Sankopallo


Bucketball

Funny and action-packed team game for four different teams playing at the same time (can be applied for other number of teams). The rules try to be functional and unambiguous, but also simple and able to apply.

Field: big, square, preferably grass
Teams: four teams with 5 - 9 fielders (depends on the size of the field), anyway the amount of fielders same in every team; amount of substitutes unlimited
Referees: four goal judges, one referee
Time to play: Not provided but must be determined before the game, suggestion 2x25 minutes

Tools:

Preparations:

Course of the game

The referee whistles for the start and three of the goal judges throw a ball from behind their buckets towards the center of the field. Straight after that, the teams run after the balls and try to get them.
It's not allowed to run with the ball, so players can proceed only by passing. Like that players try to come close to some of the opponents' bucket, and throw the ball into the bucket. Scored team gets two points, defended team gets one minus point.

Rules

First seven rules are very important for the function of the game. They're partially adapting the rules of the frisbee game 'ultimate'.

  1. So a fielder with a ball can't run (or walk). If the ball is caught when running, it's naturally allowed to take a couple of steps for stopping the speed. Spinning around one foot is also allowed.
  2. Tackling and pushing is forbidden. You can't touch another player, or slap or pull the ball from him/her. If you do so, you must give the ball back to the one who held it. A player next to the ball holder can, however, count seconds to ten, and the ball must be passed forward during these ten seconds.
  3. You can't go to goal area, not even when defending. If attacker does so, the ball will be given to the defending team, if defender does so, ball will be given back to the player who tried to score.
  4. Now be attentive: If a player trying to catch the ball/holding the ball drops it, s/he or the one who passed it can't take it again in that situation. The ball goes to the player who gets it first. The player can be from the same team as the dropper.
    • If a pass is cut off between its flight by slapping the ball down, it is thrower's drop, not the one’s who cut it off so s/he can pick the ball.
    • If it’s separately agreed, it’s possible to allow passes with one bounce from the ground. In all other cases thrower/catcher loses the ball when it hits the ground
  5. When attacker has tried to score, the ball goes to the defending team, no matter did the ball go to the bucket or not. It might be clever to shout the name of own team to the goal referee when scoring.
  6. Goal judge counts the points for his/her own bucket. One scored bucket means one minus point (–1) to the defending team and two points (+2) to the scored team. Goal judge is also a referee and watches that no one is on the goal area, disqualifies inaccurate throws into the bucket, judges offenses etc.
  7. There are no definite sidelines but it’s not allowed to proceed outside the square made up by buckets. I.e. you can pass the ball outside the square, but the next pass must be thrown back to the square area. This means also that you can catch a pass behind the bucket but then you need to score a bucket or pass the ball back inside the square.
  8. Other rules:
    • You can jump with the ball, if you throw it away before your feet hit to the ground.
    • It's unpractical to referee jump balls (like in basketball). If two players grab to the ball just at the same time, it's polite to give the ball to the one in weaker situation.
    • A scoring, where the ball bounces away from the bottom of the bucket or rolls away because of falling of the bucket will be, however, accepted.
    • Touching the ball with feet is prohibited.
    • Useless passing around own bucket is prohibited like the playing for time in general.
  9. If someone break the rules and there are no separate, given penalty, the rulebreaker must leave the ball where it is and it goes to the one from another team who is first in the place. If the offense is rude or the player does it several times, the referees can remove the player from the field for the time defined by the referees.

The end of the game

After the playing time the referee whistles for the end of the game. The goal judges and the referee gather together and count the points for every team. The referee proclaims the results. The winner is the team which got the biggest sum of points.

Usually the team scores more points to the buckets that are on the same side as the own bucket, than to the bucket on the opposite corner. If you want more action, an experimental idea might be that the team gets three points (+3) when scoring into the opposite bucket.

Lauri "Leevi" Rahikainen
Responsible for sports in the Guild of Mining and Metallurgy Students in Finland 2000
English translation 2002-09-20


Bucketball was played first time in September 26th 2000 in Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland, on the schoolyard of Helsinki University of Technology.

bucketball game in Otaniemi campus
Bucketballplayers in Otaniemi, Espoo 10th of September 2007