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Bossaball Rules of Play

Bossa means with 'style or flair' in the Portuguese language which implies its inspiration and association with the pulsation and movement of Bossa Nova music.

RULES OF BOSSABALL

Basically take the cool moves from soccer, add in a little gymnastics, and mix it all up over a net on a huge inflatable trampoline.

Playing Bossaball rules – a relatively new exciting game – seems to have combined the best actions from many of its rival extreme sports.

The zany sport was developed around 2004 by the Belgian Filip Eyckmans while he was living in Spain.

You use the kicking moves similar to soccer football, the acrobatics used in gymnastics, and a portion of Brazilian martial arts ‘capoeira’.

The awareness of bossaball, as an international activity for competitors, is growing steadily and nowhere more noticeable than in sunny beach resort countries like Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Kuwait, Egypt, and bouncing along nicely in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Tournaments are sometimes held inside covered stadiums during the winter in countries such as Switzerland and Austria but you do need an inflatable court with trampolines fixed on each side of the net to play bossaball rules.

This unique grown-ups sporting version with rules and regulations of trampolining allows the players to bounce incredibly high in the air so they can spike the ball to their opponent’s court area.


Rules of Bossaball Game

Aim of the Game Bossaball

  • The game is similar to the rules of volleyball in many ways because the main objective of the game is to hit a ball over a net to score more points than your opponent.
  • You use many parts of your body to do this including your head, feet, and your hands.

Bossaball Players

  • Two teams will usually have either 3, 4, or occasionally 5 players in each squad.
  • There is no restriction on gender and you can mix males and females in your team.
  • The trampoline rules and regulations designate one player based on the trampolining section of the arena at all times.
  • Other players rotate after each point.

Bossaball Equipment

  • The Bossaball rules for equipment means the list is short and concise.
  • Basically you need a massive inflatable scoring section, a trampoline court, and a ball.
  • The ball used in bossaball rules is much like a volleyball (a volleyball would be good enough to use).
  • The Bossaball court size is not determined, but they are usually around 50 yards long by 30 yards wide.
  • A net which is around 3 meters high runs through the middle of the court (height may be adjusted for different tournaments and for children or beginners).

General Bossaball Regulations

  • You play the ball using one of two different techniques:
    • Volleyball touch: playing the ball once with hands or forearms.
    • Soccer touch: every other part of the body not being the hands – double touch allowed (counts as 1 touch).
  • Teams can hit the ball up to 5 times after which they must attempt to get the ball into their opponent’s half.
  • Bossaball rules’ games have no legitimate time limit.
  • Games are won when one team reaches 25 points and by two clear points.
  • The best of 3 or 5 sets seems to be the standard operating procedure.
  • Team members rotate clockwise after each point so a different person is on the trampoline section each time.
  • The outer safety zone is out but the point goes to the opponent’s team when the ball lays still on the bossawall.

Serving in Bossaball

  • You can serve the ball using any part of the body but it should be impressive, with bossa style, and with ‘flair’.

Scoring in Bossaball

  • You score points by successfully hitting the ball over the net into your opponents section.
  • The game continues as normal if the ball touches the Bossawall free zone (the ring around the trampoline).

Bossaball Points System

Scoring points with the volley touch:

  • 1 point: when the ball hits the opponents playing area.
  • 3 points: when the ball is played directly in the opponent’s trampoline area.
  • Scoring points with the soccer touch:
    • 3 points: when the ball hits the opponents playing area.
    • 5 points: when the ball is played directly in the opponent’s trampoline area.

Bossaball Rules Officials

  • There are no match referees or umpires in bossaball.
  • Samba referees are officials who make calls and act as Master of Ceremonies, drummer, and DJ.

Winning a Game of Bossaball

  • The winner is the team with the most points at the end of the game.
  • Winning a game of Bossaball means your team reached 25 points first.
  • If the games get to 24-24 then a team must win by two clear points to win that set.
  • Games are generally played over the best of 3 or best of 5 sets.


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Bossaball Rules and Regulations Played in the United Kingdom