Woolerball is a sport played on the outskirts of wooler, a town in the north of Northumberland, and more precisely the grounds of the old Yearle Mill. It is played between two teams of non regulated numbers and is played on a grass field again not of any regulation size.
The main objective of this game like many ball sports is to gain control of the ball and therefore an opportunity to score points, as only the team who is attacking can score points in woolerball. The attacking team is the one who is throwing the ball into the feild of play from the throwing zone which is about 10 meters from the catching zone.
To start a play the attacking and defending team must line up on the back line of the catching zone and the attacking team’s thrower must stand with the ball in the throwing zone. The catcher will then shout start at which point the players in the catching zone can move and jostle for position anywhere in the catching zone, he does not have to throw the ball at the same time as shouting start. The thrower will in their own time try and throw the ball to one of the players on their team. There is now three possible outcomes of the play:
• The attacking team catches the ball without it touching the ground and gets a point.
• The attacking team gains possession of the ball after it has touched the ground and remains the attacking team, but gains no points.
• The defending team gains possession of the ball in anyway and then becomes the attacking team, they do not score points for getting the ball but they do get the chance to do so once they become the attacking team.
Growing Popularity
editAlthough this sport is relatively new the number of people playing the game has increased by almost one thousand percent in recent times. This makes it one of the fastest growing regional sports in the United Kingdom with the creators harbouring dreams of Olympic status for the future.
Notable Players
editHannah Jonsson- Hannah has been named man of the match on several occasssions and is considered one of the best players ever to grace the grounds of the mill. She has an athletic and powerful style of play with great catching and throwing ability harmonized with exceptional vision.
James Bratt- He is not the most skilful player but what he lacks in skill he makes up for in determination, ensuring that he has never been on the loosing team.