Johnball
Johnball is a sport played between any number of players with plastic or similar strength bats and using one or multiple strong inflatable balls. The game can be played on any terrain. The object of the game is to use exclusively the bat (and hand holding the bat) to hit other players with the ball and be the last person standing. It can be a team or a free-for-all sport. Johnball started in April, 2005 in Lakeville, MN and is gaining popularity throughout the United States.
Core Values
Johnball does not have rules, merely values which should always be upheld. When they are upheld, the true spirit of Johnball is known to all playing it and there is no longer hate, only Johnball.
Honesty
The first value is honesty. Honesty is the cheese of the cheese sandwich we call Johnball.
Friendship
The second value is friendship. To meet new friends and bond with old friends.
Documentation
The third value is documentation. Documentation provides us with lovely facebook pictures.
Sportsmanship
The fourth value is sportsmanship. No matter who wins or loses, we all remain friends and have a great time.
Heart
The fifth value is heart. We all have have hearts and they keep us alive. Just like Johnball keeps us alive.
Gameplay
General
In Johnball, each player generally holds a bat. There can be one or many balls active in a game. The number of balls is determined by the group and is intended to make the game a reasonable length. i.e. not 1 ball for 50 people. The players are only able to touch a ball with the bat and the hand that holds it. The hand holding the bat is more commonly referred to as the "bat-hand." Each game is started with the players in a circle and generally each player is holding their bat towards the center of the circle to create a cone shape with a similar orientation as an ice cream cone. The balls are placed in the cone created by the bats. Then, a player's mother's name is donated. This is for the throwing of the balls that are in the center. The mother's name is yelled until the second to last syllable when holding the balls, then are throw up in time with the penult. As the balls fall back down and are struck, the final syllable is shouted as well. At this point the game has begun and you can be hit by the final syllable strikes.
The objective in Johnball is to be the last team or player left on the field. There are no formal rules to Johnball, the only thing that can come close to being one is the places of the body that a person can be hit that do not count. Even that may change if everyone playing has agreed upon it, but it is generally assumed that the only location of a person's body that can be hit and it does not matter is his or her own bat-hand. There is one other case in which a player cannot be counted as hit from a ball, and this is when a ball bounces off a "wall." A wall can be an actual wall, but it can also be off someone that just got out and is walking out of the field. Generally this comes up in the one on one game type where the passive players are a wall.
The underlying feature of nearly all Johnball game types is if a person is hit by a ball in any manner, whether it's because they simply walked into it or someone smashed it into their face, the person loses a life.
Teams or Bank
Teams is a basic team Johnball game, where each player has their own lives, they just work with another person to get everyone else out. The teams are generally groups of 2 - 4 players. One of the people on the team can win it for them or they can all still be in. Bank is the more common version of this game type, where each group has a "bank" of lives. This means that they share lives together and once their bank is exhausted the entire team is out.
One on Ones
One on ones is a 2-team game where the object of the game is to beat the entire other team. The game is started in a circle with one team being one semi-circle and the other team being the opposite semi-circle. The reason for the circle is to maintain a small playing environment to make the game take a reasonable amount of time. The players that are the circle are commonly referred to as the "wall." It is started off with one player from each team in the center with their legs crossed and their bat in their off-hand with their bats resting on the ball in similar fashion to a hockey face-off. The reason for this is to make it so no one is at a advantage at the beginning because the position is so awkward. Someone from the wall will start them off with a shout, generally it is the same as the one for Detonation. After the shout the players can switch back to how they normally play. After one of the players is hit, the next person on their team actively jumps into the ring and the person who just got out takes their place on the wall. The game is over once each player from a single team has been bested. The wall is only to keep the johnball in the circle, not to assist a teammate. Also, it is customary to have bats to the right of yourself so you can protect that open space.
Past National Competitions
2012
In July of 2012, the Johnball Nationals was held at Nelson Dewey State Park in Cassville, WI.
Active Johnball Chapters
There are a number of active Johnball chapters around the United States, and this list is by no means exhaustive.
* University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Chapter of Johnball
* University of Wisconsin - Stout Chapter of Johnball
* University of North Dakota Chapter of Johnball
* University of Minnesota Chapter of Johnball
* <ref name="Scoring a New Sport" />
* Southern Illinois University Chapter of Johnball
Core Values
Johnball does not have rules, merely values which should always be upheld. When they are upheld, the true spirit of Johnball is known to all playing it and there is no longer hate, only Johnball.
Honesty
The first value is honesty. Honesty is the cheese of the cheese sandwich we call Johnball.
Friendship
The second value is friendship. To meet new friends and bond with old friends.
Documentation
The third value is documentation. Documentation provides us with lovely facebook pictures.
Sportsmanship
The fourth value is sportsmanship. No matter who wins or loses, we all remain friends and have a great time.
Heart
The fifth value is heart. We all have have hearts and they keep us alive. Just like Johnball keeps us alive.
Gameplay
General
In Johnball, each player generally holds a bat. There can be one or many balls active in a game. The number of balls is determined by the group and is intended to make the game a reasonable length. i.e. not 1 ball for 50 people. The players are only able to touch a ball with the bat and the hand that holds it. The hand holding the bat is more commonly referred to as the "bat-hand." Each game is started with the players in a circle and generally each player is holding their bat towards the center of the circle to create a cone shape with a similar orientation as an ice cream cone. The balls are placed in the cone created by the bats. Then, a player's mother's name is donated. This is for the throwing of the balls that are in the center. The mother's name is yelled until the second to last syllable when holding the balls, then are throw up in time with the penult. As the balls fall back down and are struck, the final syllable is shouted as well. At this point the game has begun and you can be hit by the final syllable strikes.
The objective in Johnball is to be the last team or player left on the field. There are no formal rules to Johnball, the only thing that can come close to being one is the places of the body that a person can be hit that do not count. Even that may change if everyone playing has agreed upon it, but it is generally assumed that the only location of a person's body that can be hit and it does not matter is his or her own bat-hand. There is one other case in which a player cannot be counted as hit from a ball, and this is when a ball bounces off a "wall." A wall can be an actual wall, but it can also be off someone that just got out and is walking out of the field. Generally this comes up in the one on one game type where the passive players are a wall.
The underlying feature of nearly all Johnball game types is if a person is hit by a ball in any manner, whether it's because they simply walked into it or someone smashed it into their face, the person loses a life.
Teams or Bank
Teams is a basic team Johnball game, where each player has their own lives, they just work with another person to get everyone else out. The teams are generally groups of 2 - 4 players. One of the people on the team can win it for them or they can all still be in. Bank is the more common version of this game type, where each group has a "bank" of lives. This means that they share lives together and once their bank is exhausted the entire team is out.
One on Ones
One on ones is a 2-team game where the object of the game is to beat the entire other team. The game is started in a circle with one team being one semi-circle and the other team being the opposite semi-circle. The reason for the circle is to maintain a small playing environment to make the game take a reasonable amount of time. The players that are the circle are commonly referred to as the "wall." It is started off with one player from each team in the center with their legs crossed and their bat in their off-hand with their bats resting on the ball in similar fashion to a hockey face-off. The reason for this is to make it so no one is at a advantage at the beginning because the position is so awkward. Someone from the wall will start them off with a shout, generally it is the same as the one for Detonation. After the shout the players can switch back to how they normally play. After one of the players is hit, the next person on their team actively jumps into the ring and the person who just got out takes their place on the wall. The game is over once each player from a single team has been bested. The wall is only to keep the johnball in the circle, not to assist a teammate. Also, it is customary to have bats to the right of yourself so you can protect that open space.
Past National Competitions
2012
In July of 2012, the Johnball Nationals was held at Nelson Dewey State Park in Cassville, WI.
Active Johnball Chapters
There are a number of active Johnball chapters around the United States, and this list is by no means exhaustive.
* University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Chapter of Johnball
* University of Wisconsin - Stout Chapter of Johnball
* University of North Dakota Chapter of Johnball
* University of Minnesota Chapter of Johnball
* <ref name="Scoring a New Sport" />
* Southern Illinois University Chapter of Johnball
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