Spikeball is a type of game that offers a mix of fun and workouts for people of all ages. The sport, which was invented by Jeff Knurek in 1989, has now improved, becoming well-recognized by a lot of people across the country. For instance, according to a study, there are more than 1 million Roundnet or Spikeball players in the US alone, as of 2016.
Apart from the US, Spikeball is also played in several other countries in the world. According to the official Spikeball website, more than 4 million people currently play the Roundnet game from across the globe. Other popular countries where the game is played include Belgium and Canada.
What are the countries that play the Spikeball game? Is roundnet played across the globe? Is Spikeball popular on other continents? Read on to find answers to these frequently asked questions and more.
What Countries Play Spikeball?
Before going ahead to address the question, let me start by briefly talking about the history of Spikeball.
A Brief History of Spikeball
As earlier mentioned, Roundnet was created by Jeff Knurek, an American toymaker, cartoonist, and industrial designer. After inventing Roundnet, Knurek marketed it for a couple of years using Tomy, a Japanese entertainment company that makes children’s toys.
After some years of failing to continuously market Roundnet, the game began to fade away slowly until people started to forget about it.
In 2004, the story began to change for Roundnet when Chris Ruder, the CEO of Spikeball Inc. started to show interest in the game. After a lot of research to understand more about the Roundnet game, Chris purchased a trademark for Spikeball at $800. Furthermore, he redesigned the Spikeball equipment, modified the game, and started marketing it.
Today, Spikeball Inc. is the organization that produces the equipment for the game of Roundnet. The company, founded in 2007, has its headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Spikeball is Popular in The US
Let me start by saying that several different countries around the world now play the Spikeball game. However, of all of them, the United States of America has the most Spikeball players.
Since the headquarters of Spikeball Inc. is located in Illinois, USA, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that the country has the most players of the game. This is so because most of the marketing and sales of Spikeball equipment are done in the US.
According to research, more than 1 million people play the game of Spikeball in the US alone, as of 2016. I’m sure that will have increased a lot in the past 5 years, as the game has now received a lot of support from high school and college students in the country.
Today, the Spikeball game has grown to feature tournaments all over the US. Most colleges in the country now have teams, who participate in tournaments to know the best Spikeball college team.
Other Countries
As you already know, the root of the Spikeball game can be traced back to Japan. That’s so because the game, initially called Roundnet, was marketed by a Japanese entertainment company – Tomy. Today, Japan is also one of the few countries that play the Spikeball game.
Apart from Japan, another country that plays the game of Roundnet or Spikeball is Belgium.
In Belgium, there are several different Spikeball clubs that you can join to start playing the game professionally. Some of them include Roundnet Gent, Roundnet Leuven, Roundnet Brugge, Roundnet Mechelen, and Roundnet Meetjesland. If you reside in the country, you can always check here to find out more information regarding the game.
That’s not all; Canada is another country that plays the game of Spikeball. In the country, the UBC Spikeball club is one of the most popular clubs out there that you can always join. The UWaterloo Spikeball club is another great place to join.
Furthermore, another country that plays the Spikeball game is Germany. Matter of fact, the official German Roundnet Championship started a couple of years back, 2019 to be precise. The game, which is more of a Tour Series, was designed to include 6 cities in the country.
Other countries that play the game of Roundnet across the world include Denmark, Ireland, Czech, France, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Latvia, Finland, and many more.
Is Spikeball Played Worldwide?
Although Spikeball only came around about a decade ago, it has been able to receive a lot of favors from players from around the world. So, today, the game is played worldwide by people of all ages.
There’s currently no statistic to back up the number of people that play Spikeball across the world. However, according to the official website of Spikeball, more than 4 million people play the Roundnet game worldwide.
Is The Spikeball Game Popular in Other Continents of The World?
As we all know, the game of Roundnet is mostly popular among college and high school students in the US. Some students even learn how to play the game during their PE classes. That’s to show how popular the Spikeball game has become in the United States.
Spikeball has started gaining popularity in Europe, Asia, and Africa. For instance, in Europe, the organization responsible for organizing Spikeball tournaments is the European Roundnet Association. You can always check here if you’re in the continent to find out about Roundnet events near you.
