and don't forget to include a version for no more than 4 players.

It's possible that you could get 4 slingers in one place at the same time.

squirrelslinger wrote on Apr 8^th, 2013 at 9:14pm:


That's a cool idea, but even I'm not so optomistic that I think it's ready for that!  Nobodies even played it yet!!

Alrighty!  At long last here is the (nearly) completed Rule set for Funda Ball.  Read at your own risk!

OVERVIEW
              Funda Ball is a competitive 2 team sport played with Slings and Funda balls.

OBJECTIVE
     To score more points than the opposition team before time runs out by hitting special ground area targets, static targets and/or opposing players with the Funda balls.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
      Safety Equipment
Each player will need to be equipped with a helmet that covers the top of the head (Preferably with a face shield), and a cup (if male).  Additionally, each player except the General, will be outfitted with a small circular shield strapped to their forearm.

Attack Equipment
      Each player on the field will require two slings of varying lengths.  Following is the requirements for the different slings.  Measurements are made from the base of the retaining finger loop to mid-pouch.  If no finger loop or toggle is used, measure starting from 4” from the end of the retention cord.

     The Artillery Sling
The Artillery Sling will be no shorter than 24” and not longer than 36” in length.  

     The Shooting Sling
The Shooting Sling will be no shorter than 16” and no longer than 21” in length.

              Ammunition
Each Shooter and Artilleryman will carry up to 5 funda balls onto the field and during play.  The General may carry up to 15.  Maximum number of balls on each side of the field will be 40.  
Funda Balls are made up of a spongy material and are injected with silicone to add weight.  Each Funda Ball should measure 20cm (or 2.5”) in diameter at the widest point and be no longer than 28cm (or 3.5”) long.
         
               Targets
               There are two types of Static Scoring Targets on the field.  Following is their descriptions:

               Upright Static Targets
               Each Team will have on their side of the field two static, upright targets.  These targets shall consist of a circular netted hoop 1 meter (or 3.2 ft) in diameter, atop a second circular netted hoop that is 2 meters (or 6.5ft) in diameter, atop a sturdy pole measuring 1 meter from the ground to the bottom target.

              Area Targets      Area Targets are two circular targets that lay flat on the ground and are 5 meters (or 16.5 ft) in diameter.  Area targets may be defined by chalk lines, paint, or rope.
     The General
                The other Scoring Target is the opposing Team’s General.

TEAMS

     Teams should consist of 5-6 players (in the field) and a maximum of 10 players total.

     General
     Each Team will have only one General on the field at any time, but may have two on the team.  Each General should wear an Insignia on his/her Uniform that indicates that he/she is a General.

     Soldiers
     Soldiers are the other Non-General players on the team.  They will be the Shooters and Artillerymen.  Each team is allowed up to 9 Soldiers (or 8 if the team has two Generals)
     
FIELD DIMENSIONS
     Refer to the picture below for Basic Field Measurements:


Clarifying Measurements:

     Upright Static Targets
     The upright Static Targets (or UST’s) shall be at least 10 meters in from the Outer Boundry Line, and must be at least 5 Meters away from the other UST.  UST’s are always placed onto the Firing Lines.
     
               Area Targets      Area Targets are always 10 meters in from the Outer Boundary Lines and 5 meters in from the Rear Boundary Line.

FIELD ZONE DESCRIPTIONS AND BASIC RULES
       Skirmish Line
     The Skirmish Line divides the playing field width-wise in half and is 30.5 cm
(or 1ft) wide.  Players may not step on or over this line at any time.  For the purposes of ammunition reclamation the Skirmish line also divides No Man’s Land (See below).  Any player who steps on or over the Skirmish Line during play is guilty of a an off-sides foul.  An Off-Sides Foul allows either of the team’s shooters or the Team’s General an un-interrupted shot at a UST.  (See Penalty Section for details on how to resolve.)

Forward Engagement Zone
     There are two Engagement Zones in which balls can be thrown by the players.  The first is the Forward Engagement Zone (FEZ).  It is split width-wise in the middle by the Skirmish Line making two 10 meter long by 40 meter wide areas on either side of the field.  The FEZ can be occupied by a maximum of two Shooters and the team’s General, and neither Shooter may leave this zone unless it is also occupied by the General.  Additionally, Artillerymen may not enter this zone unless it is occupied by the General.  The Upright Static Targets will be placed on the rear line of the FEZ.  

     Rear Engagement Zone
     The two Rear Engagement Zones are 30 meters long and 40 meters wide.  They contain two Area Targets (See Targets above) each and are where the Artillerymen and General spend most of their time during the Match.  

     No Man’s Land
     No Man’s Land is the area of the field outside of the Engagement Zones.  Generally, it is where the rest of the team resides and where players must often go in order to collect ammunition that leaves the Engagement Zones.  While in this area, players may not have any ammunition loaded into either Sling.


GAMEPLAY

Matches and Time
     A Funda Ball Match will be broken into two 30 minute long Games with a 6 minute rest period in between.  Each Game is broken down into two 12 minute Sets with one 6 minute rest period after the first Set.  After the first Game, teams switch sides.

Scoring
     Scores are tallied four times during the Match by the Referees; once after the first set, once after the second set, once after the third, and finally once after the Match is over.  Scores are only tallied at these times (with one exception, see below).

     Scores are Tallied for the following:
•      Any Balls found in the Large UST nets will be counted as one point.
•      Any Balls found in the Small UST nets will be counted as two points.
•      Any Balls that are found inside, and not touching the area target line, are counted as one point.
•      Any direct hits on the General are scored immediately and the game is stopped briefly by the referees.  Direct hits are defined as any time a ball makes contact with the General before coming into contact with anything else; For example the ground, targets, other players, etc.  Direct Hits scored on the General are worth 5 points.

Slinging Techniques Allowed
     Shooters using Artillery Slings may use only single rotation or partial rotation techniques while in the Forward Engagement Zone.  This is to minimize the potential for injury.  Acceptable Techniques are: Apache, Greek Side Arm, Greek Underarm, etc.
     Shooters using a Shooter Sling may use any technique they wish with the exception of pirouette techniques.      

     Artillerymen may use any Technique they wish except for the pirohuette.

Blocking Shots      
     Any player may use any part of his/her body or equipment to block shots from opposing players.  However, these blocks must be done from outside of the target zones, and a player may not ever enter an area target.  

Time Outs and Changes
    Any player on the team can call for a Time Out.  Each Team will have 3 Time Outs only per Match.  When a Time Out is called, the Referee will blow two blasts on the whistle and all play stops for the period of the time out.  A Time Out will last for a maximum of two minutes.  During the Time Out any field changes may be made without the General’s intervention, with any number of players.  (See Positions and Changes below)

Positions and Changes
     Shooters are positioned in the forward engagement zone and cannot leave until relieved by another player or during a Time Out.  To be relieved during game play, the General must enter, with at least one foot, into the forward engagement zone for the duration of the switch or Relief.  Once the relieved shooter leaves the Forward engagement zone he must be immediately replaced by one of the artillerymen or a player from the sidelines.
           Artillerymen may move in and out of No Man’s land at will, but may not enter the FEZ unless it is occupied by the general as mentioned above.  Artillerymen can also be relieved by any other player in No Man’s Land.  To effect this relief, the artilleryman leaves the engagement zone.  When both his feet are in No Man’s Land, the relieving player may enter the Engagement zone.


Penalties
     Skirmish Line Foul
     This is when a Player steps on or over the Skirmish Line.  A referee will blow the whistle once for this infraction and a penalty shot awarded.  Play will be suspended until the penalty shot is resolved.  At that time the General will choose either one of the shooters currently in the FEZ or him/herself to make the Penalty Shot.  

     Gross Power Foul
     A Gross Power Foul is an infraction where a player with an artillery sling uses a power technique while in the FEZ.  Referees will blow the whistle once and grant Two Penalty Shots for this infraction.

     Whipping
     Whipping is an infraction where a player intentionally or un-intentionally contacts an opposing player with any part of his/her sling.  Referees will blow the whistle once, choice of two penalty shots granted, and the offending player warned.  A second infraction by the same player will result in that player’s suspension from the Match, and two more penalty shots.  

     Off-Sides
     In the case where a player improperly leaves an engagement zone, a single whistle will be blown and a penalty shot awarded.  Improperly leaving an engagement zone means stepping into an area target, crossing into or out of the FEZ without relief, or entering any engagement zone from No Man’s land when the maximum number of players are already deployed.

             Hoarding
             Edited:

Mick wrote on Apr 11^th, 2013 at 8:28am:


   I'm not sure what the standard weight should be really.  I think it depends a bit on what kind of projectile we settle on.  For now, and testing purposes, we'll stick with tennis balls.  But I hope we can find slightly heavier projectiles that are softer. 
   The upright static targets may be easier to think of like this.  Imagine a pole with a hula-hoop fixed to the top of it, facing (at first anyway) the opposing players. 
   The skirmish line should be about a foot wide.  I'll fix that here shortly, lol.

I see a potential issue in the section 'Blocking Shots'. The General is worth 5 points for a direct hit and if s/he were to also have the ability to block shots then this might cause issue in some circumstances where a direct hit is scored, but the General may argue that a block was made.

Scoring and ball in play clarification: Is a ball out of play for the set once it has passed/landed through/into an UST/ATZ?

Can Artillary shoot at any target? Can shooters do the same? Is it possible the UST's may be an easy target for the shooters, and if so perhaps making the rings a little smaller? Not being able to make a visual to scale target area due to it being wet for the last week and not looking like changing anytime soon, it's a bit hard for me to test the theory myself. It's more the lower and larger of the UST's that I feel may be too easy a shot for the shooters.

More study and questions to come probably, but that will do for now.


Mick

if only we could find a way to bring the player requirements down, i have a couple of friends that need some schooling in the art of slinging.............

I think that Revolutionary is referring to the number of players required.  It is pretty heavy on required number of players!

   Just to get an idea, I was talking to Caldou yesterday evening (morning for him) and we were talking about the numbr of players and referee's that would be required for a fully populated game.  It's up to 27 bodies total.  This would be;  5-6 players on each side of the field in the engagement zones, 4-5 players in No Man's Land on either side, and at least 5 Referees!  
 
    Initially, when I was dreaming up this game I thought we could get away with just 10 players and maybe 3 refs, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that additional players would be needed.  The "extra" players in no man's land serve a vital function even though they are not "playing".  They wouldn't be sitting on the sidelines like in many other sports.  These guys would be constantly retrieving ammunition for their team and being constantly at the ready to relieve players in the engagement zones.  
   
    Now, you could kind of "fake it to make it" by simply recruiting bystanders to collect ammo for the teams, but then you would still be left without any relief players.  I think that would be kind of important because with the sheer amount of ammunition on the field, players will be constantly running to and picking up balls in the engagement zones, making shots, blocking shots, and dodging shots.  Lots and lots of movement involved here.  Especially for the General.  The idea of allowing for relief players would (theoretically) keep the game very dynamic, fast, and tense.

    Additionally, because of the fact that a General can call for a count of how many balls are in either engagement zone, this should create a kind of yin-yang situation between the teams.  If one team is making shots feverishly, the other team must also return fire at the same pace to avoid being guilty of a "Hoarding" penalty.  (Hoarding hasn't been written in to the rules yet.)  So relief players will be a must...