Strike Ball
A sport where one does exactly as the name suggests
Jaser Stathius, not intimidated by the large man rushing towards him, glanced at the hourglass hanging on top of the arena. There were hardly any grains of sand left, which meant that he had to be quick. Taking a deep breath, Jaser grasped the ball and feinting to the left, managed to sidestep his opponent. His target was the short figure at the far end, clad in bright white, hiding from him behind a Centaur. He took aim and threw the ball, making it bounce down between the hind legs of the Centaur. The spin he gave to the ball made it shot upwards again quickly hitting the short figure in the arm as she was trying to avoid it. Jaser grinned as the crowd begun chanting his name. Turning towards his fans, he bowed and walked over to the rest of his team.
History
Starting out as a popular children game, with little rules except hitting each other with balls made up from various things, Strike Ball evolved to become a phenomenon all around Aell. Nowadays, there are teams in every major city, sponsored by nobles or other patrons. A competition in the form of a tournament takes place during Sunner and several kingdoms have year long competitions as well.Strike Ball is more popular in Edhas and Neirhas.
Description
The game is played in a square space, its size varying. For tournaments though the size is standard: Each side must be 100 steps.
Each team starts at opposing sides of the field while the ball is placed in the middle. A team consist of five members. The goal for the teams is to hit with the ball, on any part of the body, the opposing team's leader, known as Target. The Targets are wearing brightly colored clothing as to distinguish themselves. Each team also has the Hunters, responsible for retrieving the ball and attacking, as well as the Blockers, responsible for using their bodies to block the attacks against the Target. The exact numbers for the Hunters and Blockers varies from team to team, but usually it is two of each.
The game is played in three different bouts, each one timed by an hourglass which hangs on top of the stage. Each bout ends after the hourglass runs out or when one of the teams strikes the Target three times. If not the point goes to the team which has the most strikes during that timeframe. In the end, the team which was victorious in most of the bouts takes home the win as well. If the score is equal then a process known as Sudden Death is initiated. In this process only one player from each team is allowed to enter the stage while the ball is placed in the middle. The players then must run for the ball, take it and eliminate their opponent. The last person standing wins the game for his team.
Quick Rules
Players: 5 VS 5 [Material Requirements:
Grounds: Any suitable square field of 100 steps long sides.
Umpire: In addition to the players, a person is chosen to enforce the rules and has the final say in all decisions.
The Ball
The ball is created with rubber, created using the milky substance of various trees combined in an chemical process with the nectar from the flower Morning Glory.
A spherical small center is created over which several strips are placed and glued until the desired size is reached. Usually balls are not much bigger than what calculates as the size of someone's fist, times four.
Other ways to make a ball exist as well, such as using animal bladders or pieces of leather sewn together. The rubber balls are more common though due to their flexibility and endurance.
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