PROVINCETOWN — A young man has his eye on a target: a lone young woman who has no idea which way to run. She waits too long and gets nailed by a rubber ball. She exits the floor with her head down, disappointed. Her team has lost that round of dodgeball.

The reputation of dodgeball as a sport offered to kids during school is itself a bit dodgy. The game involves up to six people on opposing teams trying to knock players out by hitting them with balls. Some schools have banned it to avoid terrorizing bullied students, while others have embraced it as a playful way to get exercise.

At the community center in Provincetown, 20-something townies gather to play on wintry Tuesday nights to socialize, have fun and more.

“It’s a good way to get the aggression out,” Christopher Brooke says. “I mean, you’re here during the winter — you’ve got to get your aggression out.”

Though rubber balls (four 8.5-inch blockers and two 5-inch stingers) whip through the air, they’re soft enough not to cause excessive pain.

“They sting a little, but, you know, I’m wearing clothes,” says Sophie Yingling, a member of the Mass-quitoes, a championship-winning team.

Thirty people were at gym at 6 p.m. on Feb. 26, many of whom were shooting hoops while waiting for dodgeball to begin. This is the second winter the Provincetown Recreation Program has offered Adult Coed Dodgeball. The winter program ends with playoffs, though the exact end date has not been determined.

Last year, the game attracted six teams consisting of 46 players.

“We wanted [to start] a team sport that wouldn’t be so reliant on one’s physical ability, but more of an emphasis on the entire team’s ability, and came up with dodgeball,” Provincetown Recreation Dept. Director Brandon Motta says. “With the constant motions of catching, throwing and dodging, everyone on the team is continually participating until the game has ended.”

There are six players per team. Each team must include at least two men and two women. The teams play as many games as they can during a 20-minute period. Once a game begins, players run for the balls, and then from the balls. If someone is hit, they are out. But if a player catches a ball that was thrown, the person who threw it goes out and the catcher gets one of her team’s players back.

“I like the situation when one team gets down to one person and the other may have three,” Motta says. “Normally, odds are stacked against that lone person, but not in dodgeball. As soon as that one person catches a ball, the person who threw it is out and an opposing player that has been ‘out’ the longest gets to rejoin the game, creating two-on-two. These creative rules keep the game moving.”

People are moving — and dodging — and the comradery is one of the best things about the game. And, Motta emphasizes, it’s safe. Anyone who aims for a head is out.

There is no age limit, he added. But so far this winter, young adults are participating.

“Games do get competitive, but remain fun and safe for all teams, because we have a great group of people playing,” Motta says. “I would also like to invite anyone interested in playing to contact me. Whether you have a team or are just a single player, we will find a way for you to participate. It’s not too late.”

For more information: Recreation Dept. Director Brandon Motta can be reached at bmotta@provincetown-ma.gov.