Bossaball
Bossaball is a sport that is similar to volleyball, and also includes elements of football, gymnastics and capoeira. This sport was developed by Filip Eyckmans in 2004 in Spain. The term bossa means 'style' in Portuguese, and it is often associated with the Bossa Nova or samba type of music. It suggests that the aim of bossaball is to express sports, music and positive vibrations at the same time.
Bossaball is played on an inflatable court with trampolines on each side of the net. This allows the players to bounce as high as they can to spike the ball.
Bossaball involves two teams with 4 or 5 players each. The height of the net can be adjusted depending on who plays. A team gain points by scoring or by an opponent’s fault.
These seem to be the rules:
- Serve any way you want - just make it impressive
- Up to 8 touches per possession
- A double touch is allowed with any body part, but only once with your hands
- Teams are awarded 3 points for scoring on the trampolines, only one point for scoring on the court. If the ball lands on the ring around the trampoline, the play continues.
- A match is played over three sets. The winner of each set is the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead).
Bossaball is played in a lot of countries including: Argentina, Türkiye, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Chile and sometimes in winter in Austria.
See this video of Bossaball which shows the exceptional skills and physical demands required for this sport, and explains some of the rules.
Similar Sports
- Slamball — a form of basketball using trampolines to get height to shoot the ball through the hoop.
- Volleyball — a game for two teams of six players, in which a large ball is hit by hand over a high net, the aim being to score points by making the ball reach the ground on the opponent's side of the court.
- Basketball — players attempt to shoot the ball through the hoop on the opponent’s court, moving the ball by throwing and dribbling.
- Capoeira — a form of martial art from Brazil which has a combination of aspects of dance moves, acrobatics, movements and music.
- Trampolining — competitors perform acrobatics while jumping on a trampoline.
Related Pages
- Bossaball video
- Bossaball was a demonstration sport at the Rio Olympics
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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