On October 10, 72 teams from 18 states will travel to Las Vegas for the largest adult kickball tournament in the history of adult kickball. Probably, in the total history of all kickball (until Field Day Earth 2080, when the youth unite to take it back from old people).

This is the 12th annual World Championships of Kickball hosted by the World Adult Kickball Association, deemed the Founders Cup, which WAKA holds the registered trademark to despite there being at least a Canadian Lacrosse tournament, a U19 Girls Rugby tournament, and a boat shoe for women of the same name - good for them.

Las Vegas, NV August 26, 2009 — The stage is set for the ultimate adult kickball showdown. The World Adult Kickball Association® (WAKA), the world governing body of kickball, will host the 12th annual Founders Cup® World Kickball Championship® Tournament (Founders Cup) on Oct. 10, 2009 at Desert Breeze Park in Las Vegas.


Kickball once lived and died on the school playground, but in 1998, WAKA turned the kid’s game into a full-fledged sport by creating the first organized, widespread co-ed adult kickball league. Today, WAKA is the world’s largest adult kickball organization with thousands of teams across most major cities in the U.S., as well as internationally in London and Iraq.


“The Founders Cup showcases world-class kickball teams competing for the prestigious title of world kickball champion, while still enjoying the fun, social and all-inclusive experience WAKA is known for,” said David Lowry, co-founder of WAKA.



I’m trying to think through the progression of a 72-team bracket (Joe Lunardi sez, “go back to Russia, WAKA”), but I keep getting distracted by the team names (see: The Teams to Beat list). There’s those that range from fully uninspired to misogynistic-light (two teams named Balls Deep, and another named Balls Deeper). There are your pop culture plays on the word kick (Kick In A Box, Kickhopopotamus). And of course, booze references (Party Foul, Happy Hour, Menace to Sobriety). Here are the five teams I’m rooting for based on their cleverness alone:

The Royal Tennenballs (Santa Barbara, CA)
The Savage Freds (Culver City, CA)
Pitch Please! (Hollywood, CA)
Bulletproof Tigers (New York, NY)
Swift Kick in the Grass (Somerville, MA)



Hit the poll at the bottom to root for your favorite, and check out some video from last year’s Founder’s Cup… the first, an over-the-top promo (titled: Keep Dreamin’), the second, adult slip-n-slide.







World Adult Kickball Association to Hold World’s Largest Adult Kickball Tournament in Las Vegas (PR Web)