Boloball
Boloball, also written as Bolo-ball, is one of the most popular sports in the galaxy, played and viewed by billions every year. The exact origins of the sport are unknown, but it was first officially recognized in Year 6 by the Galactic Empire when the Imperial Gaming Commission created the first Imperial Boloball League. In Year 15, the sport became popular with the masses in the Outer Rim when an Imperial defector, Roga McBea, introduced the sport to the New Republic, resulting in the foundation of the Republic Boloball Association.
History
Many variants of Boloball have existed for decades, often played by children in the streets or on empty grass fields. Organised local teams began appearing in the early years of the Galactic Empire, but no overarching structures existed until Year 6 Day 200 when the Imperial Gaming Commission announced the inception of the first Imperial Boloball League (IBL). Patrick Martin was appointed the first League Admin and succesfully professionalized the sport. Many planets formed their own official teams and funded the construction of stadiums, while corporations across the galaxy showed interest in sponsoring the League, allowing the organisation and sport to quickly grow. Following the League's inception a sponsorship deal was signed with Cloud City for four seasons. This deal gave the League a much needed boost in revenue during its infancy stage.
During the first two seasons, the IBL offered biweekly games in only one division. In season three, this system was abandoned in favour of only one League game per week. This freed up the second game day for the Emperor's Cup, the first official Boloball tournament ever hosted. Season three also saw the creation of a second level. The first level consisted of the Imperial Superior League division, while the second level was split in two divisions: Imperial Sub League A and Imperial Sub League B. In season four, this was altered once more, creating a seperate level for the two Sub Leagues, although this only lasted until season five, when Sub League B was eliminated.
Due to a sponsorship deal with the Auvasa corporation, the sport expanded beyond Imperial borders. Throughout the seasons, the sport became increasingly popular with the general populace and spawned many new teams, many of which were owned by Imperial officials. One of these was Roga McBea, who eventually defected to the New Republic and introduced the sport there by creating the Republic Boloball Association (RBA) in Year 15, leading many Republic citizens to assume it was a new sport, unaware of its Imperial origins.
Boloball Rules
Boloball rules have changed throughout the decades and knows not only unofficial variations, but also official ones. Despite the long-lasting war between the Galactic Empire and New Republic, the rules of the sport have remained surprisingly consistent between the IBL and RBA, likely due to the latter being inspired by the first. Some recognized variants of the sport host their own official competitions (namely Small-Team Boloball and Three-Way Boloball), but for it to be called Boloball the rules of either official league must be followed.
The Basics
The sport of Boloball involves two teams of eleven players. The object of the sport is to score by using any part of the body besides the arms and hands to get the spherical ball into the opposing goal, which is guarded by the opposing team's goalkeeper, who are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands and arms during the game. The teams fight for control over the boloball and are often playing in alternating phases of offense and defense. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins.
The Field
Boloball is played on a large rectangular field that varies in dimensions based on the local customs. Most fields measure closer to 68 meters wide by 105 meters long, but the official rules allow for the field to be as small as 45 meters wide and 90 meters long.
The field is divided into two halves. Each team controls half of the field. The goals are located at the farthest sides of the field. Surrounding the goal is a 11 meter wide by 5 meter long area sometimes called the goalkeeper zone. It is in this zone that only the goalkeeper can be in. The goalie also has special abilities provided to him when he is inside the zone. The field also has a center circle marking the center of the field, and a penalty zone that players can take penalty shots from.
Although grass is the preferred terrain for an official Boloball field, many planets have an ecosystem that does not allow grass to be grown. Therefore, the terrain used for fields can differ greatly depending on the planet.
