Uha

Uha (From Maichun "U ha", meaning "wicker game") is a contact team sport originating in Kalam. The objective of the game is to launch a ball (traditionally made of wicker and using specialized footwear) into the goal; an elevated net. The sport is played using two handed wooden paddles resembling a row. It originated as a women's sport sometimes used to discreetly train in self-defense.

Setup

The game is traditionally played with two opposing teams of 5-6 people. Sometimes players are assigned specific roles such as defenders and attackers, but they are not necessary.

Every player uses a long (around 1.4 meters) paddle called the seotolo, which ends in a paddle with specially thin and flexible wood. The gear also often includes baggy uniforms to avoid the pain of being hit with a paddle, helmets being optional due to blows to the head being prohibited.

The ball itself is traditionally made of wicket and stuffed with plant fiber or more wicket depending on the desired weight. Typically it will be the size of a cantaloupe and fairly heavy, the players will often check the ball against their paddles to make sure it's not heavy enough to break them.

Historically it's preferred to play in a muddy field as the pitch with the net before a small trench preventing balls from rolling away. The net frame is elevated about 2 meters off the ground and the net itself is made of braided wicket.

In regards to contact, the only allowed forms are tackles, leg sweeps and arm locks. Punching, choking and grabbing clothes are specifically prohibited in many descriptions of the rules.

Variants

Uha has seen a revival in Kalam with the arrival of association sports leagues, specifically CieLeague and cyals. Some modern variations allow kicking the ball to score, sometimes even disregarding the paddle entirely to adopt rules similar to cyals. These variants are most commonly called wickerball, Uha-Ut, or footnet, as attested by professional cyals players who practice the sport as a warm-up.