They played dodgeball across the equator -- but was it a record?

By Taryn Plumb, Globe Correspondent

It was perhaps the first interhemispheric bout of its kind -- but the 10-second dodgeball game still wasn't enough to gain Guinness Book of World Records fame.

The record-keeping authority has informed a group of Bryant University students that a dodgeball game they staged across the equator in Ecuador will not be accepted as a world record. Representatives did not specify a reason in an email.

Five students played the game on Jan. 12 during a trip to Latin America sponsored by the Rhode Island university. They sent their claim to Guinness in February.

Playing two on two -- with one referee -- the students pitted northern hemisphere against southern hemisphere, using the red-painted marker of the equator as the center line. In the end, the northerners came out victorious, 2-0.

Palmer native Bryan Wojtowicz, who played on the southern team, said he and his fellow dodgeballers were a little "let down" by the news. He said he believes the bout was too spur-of-the-moment for Guinness -- the London-based agency says on its website that it prefers that record attempts be approved ahead of time.

Otherwise, the 22-year-old, who will don a cap and gown on May 17, has no other plans to go for Guinness gold. "I think I'm going to focus on getting a full-time job," he said with a laugh.

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