Downball
Downball[1] (occasionally known as Wallball) is a multiplayer game where players take turns hitting a tennis ball with their hands against a wall until a player misses a shot and is eliminated. The last player left is declared the winner and the next round begins.[2] It is usually played by schoolchildren.
Downball walls were built in school yards.[citation needed] Downball has been popular in Australian schools, especially in Melbourne and elsewhere around Victoria.[1][2]
Downball is distinct from Australian handball, in which the ball must directly strike a wall first, rather than striking the ground first as in downball. Downball is quite different from four-square (or the Australian schoolyard variant of four-square), which is played on a marked court on the ground, with a fixed number of players, with specific roles, without a wall.
Downball is usually played with a tennis ball.2-6 number players can participate. The game area usually consists of a single wall, against which the players hit the ball. The ball must hit the ground once before hitting the wall. A player has the option to let the ball bounce once after hitting the wall or may choose to hit it straight away. The round begins with the champion serving the ball against the wall (one bounce on the ground then off the wall back into play). The other players hit the ball back at the wall in turn. The order of play stays the same throughout the match.
Players who fail to hit the ball back against the wall or hit the ball out of bounds go "out". When a player is "out" that player must vacate the field of play and not interfere with play until the next match (not round).
A match is made up of as many rounds needed to get all but one players out of the game. The survivor becomes the champion and serves during the next match. In the event that the ball is hit by every player to the end of the line of players the game will continue in a loop. In the event the champion goes out, the player second in line becomes the champion for the remainder of the match.[citation needed]
Downball often incorporates the addition of the "shark shot". This is played by hitting the ball on the full into another player's body with that player going out of the game. A player who misses a "Shark shot" also goes out of the game.
See also
- Wallball (variant of downball played in the USA)
- Australian handball
References
- ^ a b "Play and folklore" (PDF). museumsvictoria.com.at=PDF. 2016.
- ^ a b Melbourne, The University of. "Downball - Ball Game - Childhood, Tradition and Change PUBLIC DATABASE". ctac.esrc.unimelb.edu.au.