Drink for show, spell for dough

With thirtysomethings neck-deep in nostalgia, it’s unsurprising that oddball sports like dodge ball and kickball have made a comeback among a certain set of college-radio-listening, thrift-store-clothes-wearing grown-ups. After all, 30 isn’t the new 20, it’s the new 12.

Add to that a decidedly more adult pastime that combines the shamelessness of a Roman bacchanal with “Revenge of the Nerds”-era aesthetics and you have a fair description of L.A.’s most unlikely sporting event: the Beer Chug Championships & Drunken Spelling Bee. It’s an event that’s bound to leave the audience, to say nothing of the competitors, spent and staggering.

Founded by dodge ball impresario (yes, there is such a thing) Michael Costanza, the event includes a speed drinking competition in individual and group divisions. After that, comedian Neil Hamburger will host a drunken spelling bee that will test competitors’ abilities to spell pop culture terms. At a previous drunken spelling event, the name “Zach Galifianakis” eliminated seven contestants to determine the winner.

The competition is expected to be fierce and factors such as size, gender and ethnicity have proven to be no guarantors of success. “We find that the smallest girls often beat the biggest guys,” Costanza says. “At a past event, two girls with a collective weight of maybe 200 pounds took down a big gun who we thought had the potential to be a world champion.”

To that end, Costanza offers a helpful training tip: “You really should have been avoiding sports for the two months leading up to the competition. In fact, having played a sport recently could be your Achilles’ heel. Remember, in a competition like this, a keg will always trounce a six-pack.”

-- Elina Shatkin

Beer Chug Championships & Drunken Spelling Bee, Met Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., L.A. Doors at 9 p.m. Friday, contest until midnight, dancing till 2 a.m. 21 and older. $10 to play, $5 to watch; $12 and $7 at the door. Bar closes at midnight; designated drivers will be provided. myspace.com/labeerolympics