Themiclesian football

Themiclesian football (擲丸, dryik-gwar) is a ball sport with several variations whose common objective is to take control of two objects—a ball and a flag—and to deliver the ball into scoring areas or baskets located along the field of play. The primary challenge is evading an opposing team's attempts to deprive possession of either the ball or flag, both being necessary to score. The dynamic of the game occurs in the geometry of and placement of scoring areas and the rules regarding passing of the flag and ball: the flag cannot fly through the air, while the ball in play cannot bounce more than twice. Additional rules may be enforced to create more hazards.

While the primitive form of the sport is thought to be derived from the sport known in Menghe and Dayashina as tsjuk-kjuk (蹴鞠), it has since been influenced by Casaterran sports to an extent, introducing the element of movement and outright scoring. The sport, for its many hazards and restrictions, has been called a "quintessentially Themiclesian" one. In previous centuries, the sport also has a uniquely military connotation to it—the game was initially thought to approximate some kind of battle-field manoeuvre.

History

The playing style of Themiclesian Football has changed significantly over the centuries in which it was played.

Elimination of contact

In the Middle Ages, it is widely thought the game did not penalize intentional and unintentional contact, since there are reports of nasty injuries and deaths caused by zealous players as part of the game itself (not angry players acting out of the game). But 1598, the modern non-contact version of the sport is already known and probably widely played. This does not exclude the possibility a contact version was still played, only that it is not described by the 1598 book. It is possible that the non-contact style was considered a newer variation of the contact version, thus needing explicit rules defined in a publication.

While there is no detailed record of how a contact-based game was played, sports historians have speculated that a non-contact game may have been more interesting and welcoming because a stronger player could not simply shove a weaker one away and take the ball that way. A game dominated by physically robust players would quickly become dull and impossible to join for amateurs, and in an environment where sports were kept alive by participation rather than paid spectatorship, games must have been of stable and broad appeal to remain alive and become widespread. Thus, the non-contact game may have displaced the contact one.

Knee and ankle-kicking

The sports historian Stephen Lamb argued in 1984 the most significant change in Themiclesian Football occurred in 1839 or so, when the technique of ankle-kicking became more widely practiced. Prior to this time, the ball was kicked from the knee and not the ankle. As the knee was less dexterious than the ankle and provided a smaller range, ball passes were less accurate, and they would have been impossible without coming to a complete stop. The reason for this change is debated, since it would not have been a difficult technique to imagine or develop. Lamb thinks the ball became lighter around this time and caused the new technique to become viable, since kicking a heavy ball with the ankle could have resulted in unbearable pain or debilitating injury. He cites historical texts saying the ball left indentations in the ground wherever it landed as clues to its greater former weight.

To date, no ball predating about 1870 or so that would prove Lamb's theory have been found in a complete state. As balls were expensive, most would have been used until the casing ruptured, and when it ruptured the tightly-packed stuffing would have exploded out of the casing and rapidly degraded. Stitching a ruptured ball back together is not feasible, since the ball is compacted by animal stomach that naturally shrinks when drying. This means no ruptured ball can be weighed together with its original stuffing, even though ball casings dating as far back as the 1400s have been found. Measuring only their dimensions reveal that they are not significantly larger or smaller than modern balls, though with a larger degree of regional variation. But translated to volume, the difference in diametre can certainly have meant a significant difference in weight.

Lamb is able to point out, however, that the trend in the historical period is towards a lighter ball rather than a heavier one, with the minimum weight established in 1857 being lowered twice in 1861 and 1874. These data suggest to him that, during the middle of the 19th century, balls were getting progressively lighter, and a threshold was crossed around 1839 that enabled ankle-kicking. Books of that vintage state that both ankle and knee kicks were necessary, but today the knee kick is very rarely used.

A re-enactment game was assembled in 1998 in honour of the 400th anniversary of the codification of the game's rules, where modern professionals reverted to the equipment of the game about 200 years ago. The players dressed in robes and used a very heavy feather ball weighing 985 g (a reasonable weight in the 1870s). In a post-match panel, the players recounted that the entire dynamic was unrecognizable because they could not safely kick the ball with their ankles, and the heavy ball could only be reliably passed with a upwards kick. In turn, this means the ball fell at a steeper angle and carried more downwards momentum, also requiring upwards kicks. Shallower, lower passes that the bouncier and grippier modern ball permits resulted in the old ball quickly falling and rolling (thus uncontrollably losing points).

Equipment and playing field

Clothing

While Themiclesian football has many aspects that render it similar to contact sports such as Gridiron football and rugby, it is a non-contact sport; rules penalize both intentional and unintentional contact. As such, no protective padding or helmets are worn.

Until the middle of the 1800s, players usually wore customary Themiclesian attire, though this reflected the quotidian dress of the parochial player base more than anything else. The typical ensemble consisted of a bathrobe-like upper garment and long, wide pants with unclosed flies tied to the knee for ease of movement. Standardized ensembles only became used when teams became permanent and competition more than casual after the Themiclesian Civil War (ending 1530). In modern playing, there are few official attire rules, the convenience of players being the most salient factor instead.

Ball

The ball passed between players and used to score points is made from a core of feathers packed into an animal sack, then surfaced with glue and cork, then stiched with leather. The feather is first boiled in water to make it pliable, so that it can be stuffed effectively into the sack. The sack is then slowly wind-dried to remove moisture. Pulverized cork is applied across the sack with glue and used to mask any imperfections and stitch-marks. Sheepskin is traditionally used to finish the ball. The ball must be visibly-spheroidal (imperceptible deviations are permissible), at least 45.7 cm in diameter, and weigh no more than 380 g. This means larger balls are possible, though this is not to the tactical advantage of any team.

Flag

The flag (縌) used is derived from an officer's brocade ribbon that held his seal to his sash. Along with the sash, the ribbon is a symbol of office in both military and civilian contexts. Its strands are woven from silk and then twined together. Traditionally, the colour is pale blue, being the ribbon colour of the most junior military officers entitled to one's use; today, ribbons of any colour may be used for visibility.

Playing field and scoring areas

The ordinary field of play measures 150 by 60 meters, but other dimensions may be used with players' agreement. Most televised matches in league play use the standard field. In the past, it was common for teams to agree on a "permanent deviation" (e.g. between Team A and Team B, a field of 100 by 50 is agreed upon for an entire playing season) if expecting to play each other for a prolonged series of games, but with the construction of dedicated stadiums with immovable seating and the rotation of home/away games, this has become rare.

The field is divided along its long side into equal sixths called stadia, and each sixth is further divided into equal sixths called steps. One half is called the "safe end", while the other, the "hazard end". The field is also halved along its short side, creating "field north" and "field south". This nomenclature has nothing to do with the actual orientation of the field itself, but "field south" is always the side of the field next to the "chase gallery".

Flanking the field on all four sides are scoring areas, usually called galleries after tennis. They are asymmetrically arranged along both axes. Closer to the safe end, there is a scoring area, the "safe gallery" divided into two halves corresponding to field north and south, each one step deep. On the opposite side, there is the "hazard gallery" two steps deep. The gallery closer to field north is the "recovery gallery", one step deep, and the one opposite it the "chase gallery", two steps deep. At the very edge of the playing field, there is a rope suspended, called the tape.

During play, each team is assigned to one end of the field. The stade closest to the end galleries are off-limits to the team of the other end.

Players

Each side may field between eight and sixteen players at any given time.

Play

Ordinary play

To start the game, a member of the team on the safe end, holding the flag, called the advance, take the ball and fling it, with any part of the body that is not the arm or hand, into the air. Players on the advance may go beyond the middle of the field only after the ball is airborne. After this, the advance will attempt to position its players so as to receive the ball and then send it through the air to another member, avoiding interception by the defence, until they have reached a favourable position from which a player may win the point outright by delivering the ball. The first pass from the initial fling must occur within 62.9 yards of the centre line, after which passes may be made anywhere; thus the advance cannot score by flinging the ball into the gallery directly. Since a team member must hold the flag to score, it is passed to them by a runner, while the ball is passed through the air. Since the ball cannot be carried while moving while the flag is not effectively thrown, the flag must be carried by a different player.

The ball is allowed to bounce once on the ground before it is touched by a receiver, and if it were to bounce twice, a chase (viz. below) is laid down; only if it bounces a third time will the point die. If Lord Bri's Rule is being played (as in most games), if the first bounce happens to be higher than the receiving player's head, the second bounce is counted as the first. But if the flag is dropped to the ground at all, the point is awarded to the defence. While the flag could legally be thrown, it does not fly well through the air, and at higher levels it is only effectively passed from hand to hand. It is forbidden to weigh the flag down with a coin pouch or another heavy thing (like a leaded border) to make it easy to throw, as a common form of foul play when each team formerly supplied its own flag.

There are variations in the rules regarding scoring. In professional leagues for both men and women, a good delivery is diagonal, that is a delivery taken by a player standing in field south must land in gallery north, and vice versa; a ball landing in the wrong half of the gallery does not score. In amateur play, diagonal or straight delivery (where the ball may land on any part of the quarter to be good) is usually agreed upon by the tournament or by players.

Technically, the objective of the defence is the same as the advance, being able to score by delivering a ball into the gallery behind the advance; however, this is rarely pursued because the game's rules give the advance an advantage in ordinary play that is nearly insurmontable if the advance play competently (normally the first pass for the advance occurs . At high level, very rarely would the advance be so far out-manoeuvred that the defence could control both flag and ball, manoeuvre behind the advance, and score outright. The safe galleries (defended by the advance) into which the defence must score are only about 1/3 as deep than the hazard galleries (defended by the defence); this means the delivery trajectory needs to be considerably shorter and so the defence must advance deeper in the field to make a viable delivery. Thus, the defence normally focuses on changing roles with the advance rather than attempt to score outright.

Chase play

A chase occurs when the advancing team flings the ball into the air but receives it after two bounces; that is said to be laying down a chase, but the point in play continues without interruption. A chase is so named because the advance is likely to be chasing the ball desperately to save the point from being won by the defence outright. If the advance is unable to receive the ball after the third bounce, then the defence wins the point. Normally, when two chases have been laid down, they should be played off immediately, and if only one chase is outstanding, it is played off at the end of a game.

A chase point begins where the ball bouced twice (the "chase mark") rather than the centre line. If two chases have been laid down, the defence may select which of two chase marks from which to play first. Since the chase mark is likely to be far beyond the centre line, the distance the now-advance must cover is greater than in an ordinary point. This means the advance has a smaller advantage in a chase point than in an ordinary point. To compensate for this disadvantage, as much of the side gallery as the chase mark from the hazard gallery is now available; if the ball is delivered (while holding flag) into the playable part of side gallery, this is also a successful chase point. The defence therefore needs to anticipate both diagonal movement and straight movement and distribute the team members more evenly.

The nature of the chase is a penalty for the advance being unable to receive the ball after only one bounce, as such in the event of a chase it is more advantageous to have it laid down as far into the defence field as possible. Indeed, if a chase is laid down in the field of the advance (that is, the ball has been forced back into the safe side after flying into the hazard side), it becomes very difficult to defend a chase, since amount of playable side gallery becomes large, and the game will nearly be played in a horizontal orientation, with the closest gallery being the side gallery rather than the hazard gallery. If such a very lopsided chase is laid down, it can be conceded by the disadvantaged side to save time and energy.

Scoring

The modern scoring system is derived from an archaic form of tennis, which was introduced to Themiclesia around 1400. Before this time, it is believed the scoring was numerical, though there are no known records of how scoring was kept. According to the oldest known manual of Themiclesian football, written in 1598, the mainstream scoring system has not significantly changed since that time.

The winner of a game is the first to score four points, with each point being awarded to the team that delivers the ball, while possessing flag, into the opponent's gallery, and being awarded against the team that permits the ball to bounce three times (or four, according to LBR) or sends it out of bounds. It is not necessary to win by a two-point margin, as in tennis (there is no "deuce").

The match winner is the team that has the most games after a given number of sets. There is a mandatory changeover at the end of each set. A set ends as soon as there have been two changeovers within the set, provided there have been a minimum number of games scored. This means a set is over as soon as both teams have been the advance once. The minimum number of games to end a set, called the game-floor, is by default set at four, but can be changed according to teams' preferences. A higher game-floor permits a team to build up a larger lead over another team, while a lower floor encourages closer games.

The number of sets that must elapse to end the match varies; for professional teams, this is often four or six sets, and for amateurs it is often two or four. Unlike the game-floor, a higher number of sets encourages closer matches, while a lower number means the match is over with fewer opportunities for each side to have the advance advantage.

The format of the match is quoted as "four-four" or "4/4" if the game-floor is four games and match is over in four sets.

Furthermore, there scoring regarding the chase play-off is also variable according the 1598 rulebook. Generally, the number is set at two—the chases will be played off when there have been two chases laid down. The play-off does not affect the normal progress of games outside of the play-off. If the advance defends the chase successfully, the advance will remain the advance in the following game; if the defence penetrates the advance in the play-off, it will become the advance in the following game. A higher number of chases laid down before playing them off privileges the advance, as normally the defence needs to win each point in the play-off to force the changeover; if even a single point in the play-off is won by the advance, the chase is successfully defended.

Thus, under a 4/4 format, the minimum number of points that can win a set is 20 points; 4 ordinary points each for 4 games, 2 chase points to lose a chase to the opposing team, and 2 more chase points to win the subsequent chase. However, such a score is very unlikely to occur between evenly-matched teams. The fact that a set ends after both teams have been on the advance suggests that the designers of the game rules anticipated changeovers to be hotly contested and difficult. The average number of points in a set is between 40 and 60 in the modern era.

Since the match result is determined by the number of games won after a number of sets, not how many sets in which a team leads, it is not always in the interest of a team to end a set as quickly as possible. If a team has good winds in a set and has a strategy against that the opponent cannot counter, it may be in the former's advantage to build up a good lead in games prior to allowing a changeover. If a team is so successful at preventing a changeover that it never occurs, the match would not proceed, and a team risks exhaustion when a changeover does occur against its will. A successful team therefore needs to lay down chases strategically in inter-point strategy (the strategy of the whole match) and field a diverse range of tactics to avoid entrapment by the opponents, within both ordinary and chase points.

Fouls

Gross

It is a Gross Foul-play (or a Gross) to strike, trip, or restrain any player on the opposing team intentionally, with or without causing injury or affecting the point in play. This results in the match being awarded against the offending player's team immediately. However, it is not deemed a Gross if these actions are done against one's own team member.

It is also a Gross to alter the dimensions or conditions of the field or the ball after the match has begun, unless the consent of the opposing team has been obtained. Even if this is not done deceptively (if a verbal notice is given), it is still considered a Gross. But notably it is permissible to alter the dimensions or condition of the flag, as long as it does not happen while it is in play.

Minor

It is a Minor Foul-play (or a Minor) to do anything that is a Gross unintentionally. The result is the loss of the current point. If a Minor occurs in chase play-off, the entire chase is decided against the fouling team.

See also

• Themiclesia