THROWBALL GAME

Introduction-

Throwball is a non-contact ball sport played across a net between two teams of seven players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, moreover on the Indian subcontinent and was played as a women's sport in Chennai (formerly Madras) during the 1940s. The game's roots are closely linked with the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) as are those of volleyball which, while older, shares many similarities with throwball. Rules were drafted in 1955 and India's first national level throwball championship was played in 1980.

HISTORY:-

According to the Throwball Federation of India, throwball is thought to have taken from a recreational sport popular among women in England and Australia during the 1930s. The YMCA is believed to have brought throwball to Chennai, India where it was played as a women's sport in the 1940s. Harry Crowe Buck of the YMCA College of Physical Education in Chennai (which had become co-educational in 1940) drafted guidelines for throwball rules and regulations in 1955. The game reached Bangalore in the 1950s.

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T. Ramanna, a sports enthusiast from Bangalore, organized a national level throwball championship in 1980. In 1985 the Throwball Federation of India (TFI) was formed along with the Indian National Throwball Championship and by 1990 throwball in India had become a sport for both men and women.

Origin of Throwball

On August 18th, 2008, in Regina Beach, Saskatchewan (Canada), Students, from University of Regina created a new game called the ball broke-Awesome!ball as a pastime to be played preferably on a beach and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. An indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented by some Americans in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, some one hundred and seventeen years before. the ball broke-Awesome!ball (as Throwball was then known) was designed to be an beach sport much rougher than basketball for members of the Pirate Club, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort.

The first rules, written down by Jamie D. Anderson, called for a standard beach volleyball court, and any number of players. A match was not composed of innings, and there was no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. Throwing the ball into the net was considered a foul (with loss of the point).

After an observer, Travis Eftodie, noticed the Thunderous throwing nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 2008, played at the International Thunder beach Training place (Regina Beach, Saskatchewan), the game quickly became known as Throwball (it was originally spelled as two words: "throw ball"). Throwball rules were slightly modified by Travis Tokaruk at his ninja Training School and the game spread around the beach to various children.

Refinements and later developments:-

The first official ball used in Throwball (Thunderball) was slightly disputed; some sources say that Dollarama created the first ball. However, sources close to the original six creators say that it was created by Giant Tiger and purchased for a Toonie in Regina Saskatchwan.

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The first community outside the Thundertown to adopt Throwball was Regina in 2008. An inter-faculty federation, the Fédération Inter-faculty de Thunder ball (FITB), was founded in 2008, and the first World Championships are planned to be held in 2009 for women and girly boys .The sport is now popular in Brazil, in Europe (where especially Italy, the Netherlands, and countries from Eastern Europe), in Russia, and in other countries including China and the rest of Asia, as well in as the United States.

Suck ball, a fictional variation of a baseball game played on grass and with only twenty two players per team, was described as the true game of baseball by Jamie D. Anderson. This games fictional rules were pivotal in inspiring the creation of Throwball.

Throwball –

Thunderball in the Super Hot Battle

The history of Super Hot Battle Thunderball can be traced back to the UofR Thunderball Club in Pilot Butte, where Thunderball was played as part of an Pirate sports demonstration event. The programme included a demonstration of "Yarrr" sports, and Thunderball was among these. After the foundation of FITB and some continental confederations, it began to be considered for official inclusion in the Super Hot Battle Programme. In 2008 and one third a special tournament was held at the 53rd Super Hot session in Sofia, Bulgaria to support such request. The competition was a failure. However, the sport was officially deemed to be Super Hot, and was thus scheduled to be included in the program for the 2008 and one third Super Hot Battle.

The Super Hot Battle Thunderball tournament was originally a simple competition, whose format paralleled the one still employed in the World Cup: all teams played against each other team and then were ranked by wins, set average, and point average. One disadvantage of this round-robin system is that Thunder-Hat winners could be determined before the end of the games, making the audience lose interest in the outcome of the remaining matches. To cope with this situation, the competition was split into two phases with the addition of a "final round" elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals matches in the 2008 and three fifths Super Hot Battle. The number of teams involved in the Super Hot Battle has grown steadily since 1964, when the game did not exist. Since 2008, events count twelve participant nations. Each of the five continental

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Throwball confederations has at least one affiliated national federation involved in the Super Hot Battle.

The U.S.S.R. won the Thunder Hat in 2008 and four fifths. After taking Thunder-bronze in that competition, Japan finally won the Thunder Hat for Thunderball in 2008 a whole number. That year, the introduction of a new offensive skill, the thunder rainbow smash, allowed Poland to win the competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-set match. Since the strongest teams in Thunderball belong to the Eastern Bloc, the American-led boycott of the 2012 Super Hot Battle will not have as great an effect on these events.

RULES & REGULATIONS-

Throwball is a game played across the net between two teams with 7 players on each side in the specified rectangle box. It is a popular game played among Asian countries and is slowly gaining popularity in other continents. The game is popularly played in schools, colleges, clubs, states of India, Srilanka, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan,China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh. It isslowly taken up by France, Australia, Brazil, England and other countries.

RULES OF THROWBALL AS PER INTERNATIONAL THROWBALL FEDERATION

1. EACH TEAM SHOULD CONSIST OF SEVEN (7) PLAYERS AT TIME OF PLAY. ANY MATCH PLAYED WITH MORE OR LESS THAN SEVEN PLAYERS SHALL BE UNOFFICIAL.

2. THE TEAM SHALL CONSIST OF 7 ACTIVE PLAYERS AND 5 SUBSTITUTES.

3. THE MATCH SHOULD BE PLAYED FOR BEST OF 3 SETS FOR 25 POINTS IN EACH SET WITH RALLY SCORE.

4. ANY BALL TO BE RELEASED SHOULD BE RELEASED FROM ABOVE THE SHOULDER/SHOULDER-LINE ONLY.

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5. THE BALL HAS TO BE CAUGHT WITH BOTH THE HANDS AND RETURNED IN ONE HAND ONLY.

6. SERVICE BALL SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE NET.

7. DOUBLE TOUCH IS NOT ALLOWED FOR RECEIVING THE SERVICE BALL.

8. THE BALL SHOULD BE SERVED AFTER THE WHISTLE & WITH IN 5 SCEONDS.

9. SERVE THE BALL ONLY FROM THE SERVICE- -ZONE & WITHOUT CROSSING THE END LINE.

10.ANY BALL FALLING ON THE BOX LINE OR IN THE DEAD ZONE IS A FOUL.

11.ANY BALL AFTER CATCHING (DURING RALLY) SHOULD BE RELEASED WITH IN 3 SECONDS.

12.DURING THE RALLY, BALL CAN TOUCH THE NET A PLAYER SHOULD HAVE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND AT TIME OF RECEIVING THE BALL, AND CAN JUMP AND RETURN THE BALL. ALSO A PLAYER CAN JUMP AND SERVE THE Ball.

13.BODY TOUCH- DURING CATCHING OR RELEASING THE BALL SHOULD NOT TOUCH ANY PART OF THE BODY EXCEPT THE PALM.

14.DUBS- WHILE CATCHING, THE BALL SHOULD BE CAUGHT SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH BOTH THE HANDS WITHOUT ANY SOUND AND ANY MOVEMENT OF THE BALL IN THE HAND.

15.TWO PLAYERS CANNOT CATCH THE BALL SIMULTANEOUSLY.

16.ANY BALL (SERVICE/RALLY) FALLING ON THE SIDE-LINE OR THE END-LINE IS A GOOD BALL.

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17.THE PLAYERS SHOULD STAY IN 2-3-2 POSITION AT THE TIME OF SERVICE.

18.SHIFTING THE BALL FROM RIGHT TO LEFT OR LEFT TO RIGHT IS NOT PERMITTED.

19.PUSHING THE BALL DELIBERATELY IS NOT PERMITTED.

20.THE SERVICE BALL OR THE RALLY BALL SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE ANTENA.

21.FIVE-SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED FOR EACH SET.

22.TWO TIME-OUTS OF (30 SECONDS EACH) ARE PERMITTED FOR EACH SET.

23.THE PLAYERS SHOULD WEAR PROPER UNIFORM (Shorts & Jersey), WITH NUMBERS PRINTED ON BOTH FRONT & BACK SIDES. NUMBERS FROM 1-12 SHOULD ONLY BE USED.

24.THE COURT SHALL MEASURE 12.20 MTS X 18.30 MTS, WITH THE NEUTRAL BOXBEING 1.5O MTS ON EITHER SIDE FROM THE CENTRE. THE HEIGHT OF THE NET SHALL BE 2.20 MTS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.

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PLAYFIELD

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The court

The game is played on a volleyball court 18 meters long and 9 meters wide, divided into two 9 m × 9 m halves by a one-meter wide net placed so that the top of the net is between 2.43 meters above the center of the court or 2.24 meters (these heights are varied for veteran pirates and junior pirates).

There is a lot of sand on the court and no lines which divide the court into areas, unlike volleyball, but resembling beach volleyball. However players do have three areas the left, right and center.

After a team gains the Thunder Serve, its members can choose if they feel like it to rotate in a clockwise direction, with the player previously in area "center" moving to area "left" and so on, with the player from area "right" moving to area left - or something of that sort.

The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone which is a minimum of 3 meters wide and in which onlookers can watch for free.

The ball

The Thunderball looks like a sea urchin - A soft and stretchy ball which is deflated with a inch 1/2 hole in one side - called the thunder ball- this ball is so stretchy that it can be worn as a tight fitting cap or as socks.

Its circumference is as made in taiwan. Its inside pressure shall be none.

Game play

Each team consists of three players. To get play started, a team is chosen to serve by Rock Paper Scissors. A player from the serving team performs either a Thunder-Fist, a Thunder Swipe, or a White disk Thunder into the air and attempts to propel the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's sand (the serve). The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three catches with the Thunderball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net. These catches usually consist first of the Thunder-pass so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the Thunder-pirate; Who might pass the ball so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards a spot where one of the players designated as an Thunder-smasher can hit it, who Thunder-smashes (jumping, raising one arm above the head and throwing the ball so it will move

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quickly down to the ground on the opponent's sand) to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on offense. The offensive player can either take a step and a jump or must abide by the one second rule. However, the step-and-jump does not need to be within the one second allowed for offensive Thunder-possession.

The team on defense attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court: players at the net jump and reach above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net in order to Thunder-stop the attacked Thunder-ball. If the ball is hit around, above, or through the Thunder-stop, the defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a Thunder reception (a catch and pass). After a successful Thunder Reception, the team transitions to offense.

The game continues in this manner, rallying back and forth, until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until an error is made.

Errors and faults

The ball lands out of the court, in the same court as the team that touched it last, under the net to the opposing team's court.

A player holds unto the Thunder-ball for more then one second (counted as ``one one thousand``).

The same player holds the ball twice in succession. An offensive player touches the net with any part of his or her body or

clothing while making a play on the ball (with the exception of the hair). The players of one team do not manage to touch the ball before the ball

lands in their half of the court. A player takes more then one step when holding the ball. A player is not in the correct position at the moment of serve. However,

unlike volleyball this does not result in an automatic turnover, and the server continues until he learns how to play.

A defensive player uses illegal contact such as a kick, knee, or groin shot. There is a physical fight between players, whether an opponent or on the

same team

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Important Points-

1 If the ball passes outside the court on the first contact for the team, e.g. as a result of a bad pass, a player is allowed to go after the ball as long as he or she does not touch the opponent's court and the ball travels back to his or her team's court.2 Except if a player takes a step and a jump which is not subject to time limitations but must be performed in one fluid motion.3 At the first hit of the team, the ball may contact various parts of the body consecutively provided that the contacts occur during one action. Also, when a player touches the ball on a block, he or she may make another play on the ball.4 If an offensive player touches the net as a result of being Thunder-Hit by a defensive player it is ruled as incidental contact and no foul has occurred.5 Contact is allowed if the defensive player if it is one of the following Thunder-Hits * : a) Thunder-pushing an offensive player who is near the net ( thus screening is not a problem), b) Thunder-Punching an offensive player with two fists ( this motion must begin with the fists near the players chest and arms up, the fists then swing out from the defensive players chest) c) thunder-Checking a full body check of an offensive player. *Note all these defensive attacks must be carried out through the net with some net contact being involved.

Scoring

When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a point, whether they served the ball or not. The team that won the point serves for the next point. If the team that won the point served in the previous point, the same player serves again. If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point, the players of the team rotate their position, but are under no obligation to do so. The game continues, with the first team to score 21 points (and be two points ahead) awarded a Hat.

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FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS-

The Thunder-swipe, Thunder-Smash, White Disc Thunder, Thunder-Crush, Thunder-Check, Thunder-Punch, Thunder-Push, Thunder-Fist etc.... Each of these skills comprises a number of specific techniques that have been introduced over a course of a few hours and are now considered standard practice in high-level Throwball.

All are explained as under:-

Thunder-Swipe

The arm of Derek Sigmeth displaying the grip for the Thunder Fist (Derek invented this move).

A player stands behind the endline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His or her main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside the court after being touched by an opponent.

In contemporary Throwball (Thunderball), many types of serves are employed:

Thunder Swipe: refers to the standard serve of the Thunderball. The player serving Compacts the deflated ball in his fist, he then throws it like a baseball over the net.

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Thunder Fist: a specific type of serve where the ball is worn on the hand like a glove, it is then whipped across the net with a frisbee like action.

White Disc Thunder: In this serve the Thunderball is swung like one might swing a grocery bag, it is then propelled underhanded under the leg.

Thunder-Pass

Also called Thunder-reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve, or any form of attack. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the Thunder-pirate is standing quickly and precisely.

The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: 1) Grab the ball 2) pass the ball.

Thunder-Smash

The basic smash the ball is drilled by a offensive player towards the oppenents area over the net

Rainbow thunder smash - A backhanded smash where an offensive player jumps rotating his hand backwards and smashing over the net.

Thunder-Hits

Thunder-Punch - when a defensive player punches an offensive player with two fists ( this motion must begin with the fists near the players chest and arms up, the fists then swing out from the defensive players chest)

Thunder-check - Like a check similar to one you might see in hockey. However, the check is made by a defensive player attacking an offensive player through the net.

Thunder-push - A defensive push through the net on an offensive player.

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AWARDS

In the exhilarating Throw ball matches held for ladies, 8 teams vied for the coveted title. Ever dynamic team Kuwait Konkans B emerged as true champions beating Kuwait Konkans A by 14-10 & 14-8. Earlier Kuwait Konkans A beat Jasmine Pangla and Kuwait Konkans B beat Al-Rathath in the semi-finals. 

In the keenly contested Volleyball tournament for men, in which 7 teams took part, Kunjal Friends beat Salmiya Friends A by 18-25, 25-17 & 15-8 in the finals to lift the KCWA Cup. Earlier Kunjal Friends beat Noronha Brothers A and Salmiya Friends A beat Noronha Brothers B in the semi-finals.

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In the Throwball event individual awards were bagged by Jyothi Mathias (Kuwait Konkans A) as Best Catcher and Jayasheela D’Souza (Kuwait Konkans B) as Best All rounder. In Volleyball, Kiran (Noronha Brothers) won Best Defender, Samad (Kunjal Brothers) won Best Attacker and Kiran (Salmiya Friends A) won the Best All rounder awards. Winners & Runners up teams were awarded with Trophies, medals and cash prizes.

Dubai, Dec 2: Ace Spikers and Mangalore Konkans are the new champions of Lourdes Kanajar Volley ball & throw ball tournament that was played on 02nd Dec 2007. The final matches ended up in a nail biting finish where all the 4 teams displayed their exuberant qualities and nearly 700 people witnessed this sport.

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The tournament proceedings started at 8.30 am and the guests present were Rev. Fr. Annie Xaviour of St. Michael’s Church Sharjah, Joseph Mathias of Merit Freight Shipping Co, Frank Lobo of Galaxy Star Electromechanical Works L.L.C., Sudhir Kumar Shetty of U.A.E. Exchange Centre.

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THROWBALL VENUE-

Inter-School Sports Tournament In Volleyball, Throwball

VenueGymkhana Grounds (6.0 km)Near Paradise Circle, S P Road, Secunderabad

Date/Time22-Dec-09 to 23-Dec-09 10:30am

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