Wickerball
On its surface, this is a very simple sport with a very simple goal: the first person to throw their spear through the hoop wins. Of course, it gets more complicated after this.
Set-Up
Players
Wickerball requires only two players. It is primarily a game of skill with throwing a spear, as it evolved out of spear fishermen showing off their skills or honing them in the off-season. Games are not divided by sex, as the winner is determined more by precision and skill than strength or stamina.
There is also a referee, who is usually an older, respected member of the community.
The Field
It is played on a large grassy field with a hoop on a pole at one end. The pole is made of wood and is about ten feet high, with the hoop 1 foot in diameter. Lines of rock are spaced out roughly every ten feet. Traditionally, players moved forward five steps upon spearing the ball. Modern games use standardized spacing to level the playing field and prevent tall, long-legged players from leaping forward and claiming it as one step. Impromptu games, games in rural areas without a designated field, or games among children usually don't have these lines and they stick with the "walk forward five steps" rule.
The field itself can be as wide or narrow as necessary. Communities in heavily wooded areas often have fields tucked along a river bank - or even placing the hoop in the middle of the river and placing each player on an opposite bank. Closer to the coast, where the trees are not so thick, the fields are wide and spacious.
Equipment
Each player needs a spear. This is usually a fishing spear, and is whatever spear the player feels most comfortable with. In cities, where the sport is more divorced from its origins, specialized spears just for wickerball are used and made of a standardized size (about 7 - 8 feet depending on the height of the user) but in the countryside, players just use whatever spear they normally use to catch fish.
The other piece of equipment is the ball. The ball is a sphere, 1 foot in diameter, made woven out of reeds. It is hollow on the inside and made with plenty of gaps, so it is light and see-through.Several balls are usually prepared for each game, as they get damaged by the spears throughout play. Sometimes they are freshly made for the game, or they are existing balls that survived past games. These balls are also commonly made as toys for children.
When children play wickerball, they use scrounged sticks or spear handles with the sharp head removed, for safety reasons. Because their 'spears' can't pierce wicker, they also use balls that are made more loosely and have large gaps.
How to Play
Each player stands at the start line. The younger player goes first. Their opponent takes the ball and throws it into the air. Then, the player whose turn it is throws their spear and tries to hit the ball. If they do hit the ball, they move forward to the next line. If they fail, they go back one line (except for the first turn; you cannot go farther back than the starting line).
The Throw: When throwing for your opponent, it is the goal for them to miss. However, the throw has certain rules. When throwing, if the ball is not speared by the player, it must land in front of the player, and not farther than 2 lines ahead of them. The exception to this is if the person you are throwing for is more than 2 lines ahead of you; then they are expected to turn around to hit the ball and the "two lines in front of them" are what would previously have been two lines behind them.
This means you can not throw it forward as far as you can to make it impossible to hit, or throw it behind the player. It also cannot land to the right of the thrower if the player is on the left, or vice-versa. If the ball lands out of bounds, the thrower takes a penalty and must move back one line.
This means you can not throw it forward as far as you can to make it impossible to hit, or throw it behind the player. It also cannot land to the right of the thrower if the player is on the left, or vice-versa. If the ball lands out of bounds, the thrower takes a penalty and must move back one line.
At any time, the player can choose to throw their spear at the hoop instead of the ball. If they miss, it counts as missing the ball and they must move back. If they make it through the hoop, they win the game! This is where the strategy of the game comes into play. Most players have a preferred distance to throw at the hoop from. Being closest to it is not ideal because of the awkward arc required to get the spear through the hoop. So, players must strategically hit or miss the ball to move to their preferred line. Every time it is your turn, you'll either move forward or backward. Additionally, if the player gets too much farther ahead than their opponent, they might have difficulty throwing the ball within the bounds and be forced to move back. This means throwers sometimes purposefully give their opponent an easy throw in order to stay ahead themselves.
There's a long-standing rumour that there was once a player so skilled, he threw his spear at the hoop from the starting line and won the game on the first turn, though no one has come forward claiming to be that player.
Related Ethnicities
