The sport of Kin-ball is a one of a kind team sport in which, unlike other team sports where two teams compete head-to-head, three teams compete in a single match. The sport was invented by a physical education professor named Mario Demers in 1986 in Quebec, Canada.
Kin-ball games are played indoors, with a large inflated ball, about 1.5m in diameter. Each team plays with four active players on the court. Players from each team wear jerseys of different colors.
A match is played for three periods, which last from 7-15 minutes each; depending on the age group that is playing the match. At the start of the match, and the subsequent periods, a player from one team will stand at the center of the court; shout out "Omnikin" followed by the name of the team that should catch the ball next.
Three players from the named team should catch the ball before it falls onto the ground, with both hands in contact with the ball and at least one knee bent. If the named team fails to catch the ball the other two teams score one point each. The fourth player from the named team will call out the name of the next team to catch and put the ball back into play.
The team with the most points at the end of the match is declared as the winner.
International Kin-Ball Federation has participants from Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, France and Japan, Germany, Malaysia and U.S.
Similar Sports
There are a few other sports using a similar inflated bouncy ball ...
- Circle Rules Football — played on a circular field with one central goal in which teams score in opposing directions using a large inflated yoga ball.
- Crab Soccer or Crab Football — players kick a large inflated ball while supporting themselves on their hands and their feet, face up, which makes them look like crabs.
- Pushball — a team sport played with a large inflated ball in which the objective is to push the ball through the opponent’s goalposts.
- Bladderball — a traditional game played between 1954-1982 at Yale University. The game resembled other forms of mob football in which any number of people can be a part in each team, and the only objective of the sport was to gain possession of the large inflated leather ball by any means necessary.
and an unusual sport that also involves three soccer teams playing against each other
- Three Sided Football — a variation of football in which three teams played instead of the regular two teams.
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports