Me'eno

Me'eno

Highest governing body	Me'eno League
First played	before 1400
Characteristics
Contact	Limited
Team members	Variable (traditionally played with one or two members on each side)
Type	Team sport • Ball game
Equipment	me'e ball
Venue	Me'eno court
Glossary	Glossary
Presence
Country or region	Garetolia

Me'eno (English: lit. "hut game") is a sport played solely in Garetolia, in which two sides compete usually on a court attempting to score points. The offense must bank the ball off a slanted roof or similar feature while the defense (or offense) attempts to recover the me'e ball before it settles. Such a ball is usually made of leather, similar to a cricket ball or baseball. Whichever side recovers the ball and secures posession becomes the offense, with the other side switching back to defense. There is no limit to however many turns in a row one side can hold the ball until the game ends. The game ends whenever one side reaches a mark of 15 points; this number is not concrete and is technically variable at the referee's discretion, though no such instance has taken place.

Me'eno has been played since prehistoric times in Garetolia, originally having evolved to be a similar sport to modern-day handball. The first recorded game was played on 17 September 1811 between a band of Garetolians and a group of British settlers, though this version of the game allowed full contact, as opposed to a more regulated style played today. Its rules were standardized in 1961 with the creation of the Me'eno League and since then, only three rule changes have taken place, the most recent being in 2006.

Me'eno is the sixth-most popular sport in Garetolia by viewership. It is played only on a professional level in small arenas, which is why it has not grown to the level of popularity of other sports like assocciation football. Its annual championship game is played in May of every year, marking the end of the four month-long season. It is a common pastime among residents of Garetolia, particularly those in more rural areas, usually played banking the me'e ball against the side of a house or a hut, hence the name.

History

Me'eno has been played since 1700 at the latest. Pottery with pictographs of the sport inscribed on it dating to around 1400 CE has been discovered, further confirming its roots in prehistoric Polynesia. It is unique to the region as it is the only known Polynesian sport to use a ball as its main device to score points, rather than other traditional sports such as javelin throwing and fishing. The rules of this version of the sport against today's can be compared to the rules of episkyros to modern football; the older version allowed for the use of violence and was much more rugged. As the name suggests, the sport was usually played against the side of a hut or other structure, one with a slanted roof and a flat vertical wall below it. Some geological formations also served as me'eno courts in early years. As opposed to today, in which the me'e ball must be collected before it settles, the ball was free until one side maintained posession of it for a long enough time. In this version, the sport was usually played until each athelete agreed to stop rather than a concrete goal as in today's play. In some instances, the game would last for days at a time, but this was less common.

After the British arrived and learned of the game and its rules, several rule changes took place in order to make it more suitable for them. Violence was less common, and seeing as the native Garetolians were much faster than them, settlers mandated that there be no point awarded to either side if the ball had not ben touched by the time it settled, as to prevent the Garetolians from throwing the ball much farther than normal to outrun their opponents and gain easy points. Many natives, mostly elders, disapproved of the British's new rules, and argued that the rules should be reverted. This change did take place and the following year, in 1811, the first recorded game took place between a group of British men and a tribe of Garetolians. The Garetolians won easily, outscoring the British by a margin of 74-13. Shortly after, the Garetolian Genocide ceased nearly all instances of the game from 1813 until the early 1850s.

In 1866, the first professional me'eno league was formed by a group of secondary school students in Ule'eka. Several more leagues would be formed, though their rules varied. Ule'eka's rules were much closer to traditional play, whereas atheletes in Gainesville created a set of rules that were nearly identical to today's rules, including establishing the serving area, creating areas for the bench, and penalties for hard contact. These rules were mirrored in 1961 with the establishment of the Me'eno League, the sole ruling body in charge of regulating play across Garetolia. Since then, only three rule changes have taken place, the most recent coming in 2006 with the introduction of the self-serve.

Rules

Dimensions of a standard me'eno court

Court and equipment

Me'eno is played on a me'eno court, which measures 12 m (39 ft) in width and 14 m (46 ft) in length. Four of the 14 meters (13 ft) are taken up the width of the court by the hut, which is the box-shaped structure with a roof slanted at a 30° angle. This is what players bank the ball off during each try at a point. The last three meters (10 ft) of length on the opposite side of the court are special zones, including the serving area, which measures three meters wide, and from which the server will throw; the bench, which is on the left side of the serving area, measuring six meters, and is an area from which extra players from either team may wait to be substituted in; and the sidezone, which takes up the remaining three meters to the right of the serving area, and is where players who are not the server may wait to run and get the ball. This is all contained within a 3 m deep chamber (on only three sides; the side behind the hut is a wall extending to the top of the arena), after which the stands begin.

The me'e ball measures 8 cm (3.14 in) in diameter, roughly the same as a cricket ball, consisting of string wrapped around a rubber center, encased in leather and stitched up with white string. Originally, tribespeople used coconuts or other hard fruit as the ball, but me'e balls began production on a national scale upon the formation of the Me'eno League.

Scoring

In me'eno, the winner is the team or individual that reaches 15 points first. This number is not codified within the rules, as it is up to the referee to decide, but it is standard procedure to make it 15. In earlier versions of the game, this number was sometimes twenty, or even fifty. In order to score a point, the server may either bank the ball off the slanted roof of the hut, and obtaining posession before it settles; or perform a self-serve, in which the player banks the ball against the flat wall of the hut, having it come right back to them and scoring an easy point. Self-serves, due to their rather controversial nature, are only allowed to be performed twice in a row to prevent a player from making a travesty of the game, after which the server must hand the ball over to a player on the opposing side. Self-serves are also disallowed if the server is within two points of victory, to prevent an easy and unfair win once a side has reached only 13 points. Self-serves are much riskier, however, in that if a player misses the ball when running up to get it, another player has a much greater chance of obtaining posession.

If the me'e ball settles before any player has obtained posession, the try is to be redone and no points are to be awarded. The same rules apply if the ball goes into the stands. Players on the bench must make their best attempt to move out of the way if the me'e ball is coming their way, as to not interfere with the play. If it hits a bench player or the referee accidentally, the try is to be redone with no points awarded.

Serving

Servers must stay behind the red three meter line on the ground while serving, or risk incurring a penalty. Serves may be underhand or overhand, but it is more common for players to serve overhand to obtain a higher velocity on their throws. Servers may be in front of the red line while serving, only if no part of their body has touched the ground in front of it. This means that, with a long enough jump, a player could theoretically serve the ball only a few meters away from the hut if they are in the air while doing so, rather than the seven meters they would have to be on the ground. This rule has led to some loopholes, with players jumping exceptionally far, and performing a self-serve to get an easy point. The server may not kick the ball or serve it with any part of their body besides their hands or risk incurring a penalty.

Players waiting in the sidezone may not cross the red line until the ball has been served, or risk incurring a penalty. This rule is usually enforced when the server fakes out the other players, either pretending to throw it or running forward suddenly. Bench players may not pretend to serve or otherwise interfere with the play (such as distracting other players) without the same consequences.

Officiating and penalties

A referee is the sole official on the court that can stop the game, hand out penalties, and ask the appropriate officials to review plays, upon the request of at least half of the active players. Referees are also in charge of keeping spare me'e balls, in case one goes into the stands. A referee may not interfere with the game unlawfully, or risk suspension at the league's discretion. Referees may hand out penalties for one or more of the following violations:

• a player has intentionally knocked down, hit, or otherwise physically injured another player in order to prevent them from obtaining the me'e ball,
• a player has stepped over the red line prior to the serve,
• a player on the bench has intentionally interfered with the play, as to distract or hinder the opposing players,
• a player in the sidezone has intentionally interfered with the serve, as to hinder it or make it less effective,
• a player has attempted a self-serve more than twice in a row,
• a player has attempted a self-serve while within two or less points from victory,
• a player has used any part of their body other than their hands to serve,
• a player has intentionally interfered with the referee, or undermined the referee's authority.

Upon calling a penalty, the referee may either put their hand up or blow a whistle, and hand out the according punishment. Usually, players will serve a three-try suspension, after which they may be allowed back into the game. For exceptionally heinous violations, a player may be ejected from the game. In individual matches, a player who serves a three-round penalty automatically has three points subtracted from their score, then continues with regular play. If a player is ejected, then a player from the bench may fill in for them for the rest of the game. If three players from one side are ejected in the same game, their team automatically forfeits and the opposing team is awarded the game.