The Forge’s Boardball Takes the Court on Dragons Den This Fall

Volleyball enthusiasts are in for a major treat this fall.

Dragon’s Den, the hit TV show where entrepreneurs pitch their groundbreaking ideas and products to a group of successful Canadian business leaders, will feature Boardball, an exciting new game that’s rapidly gaining popularity around the world.

Boardball is a client at The Forge at McMaster University.

Traditional volleyball is a hassle to organize. You need a full-size court, a net with poles, and at least eleven friends to set up properly. That’s where Boardball changes the game.

“Boardball is a new sport that aims to lower the barriers to playing volleyball by reducing the extensive setup required. Think volleyball meets spikeball  – that’s usually the quickest way to explain it. Instead of hitting over a net, you’re hitting onto a board and players can move anywhere around that board, using their bump-set-spike skills,” explains Boardball founder Amanda Nguyen.

Boardball was originally founded while Amanda was with her friends in Mexico. They were unable to procure a volleyball net to play, so she and her friends decided to instead, hit a ball off a hard surface. What began as an innocent way to make up for the missing volleyball net, quickly became a game that was so much fun, they didn’t want to stop playing.

“I unknowingly created a prototype and brought it outside for the first time. A group of people playing spikeball walked over and asked, ‘Can we play too?’ I answered, ‘Sure.’ Then a video recorded that same day somehow ended up on The Score, which is a popular sports media channel. The video went viral, and I got a bunch of people asking ‘What’s Boardball?’ and ‘Where can I get a board’. That night we incorporated the business,” says Nguyen.

Since experiencing their online virility, Boardball’s momentum continues to grow – now selling in Canada, the U.S., and Europe and distributing within the education system where teachers are incorporating Boardball lessons into P.E. curriculum. The founding team has also brought on two Canadian Olympic volleyball athletes, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Steven Marshall to elevate the game.

Boardball is not only affordable to play, but it also allows people to play volleyball anytime, anywhere, and at any skill level. No more waiting for your turn to use a volleyball net, just bring Boardball along with you!

Combining volleyball and spikeball, another widely popular sport, Boardball offers a fun and exciting challenge. The red edges of the board amplify the way the game is played, creating an awesome, competitive atmosphere. If the volleyball hits the red, you have been officially blocked by the board. If this happens, your team has 3 additional touches to get it back onto the board and into play, keeping the rally alive.

Boardball recently joined the The Forge – McMaster University’s business incubator funded by McMaster University, serving novel and scalable start-ups in Hamilton, Greater Toronto, and Niagara Regions.

“The support from The Forge has been awesome,” said Nguyen. “The team has been integral to have helped us launch-to-market and operate effectively.”

The game’s debut on Dragon’s Den will be an exciting opportunity for investors, and volleyball aficionados everywhere to get an inside look into how truly innovative Boardball is. Will Boardball spike the interest of the Dragons?

On October 10th at 8pm EST, bump up the fun, set the channel to CBC or CBC Gem, spike up the volume, and tune in to Dragon’s Den. You won’t want to miss it!