American Slamball
Slamball is a team sport introduced in the United States in 2000.
It is very similar to basketball with the difference that four trampolines are placed in front of the baskets on each side of the court!
Thanks to this feature, players can perform acrobatic moves like slam dunks (a figure that consists of a player jumping up and throwing the ball into the basket with one or two hands from the top down).
Unlike basketball, periods of play last only 5 minutes, during which physical confrontations between athletes are allowed.
- Quebec Kinball.
Kinball, a team sport, was created in Quebec City in 1987. It is played with a rubber ball, 1.22 m in diameter!
In the game, there are 3 teams of 4 players. The first team serves the ball to any of the two remaining teams.
Three players support the ball while the fourth player hits the ball hard. The goal? To send it as far as possible and to make it difficult for opponents to catch it.
In this team sport, every team member is needed to score points. Cooperation, fair play and a sense of elbow are the virtues of this game.
- Mexican Pelota.
Did you know that it is still played in some regions of Mexico, a game of pelota that dates back to the pre-Columbian period?
Pelota is a sport native to Mayan culture, which consists of sending a small rubber ball through a ring without the use of hands or feet!
Players must therefore exchange the ball solely using their knees, elbows, hips, or buttocks.
In Maya culture (900-1200) this ball game had serious goals. It was played during a period of power struggles between two clans.
- the Italian calcho.
In Italy, more exactly in Florence, every year in the middle of June there is a calcho competition.
This competition is held between the four quarters of the city, which meet in Piazza Santa Croce in front of an estimated 6,000 spectators.
It is always a spectacular spectacle. Players (2 teams of 27 players) in medieval costumes clash in a game where all or almost all kicks are allowed!
This sport, inspired by Roman wrestling and ancient ball games, is all about scoring as many goals as possible against your opponent, no matter how!
This lack of rules makes Florentine Calcio the most brutal team game in the world. The only rule to remember is that two against one is forbidden.
- Thai sepak-tacro.
A hybrid sport, Thai sepak-takro is a mixture of volleyball, soccer and kung fu.
It is played on a court divided by a low net. The goal of the game is to send the ball to the opponent without using your hands. Feet, knees, shoulders and head are the only body parts that can touch the ball.
In each team, 3 players can exchange up to three passes between each other before sending the ball to the opponent.
As a side note, sepak-tacro is a very popular sport in Southeast Asia. It is even one of the national sports in Thailand after Thai boxing.