Hailed by its creators as "the second most fun thing in the world, the game of WhirlyBall
™" is an exciting combination of
basketball,
polo and
hockey.
Played on a 40 x 80 foot metal court, each player rides in an electric bumper car called a WhirlyBug, and is armed with a large jai-alai-type scoop that is used to catch and throw the ball, which is a plastic softball-sized wiffleball. There are five players on each team. Over the span of thirty minutes, the team that scores the most points is the winner. Points are awarded as follows:
- By Scoring: Each time a player throws the ball into one of the fifteen inch nets at either and of the court, two points are awarded.
- By Penalty: The following are penalties in WhirlyBall, and commiting any infractions will result in the other team being awarded the number of points specified:
- Collisions with excessive speed (4 points)
- Pushing off with feet of hands (4 points)
- Hitting another player with scoop (2 points)
- Touching the ball with hands outside WhirlyBug (2 points)
- Goaltending (2 points)
- Hitting another player's scoop (2 points)
- Hacking another player's scoop when he/she has the ball (2 points)