Professional Midstate team competing at World Chase Tag Championship

CAMP HILL, Pa. (WHTM) – The Dexterity Depot chase tag team out of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania will be competing in Evry, France for the World Chase Tag WCT 6 World Championships from April 26 to April 28.

“It’s the highest level (of) competition for world chase tag,” said Dexterity Depot co-owner Tim Dexter. “To already be at that top level for us is really important. It’s a huge opportunity for us all as athletes as far as our career path goes, but for the gym, it speaks volumes to the hard work and training that goes into this place.”

16 top-level teams will be competing, with four teams representing the United States, including Dexterity Depot. Six athletes will travel to France with Dexterity Depot to compete.

To qualify for this elite competition, teams must place in the top four in the US championships. Dexterity Depot just missed out on placement for the competition, but when one of the other teams dropped out, they were next in line.

This is just the third year of competing in chase tag for Dexterity Depot. The gym originally opened its doors in 2019 under co-owners Dexter and Tara Brown as a Parkour and American Ninja Warrior (ANW) training facility. The idea to add a chase tag to the gym’s training capabilities came after they watched a competition on YouTube.

“We were the second gym in the country to get an indoor quad,” Dexter said. “For our team, it’s an invaluable resource. Being able to run different routes and understand the angles and how to set the proper traps and work on the strategy and tactics is really, really important.”

Dexterity Depot is now one of only four gyms in the United States to have an indoor quad. The team uses the quad to try new moves and positions and implement them into their next competition.

“What people don’t see from watching world chase tag, when you watch it it looks like people are just chasing after each other and it’s pretty simple, but it’s really a complex game of chess going on,” Dexter said.

Dexter, who was previously on American Ninja Warrior, has a background in mixed martial arts and wanted to be a UFC fighter before opening the gym. He believes chase tag is a unique combination of some of the elements of martial arts and fighting.

“There’s so many concepts that stay the same like understanding distance, how to manage that, and understanding what positions you’re safe in versus in danger and then being able to set angles,” Dexter said.

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Dexter says the mental game of chase tag is extremely important because you have to be able to focus on many elements at once and strategize. Paul Fisher, one of the competitors traveling to France, has been working on focusing on formulating more calculated moves.

“Before I would just kind of go on instincts, so I’m trying to work on actually having a plan when I’m in (the quad),” said Fisher.

Fisher got into chase tag after starting Ninja training at Dexterity Depot. When Dexter started the team he joined in on some practices and realized he was decent at it and enjoyed it.

“From there we just kept training and went and competed and (kept) getting better,” Fisher said.

Ruby Robinson will also be traveling to France with the team. Robinson is excited because this is the first year there’s been a designated women’s league in the tournament.

“I didn’t grow up the sporty kid and I saw the guys training chase tag and I was like, I don’t know, I don’t think I could ever do that,” said Robinson. “It just looks kind of crazy.”

Robinson changed her mind after a trip to Colorado when she got a chance to play with some women who were competing.

“I was like. . .’I’m seeing other girls do this I guess I could try it too’,” Robinson said. “I just tried it and I really liked it.”

Robinson didn’t expect to reach this level of the sport, but she can’t wait to compete at the World Championships.

“When I started competing, I never thought that I’d get to go to world championships,” Robinson said. “(It’s) pretty crazy and awesome to get to represent women in such a brand new sport. It’s really wild. I really never saw it coming, but I’m really excited.”

Dexter is eager to compete at the World Championships with his team and is optimistic about their chances.

“We’re very excited to be there and represent the country and go out there and do our best and show the world what we’re capable of,” Dexter said.

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