Raljoball

Raljoball(Rah-LOW-ball)is a hand-to-ball sport played between two players against one another. It is only played in the United States as of now. The ultimate objective is to score more points than your opponent. It's played similarly to volleyball, table tennis, and badminton. There is a 12 foot by 12 foot square on the ground, split in half by a
net that is about 2 ft high. On each side of the court there is a wall that you can play off of, much like in badminton. Each player tries to hit the ball over the net with primarily their hands; however it is legal to play off any body part. The ball used is small (approx. 5.5 inch diameter) with basketball type material. The scoring is based on a non-rally system, meaning, you only score points if you serve it. To get the serve back, the non-server must score. The server's boundaries are inside other small boxes attached to the main court called service boxes. The ball may touch the net on the serve, but not at any other time during raljoball play. Also the ball may not hit the boundary line during the serve. Any other time, the ball is able to hit the line. You can only allow the ball to bounce once on your side. But it doesn't need to bounce, unless it's on the serve. Games are played up to 25, with a win-by-two rule. There are several other rules designed to make the game fair in any situation that may arise on the court.

History
Raljoball was invented in August of 2004, in the town of Penfield, New York. Andy Gerlach and Matt Burton are the co-founders of the sport. It was originally played in Burton's home without walls, and many different variations to the rules. The name 'raljo' was derived from the word rally. The sport has progressed in many ways from the original game to what it is now. The majority of the rule changes took place when the game was first played in Gerlach's basement. This is how the very unique rule of playing off the walls was formed.

Raljoball's history is short as of now. The first ever recorded match was between CJ Fogle, and Jim Gerlach. This is where the still used system of scoring was used. In the historic match, Fogle defeated J. Gerlach by the score of 25-14. The actual date of the match is unknown. However, it is figured to be sometime in the fall of 2004. Hundreds more games have been played since. Other historic events in raljoball history include the first ever shut out when Andy Gerlach defeated Doug Fogle 25-0. Since that, only three shut-outs have ocurred.

During the spring of 2006, the National Raljoball League(NRL) was formed. Despite being a failure, due to lack of dedication, this was a major moment for spreading the word of the newly created game. There were originally eight teams, of four players each. The first ever team raljoball game was between the Snow Smurfs, and the Justice League. The Snow Smurfs won by a total score of 100-40.

On March 21 2008, the first ever official raljoball tournament was held. It was a small eight man bracket. The finals match was between the 1 seed, Andy Gerlach, and the 2 seed, Doug Fogle. Gerlach defeated Fogle in a tough match with a score of 25-21.

Gameplay

The Coin Toss

Raljoball games begin with a judge who flips a coin with each player assigned to either heads or tails. Winner of the coin toss has a choice to pick side, first serve or defer. The player who loses the coin toss gets to pick the other option. For example: Player A wins the toss and chooses first serve. Player B now has the choice of which side he/she would like to play on, and vice versa. If the player has no preference of which option they want to decide, they may defer to the opposing player. Once the sides, and first serve are assigned, the players shake hands to start the game.

Serving
The serve in raljoball is unique from that of other rally type sports. A legal serve in raljoball consists of several different elements. Before the server does anything, they must be sure that themselves, and their opponent are both inside the service boxes on the edge of the court. To serve, the server forcefully drops the ball onto the court, causing it to bounce back up. As the ball is rising, the server strikes it toward opponent. For the serve to be considered legitimate, it must fall in service area on the opposite corner of the court. It cannot hit line on serve, and the ball must hit the ground before it can be played off of the wall. The ball may hit net on serve, as long as it still lands in the opposition's service area. The server has two chances to complete a proper serve. One poor serve constitutes a fault, and the second is a double fault and a loss of serve. An ace in raljoball is a great distinction rewarding players for great serving. An ace occurs when the server scores on just one hit of the ball. If the opponent returns the ball out of bounds, it is still considered an ace.

Rallying
Raljoball uses a non-rally scoring system, meaning you can only score points if it is your serve. Acceptable rallying consists of only one bounce in the court, or none. There are no limits to volleying in raljoball. Raljoball's most unique quality is the "play it" rule. This rule causes both players to become conscience of whether to play it or not. If a player continues a rally despite the ball being out or hitting the net, then the ball is still alive and the opposing player must again return it. This allows for longer rallies. Exceptions for the rule are when the ball becomes a "dead ball." These situations include but not limited to a double bounce, double hit, carry, and if the ball goes under the net. All smashes and slams are completely legal in raljoball. It is a common strategy for players to smash the ball at their opponent to score in a rally; this is a legal maneuver.

The Court
Raljoball court's can have slightly different measurements based on their locations. The official size is a 12 foot by 12 foot court. The court is split in half by a net making two 12 x 6 foot halves. The net is 2 feet high. There are service boxes on the right sides of each half. These boxes are 2 feet x 2 feet. The ground the game is played on is a rough carpet, with a small amount of foam padding beneath it. Walls can be made of almost anything, most commonly wood panels.

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