Slamball | The best sport on Trampolines

Slamball is a team sport based on basketball. Points are scored by playing the ball through the net, as in basketball, though the point-scoring rules are modified. The main differences from the parent sport is the court; below the padded basketball rim and backboard are four trampolines set into the floor which serve to launch players to great heights for slam dunks. The rules also permit some physical contact between the members of the four-player teams.

Professional SlamBall games were aired on television by Spike TV for two seasons in 2002 - 2003, and the POWERade SlamBall Challenge was aired on CSTV in 2007. SlamBall returned in August 2008, and is aired on Versus and CBS.

SLAMBALL STARTED in a small warehouse in Los Angeles on a makeshift court cobbled together from spare parts. Mason Gordon wanted to create a fully realized sport that was inspired by the strategies, aesthetics and pacing of video games. A sport where the athletes fly higher and hit harder, performing feats that were once the exclusive domain of the well-crafted pixel. SlamBall would quickly fulfill its promise as a mash-up sport smashed together, as the court was, from parts of basketball, football, hockey and gymnastics.

Rules and regulations

There is no international governing body for Slamball as a sport. Steps are being taken even today as Slamball is reaching the international market.

Scoring in Slamball is achieved by passing the ball into the net at the opponent's end of the court for points, while preventing the opposing team from doing the same at one's own net. The goal is ultimately to have outscored the opposing team when the game ends. A successful score can be worth two points if the ball is thrown through the hoop without the offensive player touching the hoop. Slam dunks are scored three points. All shots outside three-point arc are worth three points as well.

Positions

Diagram of a Slamball court

Each team has four players on the court at any one time. There are three positions:

Fouls

Each player can commit just three personal fouls before he is "fouled out" from the match. A coach or player displaying poor on-court behavior (for example, fighting, arguing vehemently against an official) may be charged with a technical foul. Two technical fouls will result in disqualification. In the case a foul is called, the player who has committed the foul, will then take position on the baseline of the lower trampolines while the player who was offended will take up offensive position at center court. This is called a 'face-off'. Upon a signal from the referee the offensive player will be free to mount an attack at the basket, which the defender now must endeavor to stop. The defender must enter the lower trampoline only after bouncing in from the side trampoline. If the offensive player is successful, then points will be awarded depending on the shot converted and the offensive players' team will retain possession of the ball.
Original concept art of a Slamball court.

Four players from each team (out of an 8 or 9 player roster) may be on the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited and can be done during play as in the game of hockey. All teams have a coach who is responsible for the strategies and overall performance of the teams. Additional staff include assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors, etc.

Team uniforms consist of a shorts and a jersey with the team logo, a number and the player's name on the back. Typically players wear basketball sneakers now but shoes unique to Slamball are in development to fit the needs of this new sport.

The game is controlled by officials consisting of two referees and the table officials. The table keeps track of the score, time, team possessions, fouls and the shot clock.

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