This is intended as a minor contribution to Rear Admiral Ingram’s article about maintaining physical fitness. It should be of particular interest to those who, like the writer, find it difficult to maintain a persistent ritual of calisthenics and need the stimulus of a game to induce them to take physical exercise.
The game which is the basis of this article has proved its practical value on a cruiser at sea in most kinds of weather during the past year. It is a medicine-ball game played over a net, rather like volleyball. The writer doesn’t know where it originated—he has played variations of it on several ships during the last ten years. He still plays it.
In the writer’s present ship, a Brooklyn- class light cruiser, 33 of the 55 cabin and wardroom officers have played, and most of these play regularly. They have various names for the game—elephant ball, hernia ball, hurly-burly—but those acquainted with the writer will realize that it really can’t be a man-killer. It is strenuous enough, however, to be interesting.
In this class of cruisers the court is athwartships of the forecastle, between number three turret and the forward superstructure. Turret three is trained about 120 and its guns are elevated 25 degrees. Pad eyes for the net have been welded to the turret and to the deckhouse so that the net will lie along the centerline of the ship. Retriever nets 7 feet high extend 50 feet along the ship’s sides, and the lower life lines are laced to eyes in the scuppers for another 20 feet, forward and aft (medicine balls are expensive, and surprisingly lively, particularly on a rolling ship).
The playing net is a heavy-duty tennis net strung taut, 7 feet above the deck; and its lower bolt rope is tightly stretched as well as the upper one. Strong bolt ropes are necessary, because the net is not only useful in avoiding falls but there is quite a net technique in the game—one demanding that it be capable of withstanding strain—as will appear.
The ball is of 9 or 10 pounds. A lighter one is too easily thrown overboard and also would be too light for use in the wind generally prevailing on a cruiser’s forecastle. Saddle soap or neat’s foot oil also is a requisite, because the ball gets wet. We have often played in a 40-knot relative wind, with the deck wet and the ship rolling 10 degrees to a side; we have to, if we are to play with any frequency. This takes nice footwork, but adds to the interest.
The rules are kept as simple as possible, with the interesting result that new playing techniques are constantly developing. The only rules we insist on are these:
(1) Don’t lose your temper. This is exercise primarily and a game secondarily.
(2) The senior player keeps score and makes decisions.
(3) When the ball hits the deck, the other side gets a point and takes (or continues) the serve.
(4) Twenty-one points (or 11, when there isn’t much time) win the game; but after the score gets into the twenties (or tens) a winning margin of 2 points is necessary, as with “deuce” in tennis.
(5) One side may have 1 more player than the other, if necessary. New players join in at any time.
(6) With 2 players on a side, both must touch the ball before returning it; with 3 players, at least 2 must touch it; with 4 players, at least 3 must touch it; with 5 or more (7 on a side is all our court will stand), at least 4 must touch it. The object of this rule is to distribute the exercise and prevent the game from becoming a duel between the opposing giants. For infraction of this rule the penalty is as for Rule 3.
(7) An exception to Rule 6: A ball may be batted back (but not caught) by the first man who touches it. (Note: don’t try this until you have had experience. It is hard on wrists; and, since one generally has to jump to reach the ball, there is a good chance of a bad fall due to being thrown off balance by the momentum of the ball.)
(8) The serve is delivered from the right rear of the court (no rigid location) and must get over the net. For a “fault” the penalty is that of Rule 3.
(9) When the serve changes, all players on the side getting the serve shift one position, in clockwise rotation.
(10) The net may be pushed up to interfere with a ball, or pulled down to let one struggle over. (A good taut net obviously is advisable.)
(11) Players may interfere by invading the enemy’s court under the net, to slap the ball to the deck or prevent a net play, provided they keep one hand on the net and do not step more than 2 feet beyond it. Parallel lines on the deck mark these limits. For an infraction, the penalty is that of Rule 3. (Note: This rule is necessary to make the game interesting for the short men, and gives them a counter to the tall man’s favorite net play, a vertical slam down the net.)
(12) A ball (except a serve) which bounds back from the net may be continued in play provided it has been prevented from touching the deck. In other words, the side which failed to get it across the net can catch it on the rebound and try again.
(13) A serve or a ball in play which touches the ship’s structure (other than the deck), before it is touched by an opposing player, is dead; and the point is played over. If it is touched first by a player, it remains in play after touching the ship’s structure.
(14) “Out of bounds” is determined by the nature of the court. Any ball ruled “out of bounds,” including a serve, is declared dead and the point is played over.
These 14 rules are enough. They keep the game fluid and interesting, with new plays constantly being introduced. The game gets rough sometimes, but while Rule 1 is observed no one gets seriously hurt unless he falls. During a year, chiefly through falls, we have had one fractured wrist, a couple of sprained ankles, and several sore rear ends, but nothing really serious. The advantages in health, energy, and better figures have been immense.
Tolerance is necessary in scoring and making decisions, because of the physical differences which usually exist in the opposing courts and because of the danger from all-out attempts at “gets” when in the vicinity of obstructions. For example, we must be constantly aware of outboard bits, which are dangerous to legs. It is here that the senior player steps in to say “Play it over.” He also sometimes has to umpire wrestling matches, often resembling football pile-ups, under the net when someone has tried to steal and down the ball; but these usually are so much fun (while Rule 1 is being observed) and such good exercise that they are allowed to run their course. The parallel lines of Rule 11 are of frequent use in judging the outcome of these encounters.
A few words of caution, based on experience, are offered: Don’t let a newcomer play without warning him against batting the ball with his hands (as in volleyball) until he has had experience with its weight and momentum. Don’t let a newcomer play very long the first time, because the game uses muscles not ordinarily kept exercised, tending to result in a discouraging soreness unless they are broken in gradually. Limit interference at the net to the hands; do not intentionally use either the feet or knees. Don’t ever take one’s eyes off the ball, even when it is in the hands of one’s own side, because getting hit unexpectedly by it is likely to produce unpleasant consequences.