Strikeball: 5 facts about the new sport

Strikeball: 5 facts about the new sport

Do not be ignorant. We tell the main thing you need to know about strikeball.

Strikeball is a team military tactical non-commercial game, officially recognized as a sport quite recently, on April 20 this year. In Russia, Strikeball emerged in the late 90’s as a hobby of a small circle of people who were engaged mainly in historical reconstruction. Its popularity grew every year, and now this game is practically in all major cities of Russia. Its essence is in team fulfillment of tasks set by the scenario with observance of special rules. We talked to the commander of “3/75 RRD team 3” Ilya Shugurin and learned the five most important facts about the new sport.

Strikeball originated in Japan

Strikeball emerged as a kind of simulator for the military in Japan in the late 80s, when they lost the right to own automatic weapons, and soon took over the commercial market around the world.

Strikeball has little in common with paintball

Still in response to being into strikeball, we hear, “Oh, that’s where they shoot paint, right?”. It’s like comparing basketball and soccer – a ball game, pretty much the same thing. In strikeball, the striking element is a plastic 6 mm ball fired from a weapon, which, as a rule, has a real prototype. In paintball, even the closest to real models of weapons have little in common with them. Paintball players are not engaged in the reconstruction of the real existing armed forces of various countries, our most popular areas – the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the United States.

Strikeball is a game of honesty

Plastic ball does not leave traces on the uniform, and the responsibility for fixing hits lies on the players. This means that the one who was hit by the ball, must recognize the fact of hitting and act in accordance with the rules and the scenario (usually – put a red bandage on the shoulder and go to a special place – “dead man’s room”).

Strikeball is not only played by men

Gaining popularity, strikeball from a purely male hobby has become a female one. Five years ago, girls at the games were a rarity, now it is quite commonplace. At the same time, they used to just wait for men in the camp, and now they are raring to shoot.

Strikeball can be played only from 18 years old

The reason is simple – although the game is almost non-injurious and it is enough to have only protective glasses, participants can get injured by falling, pulling a limb, cutting themselves. Participation of underage players over the age of 16 is discussed on a case-by-case basis with parental permission. Although now there is a practice when parents can take their children with them under their own responsibility, and some organizers meet them.