and how to join the club you can visit their social media pages.