Rockball

Rockball, known also as Nhmese Rockball, is a sport originating in Nhmà Ihy that is now played worldwide (but mostly in Nhmà Ihy).

Rules

Nhmese Rockball is played with 2-7 groups of 12, with 5 on the field at any given time. The players throw rocks at eachother until they retire from the field, which they signal by loudly screaming, at which point they are replaced with one of their sitting players. A team is disqualified when none of the sitting players are willing to go back out, and the last team standing wins. However, if a member of a team dies or is made physically unable to play (this is not well defined), their team automatically wins, thus the objective of the sport becomes trying to hurt people without injuring them. The audience is often given small rocks to hurl at the players, though this is a controversial aspect of the game. There are goalies but they're only there to protect the players not on the field (this is a modern innovation).

History

Rockball was invented as a practice for prisoners to take part in in ancient Nhmà Ihy, as a replacement for the death penalty, as Nhmese religion did not allow for execution.

After the 2nd Calming, the sport of rockball spread to other islands, and was popularised by the Attu Games.