Kirunaball

Kirunaball is a playground game and competitive league game, the game itself is still very young, with societies being set up at Southampton University and Kingston University, both in England, in the new school years. The game blends Basketball, Football, Handball and Netball and is designed for courts located at parks that have both Basketball and Football facilities. Players can both score with hands and feet scoring a varitaion of points dependent on the situation.
History
Creation
First created by students at Bromsgaten accommodation, Kiruna, Sweden on Thursday 5th August 2010 Kirunaball consists of a mixture of several sports incorporated into one game. Designed to be played on a 5-aside football pitch which also has basketball nets at each end the game mixes the touch of a footballer and the shot of a basketball player.
The original court on which Kirunaball was first played, and for which the original rules specifications were designed for, consists of two small football goals, one at each end, and two lowered basketball nets, again one at each end. The pitch must also be surrounded by a wall with a minimum height of two feet. The rules were adapted to suit the pitch on which it was played, and created by students studying at the (IRF) whilst staying on the Accommodation for 3 weeks, studying a course in "Human Spaceflight and Exploration" . It began because a few students were contemplating on whether to play either football or basketball, with half saying each option, Muthu Krishna suggested a mixture of the two, from here Joe Pavitt combined the two and formed some basic rules, this game quickly grew in popularity and soon took over the stay in Sweden, and currently has ambitions to take it into Universities to be played there.
The game designed for 3-a-side is played in two halves, after which the two teams switch ends at half time. Each half consists of an allotted time agreed before the match begins.
First International Competition
It was not long after the creation of the game when the first competitive international match took place. Between England and Portugal, the game was only played with two players on each team, a variation sometimes played. With the England team consisting of Joe Pavitt and Craig Pitcher, and the Portuguese team consisting of Filipe Sousa and Felipe Portela, the game finished England 33 - 16 Portugal.
The first Kirunaball World Cup is also planned for Friday 13th August 2010 and will consist of representatives from England, Denmark, Portugal, Lithuania, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia and India.
Records
Highest Points Scored by one team
England 33
Portugal 16
achieved on Friday 6th August 2010
Biggest Win Margin
Bromsgaten Whites 19
Bromsgaten Blues 1
Most 10 point shots scored
Ulrich Walach 1

Rules
Movement and Control
The game begins by deciding who gets to kick-off, whether by free choice or by the toss of a coin; this can be decided by the players present. Once decided the team to kick off does in a football fashion, with the ball in the centre of the pitch and to be passed from one player to another close-by. Once this has been done the game begins and basic football rules apply regarding fouls and handballs. However the variation arises if the hand comes into contact with the ball when the ball is in the air and has not bounced, this is allowed. If the ball is kicked, it can then be either caught with the hands, or blocked with the hands before the ball bounces again. If caught the team with possession is then allowed to pass it from player to player in a netball fashion, where the player with the ball must stay stationary at all times, apart from the allowance of a couple of steps if the ball is caught whilst the player is in motion, in order to stop themselves. The opposing team must either deflect or intercept any attempt at a pass or shot in order to retrieve the ball back, at no point are the opposing team allowed to touch the player with the ball or the ball itself when a player is holding it. If the ball comes in contact with the ground again the ball must then be controlled with the feet, and no hands are allowed to be used.
Scoring
A team can only score points when shooting (with foot or hand) inside the oppositions half.
If the team in possession manages to kick the ball into the oppositions football goal they score two points, and managing the kick the ball into the basketball net scores ten points. When the ball is in the hands the player is allowed to throw the ball into the football goal, doing this will score the team one point, they also have the option of shooting into the basket, this will score the team five points.
The current scoring specifications are designed only for the pitch at Bromsgaten, however changes are expected once the game expands onto other pitches, as scoring into the basket will be made easier, as the basket will be taller and restrict the defending team from blocking the ball from entering the net so easily.
The first and currently only player to score a ten point shot is Ulrich Walach.
Fouls
When the ball is on the floor and both teams are using feet to control the ball, the fouling system is the same as that of football, whilst contact is allowed; any strong contact or obvious attempts at injuring the opponent will not be accepted. In the case that this occurs a free-kick is awarded where the offending team must then retreat three feet back from the position of the offence, or to the defending teams goal-line if the offence is close to the goal. The team awarded the free-kick has a choice to either pass it to a team mate or shoot, as long as they are in the oppositions half. If at any time the ball contacts the arm or hand of a player when the ball has previously bounced, again a free-kick is awarded. If a player is fouled whilst they have possession of the ball in their hands, (any contact on them at all will resort in a foul) they are awarded a free-throw, from this the taker can either throw it to a team mate, or shoot into the basket or goal, again provided that they are in the oppositions half. The opposition must once more retreat three feet away from the offence.
Out of Bounds
sidelines
If the ball at any point goes out of bounds the team who touched it last concedes the ball to the other team. The other team then has the option of either throwing it in or punting the ball in (that is where the ball is dropped from the hand and then kicked in). If the team chooses to throw the ball in the receivers on the pitch cannot use their hands to control the ball, if they do, this will resort in a free-kick to the opposition. However, if the team chooses to punt the ball in, the receiver from either team is allowed to use any part of the body to control it, as long as the ball has not bounced between the release of the thrower and the catch or contact with the hand of the receiver.
endlines
If the ball goes out of bounds at either end of the pitch, so behind the goal, the ball is in play as soon as it re-enters the pitch in whatever form. This allows the team who now has possession to just put the ball down and play, or they can do is in the sidelines where they throw or kick the ball in, the rules about catching the ball following these options remains the same.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu