Sockball, the official,factual non made upgame of the 1997 Hawaiian Tropics Tour of Hawaii, was devised by messers Scott and Batcheldor, who will go down in history as founders of the inaugural tournament. The inventors invented this invention due to the constraint they felt constrained in the modern English Premier League where money dominated the game of football and needing an escape decided to combine their favourite pastimes in a combination of sports to bring it to the masses.
Sockball is a simple amalgamation of football (soccer), baseball, cricket, and socks. The requirements of the game are simple:
- One regulation pair of standard male size (6-12) socks rolled together to make a perfect sphere.
- One room with a defined boundary.
- A minimum of 2 participants having with at least one arm.
The rules of the game (currently under guidance with the newly formed Sockball Limited Association Group) are as follows:
- One bowler stands a regulation 8ft from the slapping zone, ideally at least 2ft from the back boundary.
- The Slapper must stand perpendicular with the bowler (which will now be affectionally known as the "strike zone").
- The bowler must bowl under arm with the regulation pair of socks rolled into a ball towards the bowler at a speed no more than 12 nockas (the official measurement of speed as defined by the Sockball Limited Association Group, 2006).
- The boundaries of the game must be defined prior to sock-off, with 1 point being award to the Slapper for slapping the sock forward into zone 1 (clearly defined by Sockball limited Association Group) as the area infront of the bowler and also in front of the slapper into the area of play. Zone 2 is the area behind the bowler but within the boundary area (the wall), earning the Slapper 2 points. Zone 3 is defined by the Sockball Limited Association Group as hitting the back wall after striking the floor or other boundary wall, which is awarded 4 points. To earn the maximum 6 points per slap, the sockball must strike the back wall without touching any other boundary (floor or wall).
- If the bowler bowls 3 strikes (ie the Slapper does not make contact with the sockball with 3 valid bowls or hits the sockball backwards) the Slapper is "out" and must end his or her turn.
- Another way the Slapper can be dismissed is by being caught out by the bowler or defined fielders.
- Innings are agreed at the start of the game between all parties based on time allowed. A general standard is 1 (one) inning per five minute interval.
As you can see, the rules are quite simple but are effective and fun. The game can start anywhere at any notice like a flash-mob. The only stipulations are that a room of an appropriate size and a pair of socks are available which are of a regulation standard (including cleanliness and size).
The game is a mixture of baseball and cricket, and the scores are allocated as per a combination of these games.
The current world champion is Kate Dorito of Gravesend, Kent who beat Solomon Nelson of Leyton in a tense finale played out in Ling's living room in Boston, Lincolnshire. The game looked set to go into overtime until Kate produced a stunning slap off of a week Nelson throw. Dorito captitalized on Nelson's poor reflexes to smash the sock past him onto the boundary wall for 6 points and bring the World Championship back to Gravesend.
The Future of Sockball
The game is currently becoming a growing trend in America where it is known as "Socker". The internationalisation of the game has encouraged the Sockball Limited Association Group to establish a World Cup of sockball which is to be held in 2010. For more info please visit sockball@facebook.
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