Boulder Ball - a New Sport
The new sport of Boulder Ball was created by Vinod Venkatesan from the USA (originally from Mumbai, India) on 5th January 2023. The sport is inspired from: European Football, American Football, Calcio Storico and Tekken Ball Mode.
This is probably one of the few sports in which the ball is bigger than the players!
Summary
You need:
A. 10 players (5 plays on each side)
B. The court (96 feet in length and 40 feet in width) with transparent Walls along the length for audience to watch. 6 feet away from the goals are scoring lines.
C. A giant ball which has the density of a Soccer ball (or slightly more) but has a diameter of 8 ft. This giant ball is referred to as the "Boulder" and is grey in color. The estimated weight of this ball is 11 to 15 lbs.
D. Each player gloves that cushion their knuckles and shoes which have extra traction
E. The surface of the court is smooth to allow the boulder to roll with minimum friction which is why the players have shoes with extra traction.
F. Uniform is same as soccer.
Sport Description
Objective of the game is to win most number of sets. A set is won by scoring more points than the opponent team. There are a total of 3 sets (15 minutes each) with 5 minutes break in between each set. Making the total game time of 55 minutes. If a team wins two sets in a row, they are declared the winner.
Points are scored by team players displacing the Boulder to the opponent's side. The entire length of 40 feet on each side are the "goals"
Players can displace the Boulder only by striking it (any kind of strike: punches, kicks, shoulder tackle, headbutt, elbow, knee, jumping double kicks etc.) and not by pushing it. A player can't touch the boulder for more than 1 second (that would be considered a push foul).
Other fouls include:
- striking or grappling a player, shoulder nudging is allowed but no elbows or knees
- Two or more players from the same team can't touch the boulder at the same time, doing so will result in a foul
- (mentioned above) Players can't push the boulder (touching the boulder for more than 1 second)
- Play enters the opponent's scoring line (see "scoring")
- Play remains within their scoring lines with the boulder for more than 10 seconds.
Scoring:
1. Upon striking if the Boulder successfully reaches the opponent's goal WITHOUT touching the ground (through air), it is called a "glide" and the striking team gets 3 points.
2. Upon striking of the Boulder successfully reaches the opponent's goal WITH touching the ground (regular way), it is called a "sweep" and the striking team gets 2 points.
In any of the above cases if the execution occurred by the Boulder bouncing off the wall, a point is subtracted from the point scored. Calling a "bouncing glide" (2 points) and "bouncing sweep" (1 point).
Scoring should be done by the playing standing behind the opponent's scoring line. Doing so within the foul line invalidates that goal but this isn't considered a foul.
Once a goal is scored, the Boulder is brought back to the center of the court and the team that lost the point gets to "kick off" or rather "strike off"
Penalty:
When any foul is committed, the opponent team gets to have a free strike off with the Boulder placed at the location of the foul and the opponent gets a running start from 6 feet from the Boulder.
Equipment Required: Players have regular soccer uniforms and in addition:
1. Traction shoes
2. Knuckle cushioned gloves (fingers will be open, so similar to a MMA glove and not a boxing glove)
3. The boulder
Note
Related Pages
- See our large list of other New Sports
- How to Submit a New Sport
- Complete list of unusual sports
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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