Catchball

Origins of the game

Catchball is a modern reinterpretation of “Palla rilanciata”, which is one of the most popular
games in Italy, above all in the context of physical education in schools where it is highly
widespread (Fig.1).
“Palla rilanciata” has been taught at school for decades
and it is still played during PE lessons and used by
volleyball coaches as the basis for initiating the teaching
of volleyball.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1-
Catchball can indeed be deemed to be a prerequisite for Catchball in the school context
playing volleyball, even though there are considerable differences between the two sports.
Catchball differs in particular for catching the ball, while in volleyball the ball is hit. This
feature makes Catchball an inclusive game, which does not require sophisticated technical
skills and therefore allows people to quickly learn the game and get involved in the activity.

Ball games that can be considered predecessors of these sports have very ancient origins.
Evidence dating back to ancient Rome describes the existence of Follis, a game that
required the use of a ball and was played with the use of hands and arms.
Moreover, Catchball shares many similarities with Newcomb ball, invented in New Orleans in
1895, and Throw ball, which has a great popularity in India.

During the last 15 years, in Israel, Catchball has gained great importance as
a sport for women and, as part of this success, the International Catchball
Federation was born (Fig.2).
Figure SEQ Figure \*

Catchball has taken on different versions according to various contexts, for instance the
league “Mamanet” addresses mothers of schoolchildren and Cachibol is
the Spanish and South American version of Catchball.
The spread of Catchball, which has been growing in recent years, is mainly
due to its ability to unify communities, to develop a healthy and enjoyable
recreational time and to improve wellbeing and self-esteem (Fig.3).

Figure SEQ
Brief description /Rules in short
Catchball is played by two teams in a playing field divided in two by a net and each team
plays 6 athletes on his side of the court.
The objective is to send the ball over the net to ground it on the adversary’s
court, and to prevent the same by the adversary.
The ball can be catched and thrown -not hit- (Fig.4) and each team has a
maximum of 3 touches with the ball (that is two passes) before sending the
Figure SEQ
ball to the other pitch.
While holding the ball, it is allowed only one step to throw the ball without jumping. If the
player is throwing the ball with a jump, two steps (or two steps plus a closure step) are
allowed.
The rally begins with a serve, which is a throw from behind the end line to the opponents’
court passing over the net, and ends when the ball hits the ground or a foul occurs.
The team who wins a rally scores a point (Rally Point System) and has the right to serve.
A set is won by the team that is first to score 25 points with a minimum lead of 2 points. The
team who wins 2 sets wins the match and in case of 1-1 tie in sets the third set is played to
15 points.

Playing field, ball, net

BALL
Catchball is played with a spherical ball (Fig.5) (circumference: 65-67 cm,
weight: 260-280 g, inside pressure: 2.84-3.04 bar), made of leather or
flexible synthetic leather.
Figure SEQ
PLAYING AREA and NET
The playing field (Fig.6) is a rectangle (18x9 m) divided in two squares (9x9 m) by a net,
which measures 1x10 m and its highest point is set at 2.24 m.
At the outer edges of the net there are the antennae, that delineate the crossing space and
their top is at 80 cm above the net.
The playing surface must be flat and uniform and at least 5 m above the floor are required.
Two side lines and two end lines mark the perimeter of the playing court, which is divided
into two equal sides by the center line. On each side there is an attack line positioned 3 m
away from the central line, which divides the front and the back zones.
Behind both end lines there is a service zone and the end line is not included in this area.

Figure 6- Playing field. International Catchball Federation

TEAM
All team members must observe fair play.
Each team has at least 6 players and can have a coach and an assistant coach. One of the
players is the team captain, who is the team’s representative during the match.
The coach and the assistant coach have to stay behind the side lines of the court.
The coach can select the starting line-up, request time-outs and substitutions, give
instructions to the players on the court.

Structure of the play

BEFORE THE MATCH
Before the match, the referee carries out a coin toss with the two captains. The winner of the
toss chooses either the right to serve or the side of the court to play on. The loser of the toss
makes the remaining choice.

Each position on the court has a number, as the figure 7

shows.
The teams have a 6 players’ starting line-up and that
order must be maintained throughout the set. The other
players are the substitutes and each team may request
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 7-
up to 6 substitutions in every set.

THE SERVE
The ball is put in play with a serve: a throw -not hit- from behind the end
line (Fig. 8) that must pass over the net and until 5 seconds after the
referee’s whistle.
The server is always the player in the position number Figure1 SEQ
and Figure
each \*
serve is authorized by the referee’s whistle.
The first serve in a set is determined by the coin toss, while the
others depend on each rally’s winning team: when the team
receiving the serve wins a rally, it gains the right to serve, and the
Figure SEQ Figure \* players of that team rotate one position clockwise (Fig.9).

When the serving team wins the rally, the player who served before, serves again.
Before the serve, the teams have to respect their rotational position and each player has to
maintain his position in relation to his front, back and side teammates.
After the ball has left the server’s hands, the players may move and occupy any position on
their side of the court.

PLAYING THE BALL

A contact with a ball has 3 actions: catching (with 1 or 2 hands and the player may have the
assistance of any part of the body), holding (maximum 1 second), throwing.
The ball can’t be hit or kicked intentionally and each team has a maximum of 3 touches with
the ball, that is two passes, before sending the ball to the other pitch. The block is not
included in the 3 touches count.
A player can’t touch the ball twice in succession, considering also the contact with various
parts of the body. With two exceptions: during a block and on the first contact of the team if
the consecutive touches occur during an attempt to catch the ball.

While the player holds the ball, the number of steps allowed depends on the players’ action.
If he is passing the ball to a teammate or throwing the ball over the net without jumping: only
one step is allowed and the ball must be released within a moment of completing the step.
If the player throws with a one foot jump (Fig.10), two steps are allowed, jumping from the
foot that completed the last step;
if the player executes a two feet jump, two steps and a third closure step that brings the foot
in the air next to the foot on the ground are allowed.
Figure SEQ
The throw with the jump requires releasing the ball before landing back on the ground.

SCORE and STATES OF PLAY (OR SCORE AND VIOLATIONS)

The team who wins a rally scores a point and has the right to serve.
A team scores a point when: the ball hits the ground in the opponent’s court; the ball hits the
ground out-of-bounds after an adversary’s touch; the opponent team commits a fault or
violation, which is an action contrary to the rules.
The ball is “in” the court when it hits the playing surface, end and side lines included.
A set is won by the team that is first to score 25 points with a minimum lead of 2 points. The
team who wins 2 sets wins the match and in case of 1-1 tie in sets the third set is played to
15 points.

NET
It is permitted to touch the opponent's court, provided that some part of
the penetrating hand (hands) or foot (feet) remains in contact with the
center line.
Figure SEQ Figure \*
Contact with the net by a player between the antennas is a fault (Fig.11), unless it is made
unintentionally, while the ball is far away from the net.

BLOCK
Blocking is the action of front-row players to intercept the ball coming
from the opponent (Fig.12). The block is executed by reaching the
player's hands higher than the top of the net. After a block, the same
player can catch the ball. It is forbidden to block an opponent’s serve. Figure SEQ Figure \*

ATTACK
Any action, which directs the ball towards the opponent, except for serve and block, is
considered as an attack throw. A spike is an attack action executed while jumping.
A back-row player shall not complete an attack throw from the front zone.

TIME OUT
Each team may request a maximum of two 30 seconds time-outs per set.

Bibliography
-Marziale - Epigrammi - Liber XIV - 47
-Dale A. Somers, The Rise of Sport in New Orleans, 1850-1900 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 1972)
-Official Catchball Rules 2017, Israeli Catchball Association