Kin-Ball
Encyclopedia
Kin-Ball, also known as Omnikin, is a team sport
created in Quebec
, Canada
in 1986 by Mario Demers, a physical education
professor
. The International Kin-Ball Federation counts 3.8 million participants, primarily from Canada
, the U.S.
, Japan
, Belgium
, France
, Switzerland
, Spain
, Germany
, Denmark
and Malaysia.
, an inflatable ball 1.22 m in diametre and inflated to about the same pressure and feeling as a volleyball
. It is played by three teams of four, in a room 21 m by 21 m (70 ft by 70 ft) with a surface that permits sliding, such as a gym
. The team in possession of the ball yells out "Omnikin" followed by the colour of another team and hits the ball. The team whose colour was called must stop the ball from hitting the ground; if it fails to do so the other two teams get a point. If a team stops the ball from hitting the ground, it has 10 seconds to hit the ball to another team, using the same procedure.
There are a few other rules which the referee
may also enforce. At the moment contact is made with the ball, all team members of the team possessing the ball must be touching it. The ball must not be struck downwards, so as to give the team receiving the ball a chance to stop it from hitting the ground. The ball must also be served at least 6 feet. And although you can touch the ball with any part of your body, you cannot grasp the ball between your arms or wrap your fingers around any part of the ball, such as the plug covering the hole used to inflate the ball.
Games have three periods lasting between 7 to 15 minutes each, depending on the age level of the participants, with a one-minute intermission between each period. At the beginning of each period the ball is put into play from the centre of the gym by the team with the fewest points. The team with the most points at the end of the three periods wins the game.
Teams are composed of 4 players (with up to 4 substitutes), all of which wear a jersey
or pinny of a different colour, with grey, pink and black being the official colours internationally, except in Quebec where blue replaced pink in 2004.
Team sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
created in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1986 by Mario Demers, a physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. The International Kin-Ball Federation counts 3.8 million participants, primarily from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Malaysia.
Game
Kin-Ball uses a cage ballCage ball
A cage ball is a large, inflated ball, used in many American elementary schools physical education programs. Cage balls typically have a diameter of 48" or 60", though 72" diameter models are available, commercially...
, an inflatable ball 1.22 m in diametre and inflated to about the same pressure and feeling as a volleyball
Volleyball (ball)
A volleyball is a ball used to play indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, or other less common variations of the sport. Volleyballs are round and traditionally consist of eighteen nearly rectangular panels of synthetic or genuine leather, arranged in six identical sections of three panels each,...
. It is played by three teams of four, in a room 21 m by 21 m (70 ft by 70 ft) with a surface that permits sliding, such as a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
. The team in possession of the ball yells out "Omnikin" followed by the colour of another team and hits the ball. The team whose colour was called must stop the ball from hitting the ground; if it fails to do so the other two teams get a point. If a team stops the ball from hitting the ground, it has 10 seconds to hit the ball to another team, using the same procedure.
There are a few other rules which the referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
may also enforce. At the moment contact is made with the ball, all team members of the team possessing the ball must be touching it. The ball must not be struck downwards, so as to give the team receiving the ball a chance to stop it from hitting the ground. The ball must also be served at least 6 feet. And although you can touch the ball with any part of your body, you cannot grasp the ball between your arms or wrap your fingers around any part of the ball, such as the plug covering the hole used to inflate the ball.
Games have three periods lasting between 7 to 15 minutes each, depending on the age level of the participants, with a one-minute intermission between each period. At the beginning of each period the ball is put into play from the centre of the gym by the team with the fewest points. The team with the most points at the end of the three periods wins the game.
Teams are composed of 4 players (with up to 4 substitutes), all of which wear a jersey
Jersey (clothing)
A jersey is an item of knitted clothing, traditionally in wool or cotton, with sleeves, worn as a pullover, as it does not open at the front, unlike a cardigan. It is usually close-fitting and machine knitted in contrast to a guernsey that is more often hand knit with a thicker yarn...
or pinny of a different colour, with grey, pink and black being the official colours internationally, except in Quebec where blue replaced pink in 2004.