Play

I teach boot camps at CF Durham. I really like teaching boot camps because the people in them are very gung-ho and willing to try anything. I feel like I have been kind of brutal in my WOD creation recently. I usually do the WOD before hand and then try to adjust so it does not suck too much. I want to make sure it is fun as well as good for the body.

Today I am going to have them play a game of Hoover Ball. I have not quiet figured out how I am going to work the net yet. I did however, find the original rules:

Rules for Playing

· The court is 66 feet by 30 feet.
· A 6-pound medicine ball and 8-foot volleyball net are used.
· Teams consist of 2-4 players. (For the national championships, 3-player teams will be used.) Each team may have one or two substitutes.

· Scoring is exactly like tennis. Teams play best-of-five or best-of-seven games.

· Points are scored when a team: fails to catch the return, fails to return the ball across the net, returns the ball out of bounds.

· The ball is served from the back line. The serve is rotated among one team until the game is won. Teams alternate serving after each game.

· The ball must be caught on the fly and immediately returned from the point it was caught. There is no running with the ball or passing to teammates.

· Each team's court is divided in half. A ball returned from the front half of your court must be returned to the back half of your opponent's court. If the ball doesn't reach the back court, the opponent is awarded the point.

· A ball that hits the out-of-bounds line is a good return.

· A player who catches the ball out-of-bounds, or is carried out-of-bounds by the force of the ball, may return in-bounds before the return.

· A ball that hits the net on its way over is a live ball. (If it was thrown from the front court, it must reach the opponent's back court to be good.)

· Teams may substitute at dead ball situations.

· Women serve from the mid-court line.

· Women may pass once before a return.

· Women may return the ball to any area of the opponent's court.

· Good sportsmanship is required. Points in dispute are played over.

I am going to drop the "Women" rules. They look like Traci Anderson had a hand in them (but hey, it was the 1930s).

Hopefully they have fun. I have only played this once myself and it was with a certain caped crusader at the helm so he gave us a 20lb med ball to play with. I did not enjoy it because of my immense fear of getting knocked out.