Even though we live in a state that’s covered in snow for nearly 6 months out of the year, I know right now that a lot of you don’t like winter. Why not take your mind off the cold by playing some outdoor games to heat up your body? One thing that I know everyone loves to do in the winter is play sports, whether it’s playing football in the snow or just having a classic snowball fight. Yes, we all love classic winter games, but what can we do when we get bored of them?

I met a guy named Gregory “Jake” Starsiak, a wild but awesome dude, who can invent games in the blink of an eye and loves sharing them with others. Some of these games are just weird or crazy, but some of them are just down right awesome to play.  He invented and told me about two sports that can be played around campus or elsewhere during the winter season, which is quickly approaching. Trust me, these games really sounded fun when I heard it from Jake and I can’t wait to give them a try this winter with my friends. So here are the two sports Jake told me about:

 

Hillball
H-i-l-l-b-a-l-l, Hillball! This game can be played in two ways: either free for all if you have less than 10 people, or with two teams if you have more than 10 people. The game starts off with any kind of ball being placed on top of a hill while everyone stays at the bottom of the hill. The goal, if it’s free for all, is to be the first to get the ball from the top and then run/roll/whatever down to the bottom of the hill without being tackled. If you do get tackled (since you’re playing during the winter, the snow will make it less painful) or are unable to move then you must say “disperse” so that the people on you will get off of you and then you must throw the ball back up to the top of the hill and anyone, except you, will have the chance to try and get the ball down the hill. It’s alright to drop the ball, but you can’t throw the ball down the hill. Now, if you’re playing with teams, the same rules apply except you’ll have help and unlimited passing, unlike football where you can only pass once. One more thing, before everyone runs up the hill, everyone must count to three and shout “HILLBALL”, you know, just to make it all epic, and then run as fast as you can up the hill. And that is Hillball 101 for you.

 

Snumo
Don’t worry, were not going to shout “Snumo!” when we play this game. The game is pretty simple and played with three to four people. You start by making a circle in fresh powder snow and having all the players stand outside of it. Then at the count of three everyone jumps in the circle, feet first (not face first! you don’t want to do that, trust me).  After all the players are in the circle they must stand straight and then bow to each other with their hands together like what sumo wrestlers do before a match. The goal of this game is to be the last man in the circle, so basically it’s like the WWE Royal Rumble where you throw, toss or push a guy out of the ring to be eliminated. One important rule in this game is that you cannot punch, kick or do whatever ninja moves you got in you, you can only push your opponents outside the circle.

These two sports are some sports you can play on or off campus during the winter (or potentially all year). They may be out of the ordinary, but it’s fun to try something new, like Hillball or Snumo.  Just a reminder, play safe and have epic fun playing these sports. Not only should you try out these two epic sports, but you can come up with your own sports too. All it takes is some imagination. It doesn’t matter what season it is, coming up with new sports is fun all year ‘round. Go ahead, tell your friends about these two sports and pretty soon your new sport creation might be featured here. GO!

Tags: feature, Sports