WANT to dodge today's cup final? Then why not get along to Ravenscraig Arena this afternoon for a spot of dodgeball - even if you don't feel moved to dig out the lycra and sweatbands for the occasion. The sum total of most people's knowledge about this minority sport might be derived from mixed gender PE lessons at school and a wacky Hollywood film starting Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller called 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story', but in fact the World Dodgeball Association represents 61 national federations, four continental federations and 67.5m people worldwide. The sport is recognised by the International Olympic Committee and on a fast track to be part of the Olympic schedule by 2028, with designs also on a place at the Commonwealth Games. They are in Scotland to launch the 2017 European Dodgeball Championships, which will take place at the same venue in Lanarkshire on August 18-20. After a formal press conference, there will be an exhibition match between Scottish clubs, Scotland Highlanders and Granite City, which will be screened on BT Sport and streamed across the globe. The Euros are one of the four continental championships during 2017 which also serve as qualifying for the 2018 World Championships, which will take place in the august surroundings of Madison Square Garden, New York.

It is a sport which secretly has around one million regular participants in the UK and Mark Croston, the chairman of the World Dodgeball Association, reckons it is a sport on the rise. England are the reigning world champions in both the men's and mixed events from the sport's inaugural World Cup in Manchester last year, with Australia winning the women's prize. But Croston feels that home advantage at the Euros in August might just give Scotland a shot at glory.

"It is a huge sport in the UK," said Croston. "There are almost a million people here playing it and the great thing about dodgeball is that you can get some friends together and just play, all you need is a ball and some tape. You can play it anywhere from a squash court, a badminton court, on the beach, or grass, or line out a specific dodgeball court which has now been developed. .

"At school it used to be anything goes, people maybe took the opportunity to throw the ball at someone they didn't like," he added. "But part of the process of making it a world event was creating some standardised rules and standardised the ball, which is volleyball size but with a cotton coating so it is easier to grip. The game starts with five balls in the middle and both teams race there to acquire them. There is a lot of jeopardy in the game. You get knocked out if you get hit by a ball or if you catch the ball the other person is out. One of the greatest things in the sport is that men and women can play together, because small and nippy is good for dodging, while big and powerful is good for throwing.

"Scotland got out of their groups at the last World Cup, and got to the playoff stages, and if I were a betting man, I would say that Scotland might just win this one, home advantage might just take them over the line. The biggest platform for us is next year's World Cup which is being staged at Madison Square Garden. That will really bring the sport on to a new level."