Ga-ga

Octagonal Ga-ga court in Bennington, Indiana at Camp Livingston

Ga-ga (lit. "touch-touch" in Hebrew) is a variant of dodgeball that is played with one ball. The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the object of hitting opponents with a ball below the knee while avoiding being hit. The game can be played by a group of individual players or with teams, as well as in one-on-one matches. Rules, ball types, pit surfaces, and pit sizes can vary widely at different venues. Other names for this game include Israeli dodgeball, Octo-Ball and Panda Ball.

Gameplay

Ga-ga is played in a large octagon or hexagon called a ga-ga pit. The ga-ga pit generally consists of flat walls atop a smooth dirt, turf, or sand surface. The ga-ga ball can vary in size and form, generally ranging from a foam dodgeball to a rubber kickball. The game begins when one player throws the ga-ga ball into the air; while their backs are against the wall, the players shout "Ga" on each of the first three bounces. After three bounces, the ball is in play, and the players may leave the wall and "hit" the ball at each other in the pit. A player who is hit by the ball or breaks a rule is eliminated and must leave the game. Players may not "hit" the ball twice in a row, and a player who causes the ball to leave the pit is out. When the ball is caught in the air, the last person to hit the ball is out.[1]

General rules

  1. A player can hit the ball with his hands, but picking up the ball and throwing it at a player is not allowed. Some versions do not permit "scooping," or curling one's fingers while hitting the ball so as to project the ball into the air. In some games, only open hand hits are allowed to prevent striking injury to small children and also to enable greater control of the ball, keeping it low and inbounds.
  2. If the ball touches a player anywhere on or below the knee (in some versions, below the ankle or waist), that player is eliminated from the game. If a player hits himself with the ball, accidentally or otherwise, that player is eliminated.
  3. A player may not hit the ball out of the pit. The penalty for breaking this rule is assigned to the last player to touch the ball before leaving the pit, rather than to the original hitter. Because this provision can result in a strategy of hitting the ball upwards to eliminate another player, the rule prohibiting scooping attempts to discourage this. In some versions, an exception is made if the ball hits a wall before leaving the pit; in this scenario, the exit is deemed to be the result of a ricochet, and the player is not eliminated.
  4. Holding or otherwise using the wall to assist a jump is termed "wall jumping" and is prohibited.
  5. No player may hit the ball twice in a row, unless the ball comes into contact with the wall or another player between touches. This rule is sometimes expanded to include "self-serving," which prevents the player that served the ball from being the first to touch the ball.
  6. If a player pops the ball up into the air, another player may catch it and ground it. Some variations prohibit catching completely.
  7. A player must step out of the pit to show that he has been eliminated.

Other rules may be added as necessary. For example, some venues do not permit handstands, because eliminating a player that is using handstands would generally require players to scoop the ball. Additional rules that vary in frequency of implementation include the prohibition of blocking (using one's hands as a barrier between the ball and his feet, rather than jumping), crouching, playing on the ground, and rolling. In other variations, an additional ball may enter play towards the end of the game if the two or three remaining players are making slow progress.

Popularity outside Israel

Ga-ga was played in the Australian Jewish community of Perth, Western Australia, from the 1960s. The 1980s saw a thriving period for junior competition Ga-ga. The game was introduced through the exchange of Israeli madrikhim (counselors) to Australia or Australian madrikhim returning from Israel.

Mainstream Ga-ga

In July 2012, The New York Times wrote that, "to the surprise of parents who recall the game from their youths, gaga is solidly mainstream." Among the things that contributed to ga-ga's expansion, the article credits children's love of the game. "They are teaching it to their parents and not vice versa. It's not like baseball or football or tennis, where they have to emulate someone else. Kids own it."[2] Children often learn about ga-ga through summer camps that are across Canada and the United States, with varying sizes of pits.

United States Expansion

It is believed to have been brought to the United States by Israeli counselors working at Jewish summer camps.[3]

Ga-ga continued its US expansion to Manhattan with the opening of The Gaga Center, New York's first facility dedicated to the sport.[4] ABC News was the first broadcast news organization to cover the sport of ga-ga at The Gaga Center, labeling it the "kinder, gentler version" of dodgeball.[5]

Ga-ga has become a mainstay in Salvation Army Camps of the Empire State Division, with Long Point Camp boasting one of the most used pits outside of Israel.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Giddy over Ga-ga: Dodgeball-like game from Israel is a hit
  2. ↑ Move Over, Dodge Ball
  3. ↑ Giddy over Ga-ga: Dodgeball-like game from Israel is a hit
  4. ↑ You're out, dodgeball! These UES kids are into a kinder, gentler game (with a funny name)
  5. ↑ Gaga game a hit in schoolyards and camps

External links