An enigma that is wrapped in a bubble
In the beginning, there was darkness. Then a bang. Then the world came into existence. Then countless eons passed, and the great sport of rugby was invented. But Timaru might just have topped it.
Taking the already-beloved game football, zorb balls have been added into the mix to create a fresh spin on the classic sport.
It’s been compared to playing footy in a bouncy castle and, since its introduction to the South Canterbury community a few months ago, it’s taken Timaru by storm.
On Thursday night, this sport of kings took the next step towards conquering New Zealand, with the debut of the bubble football league.
Co-ordinator James Coyle said there was plenty of action and laughter with the matches.
‘‘People had fun, they really did. Many of them stayed around after to watch the other games.’’
Coyle said everything went smoothly, and that the initial numbers were good.
‘‘It went really really well. We are happy with the first night.
‘‘Hopefully we can gradually grow it and have more people take part next time, but we’re happy.’’
There were two different sections: a youth grade for players aged 12-15 and then an open grade for people 16-years and olders.
The South Canterbury YMCA in conjunction with their Mid Canterbury counterparts have started up their own leagues.
‘‘We think at some stage it could be a proper sport, but for now it’s more of something that people could play for fun.’’ Coyle said.
‘‘But we definitely want to grow it.’’