It's Really Very Simple
Just as the game of golf is simple - hit the golf ball into the hole… so is Wicketball - kick the ball thru the wicket. Seems simple enough… but just like in golf, while the goal of hitting it in the hole is simple it is not necessarily so easy to do… same as in Wicketball. Although it appears to be easy to “Kick It Thru the Wicket”, it depends on the speed of the course, height of the grass, the weather, angle of the ball in relation to the wicket, type of terrain, slope, hazards (trees, branches, creeks, water, etc), other balls blocking the way, ball slickness/air pressure of the ball, type of shoes you’re wearing, etc. Plus, if you go PAST the wicket, you have to come back around to go through the correct side. You only have to play once to find this out! This is a sport that requires practice to have some level of advanced skill, yet it is a lot of fun and challenging at any level. You just have to play to know...
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Wicketball General rules
1. Just relax and have fun… Wicketball… it’s all good!
2. The lowest number of kicks gets one point for each wicket. If two or more players tie for the lowest number of kicks, they each get one point. Even if you’ve kicked through the wicket for your point, DO NOT pick up your ball until ALL players have completed the round for the current wicket.
3. The ball may be kicked or flicked (meaning you’re touching the ball by putting your foot under it). You must declare when you are flicking the ball, otherwise DO NOT touch it at all before a kick. You can only use one foot for your kick.
4. Your turn is over when your ball comes to a complete stop. DO NOT touch your ball when it is still moving. DO NOT touch your ball when it stops. You may only touch it on a “flick”.
5. There are 8 wickets to play per round… kick the ball “towards” the wicket number you are on (1-8 Red or 8-1 Black). Players alternate kicks. DO NOT kick out of order. Winner of current wicket starts for the next wicket. Kick ball from the same spot from where the first player started.
6. The ball must be 100% through the wicket to count as one point. Balls partially under the wicket are “stuck” and cannot score a point on the next kick by definition of the rule. To score a point the ball must be completely outside of the wicket as viewed from straight down over the top of the wicket.
7. Out of Bounds balls MAY be placed back into the field of play in the direction that they went out… into the field of play up to 3 feet, but you lose one turn. Otherwise, you have the option of kicking the ball “as-is” from the out of bounds area. Out of Bounds are usually non-course areas such as: roads, woods, creeks, buildings, under decks or cars, on driveways, rock areas, etc. These should be determined before play starts.
8. The referee’s ruling is final on the legality of a kick or rule interpretation. Designate an experienced Wicketball player to be the referee for the day, or the tournament.
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There are many different options for playing, here are some examples, or you can create you own:
1. Doubles - 2 players use only one ball between them and have to alternate kicks, OR each player has their own ball and only one of the balls has to go thru the wicket to score the point.
2. Triples - 3 players use only one ball between them and they only kick in order
3. "Hit ball equals color change" - if your ball hits an opponents ball, the color of the wicket changes. Meaning that if you were playing "red" side, after the hit ball you are now playing "black" side.
4. "Hit ball gives you a free kick" - if your ball hits another ball (your opponents or your own doubles players ball), you get a "free" kick on that ball. You can kick it anywhere you want, but if it lands in an "out of bounds" spot, you must pick up your own ball and trade places with the ball you just kicked.
5. Instead of picking up the ball after each wicket (this is called "resetting"), all balls are played from the spots they are at. Balls cannot be closer than halfway to the next wicket or they need to be picked up and place back at the previous wicket.
6. The winner of the current wicket gets to pick the next number wicket... but you still must play all 8 wickets in one round. This allows to make the course shorter or longer, depending on your own personal strength and strategy.
7. Sometimes we play where the 8th wicket, or the 7th and 8th wickets count as 2 points instead of 1.
8. Play where you have the option to punt the ball on the first kick from the current wicket (hint: punting in Wicketball is not usually that effective unless you have set up an extremely long course).
9. Allow younger players to get two kicks on their first kickoff shot.
10. Have players kick with their "weaker" leg at least one shot on each wicket in the round.
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Tournament Play
Double elimination tournament, match play one-on-one.
- 16 wickets per match (1-8 Red then 8-1 Black).If time restricts,you may go to 8 wicket matches.
- Player with the lowest number of kicks for the current wicket gets one point – for tie wickets, each player getsone point.
- The winner of the current wicket kicks first for the next wicket; the opponent then kicks from the same spot.
- Say the score before each new wicket is played… so there’s no confusion.
- The match is over when the opponent has no chance to tie or win (i.e. 5-2 with 2 wickets left to play, or 3 and 2).
- Tie matches will have a one wicket playoff (or more if needed, until a winner is determined).
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