Yogaball: The Official Rules

Yogaball--the greatest sport you haven't played--has reached a crossroads. After three years of unprecedented growth and success, it is time for the sport to take the next step towards professionalization and worldwide adoption, following the path laid down by sport stacking and parkour. It is time to post the rules on the internet.

A Short History of Yogaball
Yogaball was founded in July 2005 in Cazenovia, a small town in upstate New York. After several days of heated discussion and real-world experimentation, a small advisory committee consisting of approximately 50% Thorsons formalized the rules. Since its inception, yogaball has been played at weddings, on the beach, in public parks, and at birthday parties. The official tournament still takes place every July Fourth weekend in Cazenovia.

Yogaball: The Basics
Yogaball similar to volleyball but with three crucial differences: (1) it is played with a giant rubber exercise ball (a yogaball), (2) the ball is allowed to bounce between hits, and (3) each person on the team is allowed to touch the ball once. It is usually played with a badminton net. The easiest way to understand the basic flow of the game is to watch this short video:

Click To Play

It's important to reiterate that although the ball can bounce once between hits, each person on the team can only touch the ball once (this includes purposeful hits and times when the ball painfully bounces off your face). So in a four-on-four game, we could conceivably see the following sequence of play when a team receives the ball:

Bounce, hit by Player 1, bounce, hit by Player 2, hit by Player 3, bounce, hit over the net by Player 4.

However, each team member does not have to touch the ball. In fact, some of the league's top players have adopted the "hanging by the net" strategy, in which they stand by the net to quickly return (or "spike") the ball.

Like in volleyball, the first team to reach a set number of points wins. What this number is varies from game to game. Playing to 13 is relatively standard. A team must win by at least two points.

For more information on the specific rules regarding serving, scoring, and special cases, please consult the Quick Reference Guide below (we also recommend printing and laminating a copy for outdoor use). Still have questions? Ask in the comments and an official yogaball representative will respond in a timely manner.

Further Resources:

• Additional yogaball video footage (two-on-two, suitable for advanced players only)
• A comparison of yogaball sizes: the "Playball" on the left is too big. 65 centimeters (or as close as you can get) is regulation size.
• Yogaball action photos, Set I and Set II