Bubble Soccer

Eight people, inside giant inflatable balls, chasing a soccer ball around and more often than not, knocking each other over and sending the other person bouncing across the floor. Sound amusing? That’s Bubble Soccer, which took place in Dunkel Gym on the 14th. Teams of students who had signed up for the event in the previous weeks faced off in several games during the tournament, which was set up as a double elimination play. Even Student Government president Ty Davis joined the fun, along with several Peer Advisors and other students.

According to Student Government Association Intramural Sports Coordinator Austin Gatza, this is how the game workes:

There are 4 players on a team, and each has his or her own bubble, which is basically a large inflatable ball with an open center tube that the player stands inside, with straps and handholds to keep the bubble from being bounced off if the player is knocked over. The games were timed in two six-minute halves, and teams alternated play in order to give the others a chance to rest.

There were no out of bounds. Balls could be played off the walls and then if it went completely out of play, staff members or spectators just kicked the ball back into the game. I quickly noticed that this rule meant that even sitting on the sidelines was no guarantee of staying out of the action. Stray soccer balls and sometimes even players often bounced in the direction of spectators, and ducking was certainly a common thing to see when a the soccer balls were kicked more wildly than usual.

While the supposed object of the game was to kick the soccer ball into the goal, the game sometimes became more of a human bumper car tournament, as students attempted to bounce into each other hard enough to knock their opponent over. Getting up after being knocked down seemed to be quite a challenge. Players bounced and rolled across the floor trying to find good footing only to be slammed into again seconds after getting up. Some even became wedged in the goals when their bubble was knocked into the net.

Bubble soccer was certainly a very amusing event, both to watch and to be a participant in. This event gave students a fun and more protected way to participate in a sport that they normally do not play.

By Heather Clark