Rock-It-Ball - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rock-It-Ball is a rapidly growing and fast-moving ball sport which hails from the UK, the rules and competition structure of which is governed by the International Rock-It-Ball Federation (IRIBF). Rock-It-Ball evolved in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

(Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

) and was officially launched at the Youth Sport Trust

Youth Sport Trust

The Youth Sport Trust is a British charitable trust which aims to support the education and development of young people through physical education....

's Sports Colleges Conference in Feb 2006.

Since its launch, Rock-It-Ball has spread rapidly through schools in the UK and has also started to be adopted by colleges, universities, community projects, youth organisations, the military, Primary Care Trusts, leisure centres and prisons and features on four of the Youth Sport Trust’s programmes. It has gained a foothold in 17 countries and has seen the establishment of an international federation and eleven national governing bodies.

In its short life, Rock-It-Ball has had great impact in the field of education in promoting honesty in sport and increasing participation amongst overweight children, disenfranchised children and non-athletic children. As a sport, Rock-It-Ball is one of the few areas where male and female players compete on an equal basis.

Not a derivative of any particular sport, Rock-It-Ball has elements of several sports, including dodgeball, lacrosse, pelota and hockey, and is played by players of all abilities.

Rules

Rock-It-Ball is played by two teams of five players on a court measuring approximately 90 feet by 50 feet (basically a sports hall with four badminton courts). Each player uses a Rock-It; the "stick with a 28 cm 'scoop' on each end" devised by The Rock-It-Ball Company in 2005–06. Players can move anywhere on court. Points are scored by hitting an opponent with the ball between shoulders and feet (scores 1 point) or by catching an opponent’s thrown ball (scores 2 points). Five balls are in play and when a player is hit, he or she must stand still and raise a hand and the referee records the point and allows the player to play on. The referee is assisted by two umpires whose role is to see infringements, all of which incur a three-point penalty. Infringements include:

Failing to acknowledge a strike
Travelling (a player with the ball cannot take more than two steps without either transferring the ball into the other scoop (air/standard dribbling), or bouncing the ball off the floor and back into their scoop (ground/alternate dribbling)
Striking (either the ball or an opponent) with the Rock-It.
Swearing,
Illegal bodily contact
Knocking the ball out of an opponent’s Rock-It
Fishing (picking up a ball while waiting to play on after a hit)

A formal tournament match consists of four quarters each of which lasts four minutes.

Versions

V2 is a singles version of Rock-It-Ball. Played by two players on a squash court with three balls, this version is possibly the most intense of the official versions. A game lasts for two halves of four minutes each.
V3 is also a singles version played on a squash court. Featuring three players and four balls, it is played on the basis of ‘every man for himself’ with the winner being the player who concedes the least number of points. A game lasts for two halves of four minutes each.
V4 is a doubles version of Rock-It-Ball. Also played on a squash court it is played 2v2. A game lasts for two halves of four minutes each.
Triples is played in teams of three in an area half the size of a sports hall.

The new versions were created by the International Rock-It-Ball Federation to develop the sport and provide individuals with an opportunity to set up clubs more easily.

Current v2 World Rankings (senior)

1 Scott MacMichael (Scotland)

2 Tom Hildreth (England)

3 Chris Doherty (Scotland)

4 Matti Chasan Bergstein (Denmark)

5 Mhari Claire McGovern (Scotland)

6 Tommy McGovern (Scotland)

7 Jonny Main (Scotland)

8 Frederick Salskov-Iverson (Denmark)

9 Matty Carr (England)

10 Benjamin Salbo (Denmark)

11 Carl Alsop (England)

12 Scott McLellan (Scotland)

13 Neil Young (England)

14 David Harker (England)

15 Paul Hildreth (England)

16 Callum Watt (England)

17 Dan Raper (England)

v2 World Rankings (Youth)

1 Dan Raper (England)

2 Scott Snowdon (England)

3 Aaron Perry (England)

4 Meghan Plummer (Scotland)

5 Derek van Der Westhuizen (South Africa)

6 Hannah Hale (England)

7= Sara Cooper (England)

7= Marcus Exelby (England)

9 Sara Plummer (Scotland)

10 David Wishart (England)

11 Matty Horsfield (England)

12 Aimee Robson (England)

Federation

The International Rock-It-Ball Federation was established in December 2006 by Craig Buttery. The role of the Federation is to administer the sport on a global basis. The Federation runs the annual rules committee and assists and advises on the establishment of National Governing Bodies.

The IRIBF also issues annual 'Executive' awards to recognise the work of volunteers in the sport. One outstanding volunteer is also awarded the 'Person of the Year' Award. The Executive Awards and the Person of the Year are announced on December 31.

2010: Person of the Year: Conrad Broughton

Clubs in the UK

York Rock-It-Ball Club: Teams - Cougars, Pumas

Easi-Rock-Its: Teams - Hellcats, Hell Fighters

Scunthorpe Hawks

Northallerton Stallions

Falkirk Cannons

Coatbridge Enigma

Ripon

Kirkbymoorside Bulls

Tees Valley Spartans

Millthorpe

Cedars, Leighton Buzzard

Hall of Fame

Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honour that can be bestowed in the sport of Rock-It-Ball. Any member (e.g. player, coach, administrator) of the IRIBF can nominate any other member of the IRIBF whom they consider to have made an outstanding contribution to the sport. Any nominee with three nominations passes to the next stage for voting by the committee. Up to 2012 two new members will be inducted every two years. From 2012 it is intended to be an annual award. In 2010 the voting committee felt unable to differentiate between the 3 nominees who reached the voting stage and so, as an exception, voted to induct all three.

In 2008 the IRIBF honoured the founding fathers of the sport (Bob Eldridge, Paul Hildreth and Paul Law) by inducting them into the newly established Hall of Fame.

2008: Craig Buttery; Tom Hildreth

2010: Carl Alsop; Graeme Wood; Ian Crosby

Statistics

2005 Inaugural Championships: Team Chaos, Northallerton College

2007 World Cup: Scotland. Runners-up: England. Third: Pakistan

2007 Carnegie British Open: Loughborough University

2008 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Champions: Easi-RockIts HellCats

2008 Tees Valley Pairs Tournament: Callum Watt/Chris Durrant

2008 Youth World Cup: England

2009 v3 English Open: Emily Wilson (Tees Valley)

2009 Central and East Yorks ATC Rock-It-Ball championship: 2487 (Easingwold) Typhoons

2009 Yorkshire and Humber Regional Title: Easi-RockIts HellCats

2009 Yorkshire and Humber Junior Pairs: Charlie Ford/Henry Wilson (Easi-RockIts)

2009 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Champions: Easi-RockIts HellCats

2009 National Junior Pairs: Ben Pulleyn/Callum Forsyth (York)

2009 v3 European Open: Adam Rawcliffe (Easi-RockIts)

2010 v3 English Open: Carl Alsop (Raptors)

2010 Yorkshire and Humber Regional Title: Raptors

2010 Yorkshire and Humber Junior Pairs: Alex Cooper/Liam Leckenby/Jamie Oliver/Chris Vernon-Rees(Easi-RockIts)

2010 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Champions: Raptors.

2010 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Finals Player of the Tournament: Marcus Exelby (HellCats).

2010 v2 World Champion: Carl Alsop. Runner-up Scott McLellan, 3rd Tommy McGovern, 4th Tom Hildreth.

2011 v2 Youth World Champion: Dan Raper. Runner-up Scott Snowdon, 3rd Aaron Perry, 4th Meghan Plummer.

2011 Scottish National Rock-It-Ball League, National Champions: Falkirk Cannons.

2011 Yorkshire and Humber Regional Title: HellCats.

2011 Yorkshire and Humber Junior Pairs: Charlie Ford/Henry Wilson (Easi-RockIts)

2011 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Champions: Raptors.

2011 English National Rock-It-Ball League, National Finals Player of the Tournament: Callum Watt (HellCats).

2011 v2 World Champion: Scott MacMichael (Scotland). Runner-up Tom Hildreth (England), 3rd Chris Doherty (Scotland), 4th Matti Chasan Bergstein (Denmark).

2011 World Cup: Scotland. Runners-up England, 3rd: Denmark. Fair Play Award: Denmark.

2011 World Cup, Player of the Tournament: Matti Chasan Bergstein (Denmark).

2011 UK Club Champions: Falkirk Cannons

External links

There is an increasing amount of information available on various websites around this sport: