Waboba
Encyclopedia
Waboba is short for water bouncing ball, deriving the two first letters in each word into what is both the company as well as the product name. Waboba is also the name of the ballgame that is played in knee- to waist high water, using the Waboba ball. The ball's secret is its composition from different types of Polyurethane
, covered in Lycra, allowing it to bounce and float. The ball is about the same density as water and floats when at rest, but bounces high and true when thrown. The ball is made to endure some rough handling, but not for bouncing it on the ground or against walls. Its build-up gives the ball the same characteristics in water as a rubber ball carries on land. The 2008 edition "extreme ball" has a size of 55 mm and weight of 82 grams. There are other variations of the ball which are larger ("Professional Ball") and lighter ("Blast ball"). The name Waboba is a registered trade mark and the ball is internationally patented.
upside down on the water, trying to get it to bounce. He thought it would be good to have something that used the water to bounce off and began to experiment. From coming up with the idea, he began prolonged experimentation with materials and composition, and eventually patented what has become the Waboba Ball. The ball took several years to perfect, but it is now being sold around the world after first taking off on the beaches of Sweden and Australia.
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
, covered in Lycra, allowing it to bounce and float. The ball is about the same density as water and floats when at rest, but bounces high and true when thrown. The ball is made to endure some rough handling, but not for bouncing it on the ground or against walls. Its build-up gives the ball the same characteristics in water as a rubber ball carries on land. The 2008 edition "extreme ball" has a size of 55 mm and weight of 82 grams. There are other variations of the ball which are larger ("Professional Ball") and lighter ("Blast ball"). The name Waboba is a registered trade mark and the ball is internationally patented.
History
The idea of the ball originates from the early 1980s when inventor, Swede Jan von Heland, was throwing a FrisbeeFrisbee
A flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....
upside down on the water, trying to get it to bounce. He thought it would be good to have something that used the water to bounce off and began to experiment. From coming up with the idea, he began prolonged experimentation with materials and composition, and eventually patented what has become the Waboba Ball. The ball took several years to perfect, but it is now being sold around the world after first taking off on the beaches of Sweden and Australia.
Geographical Spread
The Waboba was first introduced in Sweden where it was sold for a number of years before it was introduced to new markets in Europe in the summer of 2007 as well as the United States (2008), Canada (2008), South Africa (2008) and Australia (2007). During the fall of 2008 and spring 2009, the ball was introduced in Brazil, China, Singapore, Kuwait and Dubai. According to Waboba International the ball will be introduced in several countries in Latin America and South East Asia during 2009. Introduction in Europe covers so far Germany, UK, Portugal, Scandinavia and continues in 2009 with France, Spain, Cyprus and several Eastern Europe countries. The ball was first introduced to the Italian coast by early adopter Alan Dakota during the 2010 Ferragosto celebration. The ball was used extensively at Bagni Davide in Alassio.The game
The idea of the game is to pass between team members, minimum two players in each team, without losing the ball to the other team. When all team members have caught the ball at least once, without interruption and with at least one bounce on water in each pass, the team gets one point (one round). The opposing team shall try to interrupt passes and start passing within their team. First team to three rounds wins the match. Participants have to pass the ball within 5 seconds after receiving it. It is allowed to tackle opponents, but not the player that has the ball, and participants are further not allowed to hold an opponent.