Synchronized Football
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Synchronized football is an individual football-based sport. It is a popular local sport among youth, particularly in the southern parts of Norway, originating back to the end of 20th century. Being a hybrid of regular football and penalty kicks, synchronized football involves individuals combining both goalscoring and goalkeeping. The name derives from its mathematically perfected, synchronized field layout. It is normally played on grass, but fields of asphalt or concrete can also be used. The game can host a number of players, ranging from 3-6. It can also be a competition of only 2 persons, but with so few players, the game loses much of its speed and unpredictability, which is the essence of synchronized football.
[edit] Rules
The object of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing goal, while at the same time avoiding the opponent from scoring on you. The player that has the least points by the end of the game, wins. Due to this, the game can be considered a last-man-standing type of match. This means that the first player to reach ten points has lost, while the remaining players keep playing until all but one player has reached ten points. The game does not rely solely on goals and is therefore measured in points. One goal equals one point. In synchronized football however, you get punished for shooting outside the posts of your opponent's goal. Doing so gives you 0.1 point, where 0.3 points is converted into a full point. If your opponent saves your goal attempt 0.1 point is not given. This means that if a player shoots three times outside of an opponents goal it equals 1 point. For example, if during a game your opponents have scored 3 goals on you and you have missed an opponent's goal 7 times during a match, your score would be 5.1. Due to the nature of the game and its scoring system, a draw is impossible in synchronized football.
The game starts out by placing the ball in the centre point, with each player placed in the goal he defends. When the whistle blows the first player to reach the ball takes the first shot and the game is on. At all times the player which has the ball has the ability to score a point on an opponent. This usually means that the player to last defend against a goal attempt now have to chance to shoot a goal if he manages to catch the ball or if the opponent scored.
In synchronized football, there is only one basic state of play during a game, as opposed to regular football where you have ball in play and ball out of play. However, there are some limits. A player cannot run the ball closer to an opponent, but have to stay within one square metre of your own goal. In case of an unintentional goal, meaning a shot hitting one opponents post bouncing into the goal of another player's or your own it would count as a normal point given to the owner of that goal. When a game of 4 players or more only have 2 players left, new goals are assigned to those players if the goals are not on the opposite side of each other.
[edit] Field and Goal layouts
Consisting of only one-man teams, each player serves as his own goalkeeper and striker simultaneously. Depending on the number of players, one needs an equal amount of goals to match the amount of players. Meaning that there needs to be 3 goals with 3 players, 4 goals with 4 players and so on. The preferred goal size are the type used in normal football matches of 7 vs 7, but both smaller and larger sized goals can be used. The distance between each goal should at least equal the length of the goals used, meaning that, if normal sized goals are used, the distance between the right goalpost of one goal and the left goalpost of another goal should be 7.32metres. This equals a normal sized goal's length. In optimal conditions a wall of wood can be used in between each goal, to keep the ball in play at all times even if a player shoots outside of the goal.
The centre in all the different layouts is measured by drawing a line from each goal. In a game consisting of 5 players or more there are restrictions as to which goal the players can attempt to score a goal on. This being that one cannot score a point on the on either side of your own goal. This means that in a game of 6 players, you can only score a direct goal on 3 of your opponents.
- Triangle layout: In a game of 3 players the goals are placed in a triangle, keeping the distance equal between all goals. One goal is placed in each corner of the triangle.
- Square layout: With 4 players the goal layout equals a square, still keeping the distance between all goals equal, except from the goal on the opposite side. Each goal is placed on the middle of all four sides of the square. This puts one of your opponents goals on each side, and one goal on the exact opposite facing towards you.
- Pentagon layout: If there are 5 competitors in a game the layout equals a pentagon, with one goal in each corner all facing the centrepoint at the same angle.
- Hexagon layout: With 6 players the goal layout equals a hexagon, with one goal in each corner.
[edit] Physical and mental challenges
To be a top player in synchronized football, you have to manage a lot of different aspects of football. To strike out your opponents, excellent finishing skills is needed. Converting a defensive stance into an attack on an unaware opponent can quickly turn the tide of the game. In the history of football, we have seen some players who manage to combine being a goalkeeper with excellent freekicks and penalty kicks. A modern example of this is former Paraguay national goalkeeper, Chilavert. Having these combined skills is a necessity in Synchronized Football. A good stamina will increase your chance of keeping up your concentration at the crucial latter stages of the game. Exceptional speed could mean the necessary tipping point when racing for the ball. However finishing, reflexes and concentration are always key factors to winning a game in synchronized football.
