Headball

Headball (also called "Tavs", "Headie", or formerly "Goblinball") is a team sport game played primarily in the Maletsok Islands, and gaining popularity across the Empire. The game is played by two opposing teams, either offensive or defensive, on a field that is typically 120 feet in length and 60 feet in width. A leather ball half a foot in diameter, called the "head", is passed between players of the offensive team with clubs sometimes called "yevs" in order to strike the head against a goalpost or "Tav" roughly six feet tall and two feet wide. Although the game is played constantly in Maletsok, the professional Love League, held in the Pelozerian (see Halfling) town Esportovei, is only played once a year for the coveted Love Cup.

History

Headball was started sometime in the year 1263 T.E. during a skirmish between the Maletsokish Confederacy and the warring clans of Vogg Goblinfolk. During this particular battle on the fields just outside Khabar in the Zindush Watershed, Dwarven warrior named Buzinkaya Yevgenil defeated the Vogg Chief Lorokh Tiv by hitting a goblin head with her club toward the Chief with such force as to kill him.

The event quickly became legend and, to honour Yevgenil, Maletsokish folk reenacted it in annual festivals. Shortly thereafter sometime in the 1380s, these reeneactments became competitive, as actors strove to be the best emulators of Yevgenil's strength. Over the centuries, these reenactments developed a strict code of rules of play that became the sport we know and love today.

Rules of Play

The rules of Headball are fairly simple. Two teams of six compete to strike a ball against a goalpost using clubs. Using a coin toss, one team is deemed the offensive and the other the defensive. At the beginning of each round, the head is placed upon a circle at the centre of the field and, after a countdown from 9, the head is considered in play, and the offensive is allowed to begin moving the head with their yevs. Before the head is in play, members of each team are allowed to occupy any space on their respective side of the field. Once the countdown reaches its end, the entire field is opened to all.

Players on the offensive team are allowed to hit the head with either their yev or their feet. However, a point is only considered valid if the head strikes the tav after being it with a yev. Players on the defensive team are allowed to interact with the ball in any way, allowing for the exchange of play. When a player on the defensive team catches the head, the play is halted. A line is drawn where the head was catched stretching the width of the field, and both teams return to their respective sides of the new line. The teams switch roles, offensive becoming the new defensive and vise versa, and the play resumes after another 9 second countdown.

Points are awarded to the offensive team based upon where the head impacts the tav. One point is given for striking the bottom half of the tav, two points for striking from the halfway mark to one eighth from the top, and three points for striking the top eighth. These are called "leg shots", "body shots", and "head shots" respectively, so as to immitate the proportions of a humanoid body. Each game lasts until one team scores nine points.

Despite the game's violent origins, there are strick rules regarding combat during play. Neither weapons nor combative magic are permissible on the field; only regulation-grade yevs are allowed. Alongside striking the head, yevs can be used to attack other players. However, it is prohibited to inflict mortal wounds on other players.

Breaking the rules of the game will earn a player a penalty. An incurred penalty results in either an official warning, free hit, point deduction, or expulsion from the game or even league. Serious infractions, such as dealing a lethal blow with a yev or introcuding weapons to the play, typically lead to legal action from governmental authorities. Leaving the boundaries of the playing field and moving across the play line before the end of the countdown can lead to a stop in play and an official warning. Three official warnings results in either a free hit, point deduction, or the player's expulsion from the game, depending on the decision of the referee. Free hits, which allow the offended player to attempt to strike the tav uninterrupted from a distance of 30 feet, can also be awarded for mishandling of the yev, either by striking it with anything other than the yev, or using one's hands while on the offensive. In all cases, the referee's decision is considered final.

Controversies

Naming Conventions

Considering the history of the sport, it is no wonder that certain names in the sport have given rise to controversies, especially from the Vogg Clans of Maletsok and other Goblinfolk from across the Empire. Notably, the names Goblinball and Tiv drew heavy criticism from these communities. For much of the sport's history, the voices of the Vogg were ignored, as any passifict Vogg suffered great prejudice from the other Maletsokish folk.

Those Vogg teams that were in the Love League, many of whom were quite renowned like the Nertus Sickles, were outspoken in their disapproval of the names, but their participation in the sport was seen as hypocritical. However, as Goblinfolk communities began to grow from immigration, the power of their complaints could no longer be ignored by the League. In 1342, the League officially changed the names of the sport to Headball and the name of the tivs to tavs, much to the chagrin of many Maletsokish fans and players. In many circles, especially Dobrid and Dumadhur, the sport retains its former names.

Deaths

Over its lengthy existence, Headball has had its fair share of deaths on the field. Increased regulations have lessened the risk of fatality, but they continue to happen even today. Some activist groups, chiefly the Love Doesn't Kill movement (or LDK), campaign for stronger regulations that protect players from the threat of death. Some campaign for better protective equipment, while others campaign against allowing players to fight one another. Although these groups are fairly fringe, the shocking and gruesome death of the famous Roka Mestara of the Golden Tops in 1698 has lead to their increasing populairty and greater pressure on the League to make significant changes.