History – RoundNet HQ

Roundnet, commercially called Spikeball, is a physical sport that offers tons of physical and health benefits to its players. It utilizes the concept of volleyball. For instance, the game only requires two key pieces of equipment; a net and a ball. The roundnet game was invented by an American cartoonist, Jeff Knurek. However, the game was commercially named Spikeball by Chris Ruder, the CEO of Spikeball Inc., a company that primarily produces equipment for roundnet. The headquarters of the company is located in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. How long has Spikeball been a sport? Where exactly did spikeball start? Who invented the game spikeball? As you read through the rest of this post, you'll find answers to these frequently asked questions and more. How Long Has Spikeball Been a Sport? In case you don't know, "roundnet" is the original name of the game and Spikeball is just the commercial name. Spikeball is a type of competitive and physical sport that utilizes the concept of "volleyball" and "four square" to deliver a mix of fun and workouts to its players. The game primarily requires two teams with two players each to play. To address that, I'll start by saying the roundnet game has been in existence for approximately 32 years. However, for you to better understand how long Spikeball has been around, let's quickly talk about the history of the sport. History of Roundnet The game of roundnet came into existence, all thanks to Jeff Knurek. According to the American cartoonist, he was only doing his job when he invented the roundnet game in 1989. In an interview, Knurek said that he didn't create the sport because it was an assignment given to him at work. Instead, the volleyball-inspired sport was one of the many game ideas he came up with. In 1989, after Knurek invented the game, he contacted Tomy, a Japanese company that manufactures children's toys to market roundnet. At first, things looked like they were working for the game. It was able to gain some popularity in the first six years of the invention. However, because of the lack of social media and other media tools to help spread the word across the world, roundnet started fading away until people stopped talking about it. The Revival of Roundnet Chris Ruder is the founder and CEO of Spikeball Inc., an American sports company that manufactures and sells equipment for the roundnet game. He was introduced to the game while on vacation in Hawaii with his brother and friends. Chris found the roundnet game interesting and after getting home from the short vacation, he decided to do a little research to know more about the game. After discovering that roundnet wasn't patented, he made a move and got a patent for the game at $800. In 2008, Chris started the Spikeball company with $100,000. He was able to raise the money from his own pockets and five of his friends. And since then, the company has been the one marketing roundnet. There's no denying that the roundnet game has been in existence since three decades ago. Spikeball has only been a popular and generally played sport for 13 years. Where Did Spikeball Start? As previously mentioned, the roundnet game was created by Knurek. He created the game but was only able to market it through the Japanese entertainment company - Tomy. However, due to the lack of social media to help spread the word "roundnet" across several different countries in the world, the game faded away in the mid-1990s. The name Spikeball was given to roundnet by Chris Ruder and other people, who worked together to revive the game in 2003. Currently, the company that produces the roundnet equipment and supplies it across the world is Spikeball Inc. and it's located in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Who Invented The Game Spikeball? The American cartoonist, toymaker, and industrial designer, Jeff Knurek, is the person behind the invention of the Spikeball game. When asked in an interview what his thoughts were when he created the sport, Knurek mentioned that he was only doing his job. Here's what the American toymaker said in response to the question below: "I was just trying to do my job and create a cool game. When it came together, I knew it was something special." Furthermore, the American toymaker said he knew roundnet was going to become popular someday because the rules and equipment of the game are simple. "As I played it, I knew that the rules and equipment were so simple that it could, and should, be a hit. But the early '90s didn't have the social media and ability to spread the word about things like the world has now." The bottom line is, Jeff Knurek is the one that invented the roundnet game. However, as a result of the lack of publicity and marketing tools, the game couldn't gain enough popularity at the time of the first invention. The sport was reinvented and redesigned in 2007 by Chris Ruder, the CEO of Spikeball Inc, making some changes to the rules of the game. Wrapping up Where was Spikeball invented? The game, originally called roundnet, was invented by Jeff Knurek in the late 1980s but introduced by the Japanese company, Tomy, in the year 1990. However, Spikeball was reinvented by Chris Ruder in 2007 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.