While the battle between winter and spring shows no signs of an immediate winner, a new season to determine the champions of spring intramural sports is beginning to heat up.

The second wave of spring IM sports is about to begin with soccer, arena football, badminton, a track and field meet and a 32-team dodgeball tournament all taking place in the coming weeks. This year's buzz, however, seems to be centered on the dodgeball tournament.

"We intended on having signups all this week starting Monday at 10 a.m., but by 10:15 a.m., all the spots were filled," tournament organizer Ryan O'Donnell said.

The tournament, an internship project O'Donnell is running for his major, is based on the resurgence dodgeball has seen due to the 2004 movie, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

"The purpose of the project," O'Donnell said, "is to create something that is entertaining and will leave a lasting impression at Penn State."

The single elimination tournament, to be played March 27-28, will be run according to the rules of the National Amateur Dodgeball Association.

The first team to eliminate all members of the other team will be declared the winner. Each game will have a five-minute time limit, so if no winner is decided during play, the team with the most players remaining will be declared the winner. If the teams have an equal number of players remaining, the game goes into a one-minute 6-on-6 overtime period.

As of Thursday, Penn State's Director of Recreational Sports, Tom Lovins, said 65 teams had been put on a waiting list for the tournament. With the overwhelming response that the tournament has generated, O'Donnell is considering the possibility of expanding or duplicating the tournament in the future.

While the dodgeball tournament may be filled, there are still several options for Penn State students to compete in IM sports. According to the Penn State IM Sports Web site, www.psu.edu/recsports, there are still a few sports that students can sign up for.

On Wednesday and Thursday, there will be an IM indoor track and field meet held in the Multi-Sport Complex. Students have the possibility of competing in the shot put, the 60-meter, the 400-meter and the mile run events on the first day of the meet. On the second day, the high jump, long jump, 200-meter and 800-meter runs and the 4x200-meter relay will be held.

Registration for the meet will take place at 5:30 p.m. on both days. There is an entry of $5 for all those wishing to compete.

"Over the years, indoor track and field has been one of our most popular events," Lovins said. "Usually, we see more than 150 individuals competing."

Registration for singles badminton will take place in Room 2 of the Intramural Building from March 27-30. There is a registration fee of $5 for each student wishing to participate in the sport.

Students can also sign up for the final sport of the year, the 4-on-4 arena football league. The signups will also be held in Room 2 of the IM Building, from March 27-30, or until the 64-team cut-off is met. There is a $20 fee for each team.

"Our students are very active in playing intramural sports and we field very competitive teams," Lovins said.

Students are recommended to sign up for their desired sport early. If the dodgeball tournament is any indicator, this year will be another in great turnouts for the Penn State intramural programs.