Speedball World Championships

Festival Location: Worldwide

Festival Type(s): Racquet Sports Events, Bizarre Sports Events

Speedball

By: © Michael J. Rosen 2010

"Right Hand, Left Hand, Two Hands Forehand, and Two Hands Backhand...for One Minute Each..."

- what each player must hit in a team rally Speedball competition

Speedball, if nothing else, holds the honor of possessing the sporting world's most generic name. It does beat alternatives such as "Ball-on-String Hitting Game" or "Spherical Object of High Velocity." And "Racquetball" was already taken. So in 1961, tennis coach Dr. Mohamed Lofty of Egypt invented "Speedball," a game where one or more players use a small plastic racquet (just larger than a table tennis paddle) to whack a ball tethered to a rope around a pole. It's tetherball for the really, really coordinated. It's what lifeguards do as they spin their lanyard around a finger, back and forth for 45 minutes until rest period, but with a ball instead of whistle.

Also popular in the United States, Europe, and Japan, the sport is governed by the International Speedball Federation. Apparently not a fan of irony, Lofty's apple-size latex ball often travels upwards of 120 miles per hour, ensuring that the game does indeed involve not only a ball but also speed.

Speedball is played in one of four actual games, although many players of other racquet games use speedball as a way to practice hundreds of swings without having to chase after hundreds of balls.

Supersolo (one player)

Played on a 4 x 4-meter court. It's an athletic sort of solitaire.
Players (that would be you) go for as many hits as possible in four one-minute intervals, with a break between each.
Players must hit four kinds of shots: right, left, two-handed forehand, two-handed backhand.
Egyptian Nabil Imam holds the world record of 575 hits in four minutes. That's an average of 2.4 whacks of the racquet every single second.

Singles (two players)

Played one on one on a 6 x 4-meter court.
Players (that would be you and a date) alternate serves as well as forehand and backhand serves.
A player scores a point if the ball turns twice around the pole before his opponent hits it.
The game is played to 10 points; a match is best of three games; and a date is something other than swatting a ball around a pole.

Doubles (four players)

Played on 8 x 6-meter court. Think maypole dance, but without the pretty streamers or the dance.
Players must alternate serves and hits during a point.
Additionally, players try not to hit one another in the face.

Team Relay (four players)

Here there are four players per team, who play one at a time.
Each player hits for 30 seconds, then another comes in immediately.
Teams go for as many total hits as possible.
The ball continues to whirl around the pole-thinking revolving door, spinning very fast-as each player dives into play.

At www.worldspeedball.org, you've got the world-and a 120 mile-per-hour ball-on a string.

No Dribbling the Squid

The above article is just one of a collection of off-beat articles on 2camels from Michael J. Rosen's wonderful No Dribbling the Squid - your front-row seat to 70 of the world's most mind-blowing feats of strength, endurance, and eccentricity.

For more info check out the No Dribbling the Squid website, Facebook fan page or Michael's very own website.

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