Sports

The Stretchers proudly present themselves providing “all sports in one association”. In practice we focus mainly on ball sports and not all sports are done as frequently. Below is a list of sports we do regularly. You can click the links for a short explanation and of course the sports will be explained to you during the training sessions.

The original Dutch sport name is displayed next to the English name.

Badminton Frisbee Slagball
Basketball Handball Tchoukball
Block football (Paaltjesvoetbal) Korfball Team block football (Teampaaltjesvoetbal)
Clubball (Knotsbal) Mertebagball Volleyball
Dodgeball (Trefbal) Ninaball Fourbenches (Vierbanken)
Floorball (Unihockey) Pionball
Football (Voetbal) Quadrifloorball (Quadrunihockey)

Badminton

Badminton is a sport played with 2 or 4 (2 vs 2) players. Every player has a racket and the goal is to score points by letting the shuttle hit the floor on the opponent’s side of the playing field. You do this by hitting the shuttle with your racket in such a way that it flies over the net and falls in between the white lines that indicate the playing field. Note that you (or your team when playing doubles) may only hit the shuttle once. Of course, your opponent will try to play the shuttle back to you, so always be prepared for the return. If the shuttle doesn’t cross the net or falls outside of the playing field, your opponent scores. After a score, the service is done by the scoring team.

Basketball

Basketball is played with two team of 5 players and the goal of the game is to throw the ball through the opponent’s ring. You do this by passing around with your teammates and you’re also allowed to dribble. Dribbling is bouncing the ball with one hand while walking. When you stop dribbling by grabbing the ball, you’re not allowed to start dribbling again and you have to pass or shoot.

Frisbee

Frisbee, officially Ultimate Frisbee, is played over the entire width of the sports hall. There are end zones on either side of the field and the goal of the game is for your team to catch the disc in the end zone of your opponent. You are not allowed to walk with the disc, so you have to make a lot of passes. It is important for teammates who are not in possession to make runs and find open space. When the disc is intercepted, hits the floor or is brought down, possession changes and attackers become defenders and vice versa. When a score is made, the teams switch side. The game is (re)started when both teams are standing behind their own goal line and the scoring team throws the disc to the opposite side.

Handball

Handball is a sport in which you have to throw the ball in the opponents goal. You are allowed to dribble with the ball, but it is as important to pass the ball around. Around either goals there is a no-go area in which only the goalie is allowed to be. So the attackers’ task is to throw from outside the no-go circle. The defenders organize themselves on the circle to hinder the opponents in their attempts to score.

Clubball

With clubball, the player of both team get a foam club and the goal of the game is to hit the ball with the club in the opponents’ goal. You are allowed to stop the ball with your feet, but using your hands is not allowed. Even though the clubs don’t hurt too bad when you hit someone, you should not play too rough.

Korfball

Korfball is a sport played by hand within a rectangular field of play whereby a team of four female players and four male players try to shoot a ball into a korf (basket). The players of the team are split into two zones, attack and defence, each consisting of two men and two women. After every two goals, the divisions switch so attackers become defenders and vice versa. The players can only defend players of the same sex. The pitch contains of two zones with on each half a post with a korf. Between the two zones is an inner dividing line. The post is situated 6.67 metres from the outline. During the game it is prohibited to touch the ball with leg (below knee) or foot, to run/walk with the ball, to hand the ball to another player of one’s own team, to knock, take or run the ball out of an opponent’s hand and to shoot from a defended position.

mertebagball

Met Een Rugbybal Tegen Een Basket AanGooien -bal” is the Dutch name for a sport we developed ourselves. The loose English translation is: Throwing Against A Basket With A Rugbyball-ball, so Taabwarball. The name says it all: you need to throw a rugbyball (or American Football) against the basketball board. You score a point when a team member of yours catches the rebound (the ball coming back from the board after you hit the board). You are allowed to dribble, but as that is quite impossible with a rugby ball it is better to pass the ball around. Walking with the ball is not allowed.

Ninabal

Ninaball, once introduced to the Stretchers by a member called Nina – hence the name, is a variant of dodgeball. The goal of the game is to use the ball to hit other players. Once you hit someone else without the ball bouncing on its way to the other player, that players is ‘out’ and has to leave the field. When your throw is caught (again, without a bounce) you’re the one that’s ‘out’. It is important to remember who made you leave the field, as you can only re-enter after that player himself is ‘out’.

Block football

Block football is a variant of football in which every player gets a block or cone and places his/her cone somewhere on the playing field. The goal of the game is to shoot the cones of others and while in the same time making sure your own cone remains standing. Sticking close to your cone is discouraged, as it kinda ruins the game. It is better to attack and perhaps team up with other players to share the defensive tasks.

Pionball

Pionball is a handball variant in which you don’t use goals but two cones per team. So in order to score, you have to hit one of the opponents’ cones, but you do need to throw an under hand throw when shooting for a cone. The cones are placed on either side of the field and only one player is allowed to be in the end zone near the cones. The other need to pass the ball around in order to get a shot at one of the cones.
Pionbal

Quadrifloorball

Quadrifloorball is a floorball variant. Most of the same rules apply, with a difference in that there are 4 teams of 2 players instead of 2 teams of 4 players on the field. You and your teammate can score in any of the other 3 goals. The team who concedes a goal needs to substitute for a team on the bench.
Quadrunihockey

Slagbal

Slagball is a typical sport played at Dutch elementary schools and it holds some comparison with softball or baseball. There are two teams: batting and receiving, and four bases. The receiving team denotes one player as their “brander”. This player is located near the batting zone and after a run the ball needs to be returned to this player in order to stop play. One player of the batting team takes a club and hits the ball into the field. He and his teammates who are already on any of the bases then start to run and try to get to the next bases or home. The receiving team tries to prevent that. They can do so by ‘outing’ the opponents. In order to do so, they can catch a batted ball, mark out a forced run by touching the destination base while holding the ball, touching a running player with the ball or get the ball back to the brander as fast as possible. Any player in play of the batting team that is not on one of the bases when the “brander” receives the ball is out. When there are three ‘outs’, teams switch sides.
Slagbal

Bounceball

Spelregels
De regels van stuitbal zijn als volgt: je zet twee kasten (van die turndingen) tegenover elkaar (op zekere afstand) en op iedere kast zet je een persoon met een rode pylon (zo’n hoedje). het doel van elk team is om bij het teamlid op de kast een bal in zijn/haar pylon te krijgen, die daar via de grond in moet komen (vandaar stuitbal). je mag niet lopen met de bal.
Tip
Het is handig om de kasten in de basketbalringen te zetten, want dan heb je een no-go zone (die je wel nodig hebt om het leuk te laten zijn).
Stuitbal

Team block football

Team block football is very alike to regular block football, with the difference that there are two teams and each team has to defend a number of cones instead of every one defending a single cone. If there are enough players, the team of whom a cone is hit as to substitute for a team on the bench.
Teampaaltjesvoetbal

Tchoukball

The goal with tchoukball is to throw the ball in a vertical trampoline in such a way it bounces back into the field. You’re not allowed to run or dribble, and your team only has three passes to their disposal before you have to throw at goal. However, you can use both sides of the pitch: there aren’t dedicated sides for either team. Tchoukball is different from every other sport in the sense that it is not allowed to defend or hinder the opponent.

Dodgeball

With dodgeball, the goal is to hit all the players of the opposing team with the ball. A playing field is divided into two halves and teams try to hit the other players. Once you are hit directly (without a bounce), you need to go to the outside of the opponent’s side. From here, you’re also allowed to try to hit the other players and when you do you may return to your own field. Once all the players of a team are out and no players are left on the field the other team has won.
Trefbal

Floorball

Floorball is a sport that is a mixture of field hockey, indoor hockey and ice hockey. You use your stick to maneuver the ball around though you’re allowed to stop the ball with your feet and you and your team (a team is 4 players) try to score in the opponent’s goal. The pitch is surrounded by boarding and you can use the boarding to pass the ball around. Only if the ball goes over the boarding the ball is out and play is stopped. Players should be careful handling their stick and it is not allowed to raise your stick above your knees, hit other players stick with your stick or place your stick between the legs of another player. There is no official goalie, but in general one player falls back and defends the goal. There is a zone around the goal where no player is allowed to stand. After a goal, the game is restarted by a face-off.
unihockey

Football

Football doesn’t need too much explanation. You use your feet to pass the ball around and shoot at a goal. The goalie is allowed to stop the ball with the hands, but only inside the goal area. If there aren’t enough players, the goals can be substituted with benches to make the game more suitable for a lower number of players.

Volleyball

Volleyball is probably well familiar. You and your team (6 players in total) use your hands to pass the ball around (not throwing, passing!) and play the ball over the net. Your team has three touches before the ball has to cross the net and do make sure you use them! Some players are tempted to play the ball over the net as quickly as possible, but passing twice provides better opportunities to score and makes the sport much more engaging. Although officially you’re allowed to use your feet, at the Stretchers we do not play with our feet.

Fourbenches

Fourbenches is a sports variant that combines different sports into one. There are four teams in the field, each of which has its own goal. It differs from round to round what kind of goal that is because you play a different sport each round. The team that most recently entered the field can choose which sport is played. We use the following sports: Basketball, Mertebagball, Floorball, Clubball and Football. The team against which a goal is scored has to leave the field and a new team enters. Fourbenches can become quite hectic and if done right lets you play a lot of sports!
There is not a lot to say tactically, since this depends on the sport you are playing, but one important tip is to not be afraid to collaborate with other teams when in the attack. When there is no collaboration, each team can more easily survive by just playing defensively.