Ringball

Introduction

Ringball, a traditional South African team sport that has been played since the early 1900s. It is a non-contact sport which is represented by both male and female players separately. Ringball is much identifiable to netball in terms of the court dimensions like the netball court. Although the sport was originated in South Africa, it is now getting famous in other countries such as Namibia, India, Mauritius, Lesotho, and Botswana. 

Playing Area

1. The game is played in a 27 m x 18 m court or ground area which is divided into three equal sections of 9 m x 18 m.
2. Two goalposts are situated in the middle of the short side of the court.
3. The goal posts are composed of steel rings of 450mm attached at the top of the rod just above 3 m from the ground.
4. The two side sections are termed as goal sections, and the middle section is termed as the centre section. The ring must be fixed horizontally and should not hop up when the ball gets in the ring.
5. There is a circle of 1 m diameter at the circle of the centre section and two half circles of 1 m diameter just in the middle of two inside lines.
6. On both the sides of the centre circle, there is a "V" termed as "V" having legs of length 1m.
7. There should be no obstacles like trees or light poles within the range of 1.5 m outside the playing arena.
8. The court lines must be clearly marked in yellow or white, and the rings must be painted in white or silver colour.

Gameplay

1. There are two teams, each consisting of 9 players. The whole match consists of two halves of 25 minutes along with a 3 minutes break in between.
2. There are three goal scorers, three centre players and three defenders in each of the three sections.
3. The play simply involves passing and throwing the ball from player to player until it is cast through the goal ring of the opponent team.
4. In case the ball goes outside of the court by a player, it is brought back to its last position by the opposing team's player and the game resumes.
5. The active players may neither touch the ground, receive the ball over the lines that separate the section or step on them.
6. The ball passed from one player to the other through the hands in such a way that it may not any other part of the body.
7. The goal must be performed within 5 seconds by the time it is passed to a player by both of his hands. No shooter is allowed attempting the goal inside the semi-circle.
8. During the attempts to pass the ball, a player must not hold the ball, move forward or backward for more than 2 seconds.
9. After each successful goal, all the players need to take their standard position on the court or ground. The score is marked only when the ball goes through the ring from the above and not from below. The successful goal, as well as the penalty goal count 2 points.
10. The team with the highest score of goals is declared as the winner.

Time and Scoring

1. After the half-time, the teams change the ends.
2. In case of a tie in the semifinals or finals, a 10-minute game is continued on a side without any half-time.
3. Intentionally wasting of time such as taking more time to get ready to resume the game, voluntary substitution, changing shoes and clothes etc. is strictly penalised.
4. A referee can give the warning, yellow or red card even after a player scores the goal.