It’s a net sport inspired by concepts from volleyball. You can play 2 VS 2, with a stretched hula hoop-sized round net between the teams.
Yep, it’s Spikeball.
(Spikeball/Unsplash)
I learned about this game last year and played it with my bubble during the summer. I remember seeing my friends on social media posting their videos playing the game. Some of them were intense while some of them were just playing to have some fun. My bubble though, we’re pretty competitive. (That doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re good though!)
I was surprised to learn that Spikeball didn’t just become a thing last year. In fact, it was originally created by a toymaker named, Jeff Knurek in 1989. It was marketed by a Japanese entertainment company called Tomy but its popularity quickly faded because the producers didn’t update the equipment.
The original and vintage @Spikeball set. We are forever in debt to Tomy Games. @ChicoSpikeball @_Coach_Long pic.twitter.com/3Be6O9Ny6U
— Lancaster Roundnet (@LCspikeball) September 26, 2014
(Credit: Twitter)
It wasn’t until 2004-5 when Chris Ruder revived Spikeball by making some changes and improvement. During a trip to Hawaii in 2003, he got so interested when his friends brought their old Tomy game set to play.
(Spikeball/Unsplash)
He was so interested that he did research and found out that the game’s trademark had expired and there was no patent on it. So, Chris seized the opportunity and acquired the trademark for just $800. It became a huge success and large retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods sold them.
However, it wasn’t until 2015 when Spikeball came into the limelight when Chris and his team made an appearance on “Shark Tank”.
What a cool story! I wonder when I can find an old and interesting game that has an expired trademark.
If you haven’t played the game yet, I really encourage you to. It’s so easy to carry around, easy to set up and so fun to play.
Click here to find out more about Spikeball and its rules.
(Spikeball/Unsplash)