Lofting - a New Sport
The new sport of Lofting was created by Patrick Richard of Ottawa, ON, Canada around 2006. In lofting, two competitors each throw a ball as high into the air as they can, trying to get it to land as close in front of them as possible. They race for the ball that lands first, and then race for the other ball. However, a player cannot move until the other player's ball lands.
Sport Details
General: A game of lofting is contested by two players, with each having a baseball or ball of similar size. The objective of each player is to win. The game consists of a series of rounds, with no points, 1 point, or 2 points awarded to one of the players and no points awarded to the other player. The game is played up to a predetermined score. The player that reaches that score first wins. The game is played outdoors, within pre-determined boundaries.
Switching: After each round for which points are awarded, both players should switch balls and the direction they face to start the round. For the first round, balls and directions should be determined randomly.
Commencement of Round: Each round begins with the players standing a predetermined distance apart and directly facing each other. Each player should be holding his ball in one of his hands. To start the round, the referee counts down '3-2-1-throw', and upon the referee calling 'throw', both players throw their balls into the air.
Scoring: The ball that lands first (other than a dead ball) becomes the live ball. The player who picks up the live ball gets 1 point. The ball that lands second (other than a dead ball) becomes the bonus ball. If the player who picked up the live ball also picks up the bonus ball, he gets a second point. The round ends once both balls have been picked up.
Signalling the Live Ball: The referee should signal which playerâ s ball is the live ball. If it is inconclusive as to which ball is the live ball, the referee stops the round, and no points are awarded.
Dead Ball: If a player's ball lands behind him or the opponent or ends up out of bounds as a result of the throw, his ball is considered to be dead. If both balls are dead, then the round ends with no points awarded. If one playerâ s ball is dead, the opponent is awarded 1 point, and the round ends, with no points being awarded for recovering the live ball.
Kicking the Ball: A player can kick the ball when it is on the ground. However, if he kicks it out of bounds, the other player is deemed to have picked the ball up.
Late Throw: Upon commencement of the round, a player must immediately initiate a throwing motion, and cannot wind up or make a circular motion prior to releasing the ball, or do anything otherwise to delay the point at which it leaves his hand. If a player violates these conditions, the round is immediately stopped, and the opponent is awarded 1 point, unless both players violate these conditions together, in which case no points are awarded.
Penalty: If a player gets a penalty, 2 points are awarded to the opponent. If the penalty occurs during the round, the round is automatically ended, and these 2 points are the only 2 points awarded for the round.
A player receives a penalty if he breaks any of the following rules:
- Early Move: Until his opponentâ s ball lands, except during the throwing motion, a player cannot move either foot, with the exception that he is allowed to jump sideways or backwards if necessary to avoid being hit by a ball.
- Air Ball: Except for while throwing, a player is not permitted to touch either ball until that ball has struck the ground.
- Player Contact: Players are permitted to jostle to occupy the same space, but otherwise cannot deliberately make contact with each other. A player is not permitted to throw his ball directly at the opponent.
- Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Players are not permitted to engage in unsportsmanlike conduct.
- Delay of Game: Players are not permitted to deliberately delay the commencement of a round in any way.
Multiple Penalties: If a player gets multiple penalties together, then 2 points are awarded to the opponent for each penalty. If both players receive penalties in the same round or between the same two rounds, the penalties cancel each other out, except to the extent that one player receives more penalties than the other.
Note
Related Pages
- See our large list of other New Sports
- How to Submit a New Sport
- Complete list of unusual sports
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