Zorb Football Becoming All The Rage and Much Safer Than Zorbing
Zorb Football is the newest craze in the UK and is spreading like wild fire. It involves a see-through plastic orb that you go inside of. All the players are in these “suits” prior to the soccer game begins. This makes the game more fun, enthusiastic, and in most cases, a lot less dangerous. In this game of play, the object is still to try to get the ball to the goal, however, getting the ball from the opponent is a bit different. You can nudge them over and steal the ball. This can be funny as it is very difficult to get up once knocked down due to the hamster-like ball the players’ are wearing.
Zorb Football is becoming quite popular and is drawing a lot of people to this recreational play. Due to it having the original game of soccer mixed in with bumping people around and laughing constantly at people falling over and watching them try to get up, people have a complete blast. This is another method of getting out with friends and getting exercise while having fun at the same time. Even though fun is to be had by everyone participating and even those just watching, it is important not to play the game while intoxicated. This could cause you to bump another too hard and cause injury to them or to yourself. The reason for the game is to have fun, laugh, and hang out with your friends. Nobody will be having fun if someone gets injured.
It is also important that you find an open area without trees or bushes in the way. Needless to say, the ground needs to be relatively level for effective game play. You wouldn’t want your teammates rolling down a hill trying to go after a ball, just the same as you wouldn’t want an opponent to go rolling down a hill either. This would not be a fair game at all. Without a fair game, what is the point? The fun is taken out of the sport of it.
Now it is important to mention that there is another form of Zorbing that is available. Unlike the Zorb Football, you will be completely encased in the see through plastic orb. Your feet will not be on the outside. If you are claustrophobic, this is not for you. Zorbing, also known as, orbing, sphering, or globe riding, is a sport of recreation where you will be inside of the orb and rolling downhill. This sport can be performed on a relatively level area in certain clubs that give the Zorbing riders more control. Many who have taken this sport to the next level have went as far as building metal, wooden, or inflatable ramps to use. There are two different sorts of Zorbs. Non-harnessed and harnessed. A non-harness Zorb can accommodate three people while a harnessed one can only accomodate two people. Each one of these Zorbs have certain restrictions as to where they can be used. Some can go up to half of a mile. The first Zorbing happened in Roturua, New Zealand.
As we all know, a hamster ball is created of a more single layer hard plastic and have been sold for more than forty years. An article came out from Russia stating that the Zorb was created only three years later. In the 80’s a huge sphere was created that was 75 feet across with two chairs within. This item was scrapped. Since the 90’s human spheres have been talked about in the news and magazines incessantly when the television show, Gladiators came on the air using steel balls. In 1994, an idea was conceived for a sphere type in Auckland, New Zealand. Thus the name Zorb was born. Grabbing onto two investors, they began to make a business for these Zorbs and set out to create sphering commercially. Their business plan was to use a franchise system to take the Zorb world wide. In 2000, one of the creators left the company to return to his former job as an engineer in software. In 2006 the CEO of the company also left. At this time, Zorb was left solely as a European franchise / Hungarian franchise. Around the same time, both decided to leave the company and began a sphering consulting and manufacturing firm.
Sadly, The Oxford English Dictionary only lists Zorbing as “a sport in which as participant is secured inside an inner capsule in a large, transparent ball which is then rolled along the ground or down hill”. This was done in 2001. It has not been updated to include Zorb Football as it should be. Zorb football is all the rage and much more safe and fun than Zorbing or Orbing down the hillsides not knowing where you are going to land.
Another great thing regarding Zorb Football compared to Zorbing is that you can play just about anywhere for free. I have listed below the ONLY places that I have found where you are allowed to Zorb and it does cost you to do so. You must Zorb at a commerically owned facility. You will be required to pay per ride or for a whole day. Hill Rolling is another name they have given this activity. You can locate places to pay to Zorb in Scotland, Engand, Wales, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, parts of Sweden, the Gold Coast, Estonia, the North Pole, the Czech Republic, Canada, Poland, Switzerland, Slovak Republic, Japan, Switzerland, Kochi India, Slovenia, Phuket Thailand, and to my surprise there are places within the United States as well. These places are; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, Amesbury Massachusetts and Roundtop Mountain Resort in Lewisberry Pennsylvania. Prices will vary with each place and so will the rules, however, you can always play Zorb Football for the price of the Zorb Football Orb and getting your friends together. No need to pay to play.