General
- Ringball is a traditional South African sport that stems from basketball and has been played since 1907.
- Ringball is a fair-contact sport played by both men and women, in separate games
- Fair contact means that although accidental contact is allowed during gameplay, aggressive or deliberate contact is not allowed and will be penalised
- The sport is now promoted in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, India, and Mauritius to establish Ringball as an international sport.
The Court
- A standard ringball court is 27m long and 18m wide, consisting of 3 equal blocks of 9m long.
- A team consist of 3 goal shooters, 3 middles, 3 defenders and 3 impact players, total 12 players.
- Players only play in their own block and don’t cross the inner lines between blocks.
- Ringball is mainly played on all-weather outdoor courts at clubs and Municipal facilities, but we also play on indoor courts and on grass (mainly for schools).
- We also play action ringball (in an action cricket court), with 2 player per block and 2 impact players, total 8 players.
- Netball courts can easily be converted to play ringball, with minor additional line adjustments.
The Game
- The ball must be passed from player to player through the air.
- A player has 2 seconds from receiving the ball, to play the ball to another teammate.
- The ball may not be hit with a clenched fist.
- A player is not allowed to feign a pass.
- The ball may not touch any part of a players’ body, except for the inside of the hands and the forearms.
- A player in possession of the ball may not deliberately run or move forward to gain ground.
- Should the player receiving the ball be in motion, shortening of steps will prove that he/she is attempting to stop.
- A player may not deliberately throw the ball up or down or bounce it to gain ground or time.
- A player may not hold onto, push away or push back an opponent.
- No player may be deliberately prevented from passing on the ball once he/she received it. However, an opponent may attempt to gain possession of the ball as soon as it has left the players’ hands.
- Two players from the same team may not touch the ball simultaneously. However, there is no minimum distance that should be allowed between two players of the same team, playing the ball.
- A player may not step onto or over the inner lines between blocks.
- The ball may not be played across a block without a player in that block touching the ball.
- A goal shooter may attempt to shoot a goal from any point in the goal block, from outside the goal circle.
- Any goal shooter has got 5 seconds from receiving the ball, to shoot a goal, if he/she decide that they don’t want to shoot a goal, they need the pass the ball to another player within 2 seconds.
The Time
- A match consists of two halves, 25 minutes for the first half, 3 minutes water break and 25 minutes second half.
- There is 2 minutes injury time per player for an injury.
- The match is handled by a qualified referee, with a lineman and two score keepers, one from each team.
- Action ringball matches also consist of two halves, 15 minutes for the first half, 2 minutes water break and 15 minutes second half.
The Score
- A normal goal from anywhere outside the goal circle counts 2 points.
- A penalty goal from outside the goal circle counts 2 points, but from the penalty line, counts 3 points. Then the same team starts the game again.
- The team with the highest score at the end of the game, wins the game.