Competitive Fitness Activities - Pushball


This game requires a large pushball that is five to six feet in diameter. It also requires a level playing surface that is 240 to 300 feet long and 120 to 150 feet wide. The length of the field is divided equally by a center line. Two more lines are marked 15 feet from and parallel to the end lines and extending across the entire field.

Players
There are 10 to 50 soldiers on each of two teams.

The Game
The object of the game is to send the ball over the opponent’s goal line by pushing, rolling, passing, carrying, or using any method other than kicking the ball.
The game begins when the ball is placed on the centerline with the opposing captains three feet away from it. The other players line up 45 feet from the ball on their half of the field. At the referee’s starting whistle, the captains immediately play the ball, and their teams come to their aid.
At quarter time, the ball stays dead for two minutes where it was when the quarter ended. At halftime, the teams exchange goals, and play resumes as if
the game were beginning.
A team scores a goal when it sends the ball across the opposing team’s end line. A goal counts five points. The team that scores a goal may then try for an extra point. For the extra point, the ball is placed on the opposing team’s 5-yard line, and the teams line up across the field separated by the width of the ball. Only one player may place his hands on the ball. The player who just scored is directly in front of the ball. At the referee’s signal, the ball is put into play for one minute. If any part of the ball is driven across the goal line in this period, the offense scores one point. The defense may not score during the extra point attempt.
The game continues until four 10-minute quarters have been played. Rest periods are allowed for two minutes between quarters and five minutes at halftime.

Rules
Players may use any means of interfering with the opponents’ progress except striking and clipping. Clipping is throwing one’s body across the back of an opponent’s legs as he is running or standing. Force may legally be applied to all opponents whether they are playing the ball or not. A player who strikes or clips an opponent is removed from the game, and his team is penalized half the distance to its goal.
When any part of the ball goes out of bounds, it is dead. The teams line up at right angles to the sidelines. They should be six feet apart at the point where the ball went out. The referee tosses the ball between the teams.
When, for any reason, the ball is tied up in one spot for more than 10 seconds, the referee declares it dead. He returns the ball into play the same way he goes after it goes out of bounds.