Spikeball is, no doubt, one of the fastest-growing sports across the world. The game utilizes the elements of Volleyball and Four Square to provide its players with tons of fun and workouts. In the US and several other countries in North America and Europe, there are several different organized tournaments for Spikeball players.
For instance, in Europe, one of the tournaments organized for Spikeball players is the European Roundnet Championship. Spikeball is yet to be listed for the Olympics however, with the rate at which the sport is gaining popularity across the world there’s a big chance that it’ll be listed sooner or later.
Is Spikeball’s popularity rising in the world? Is there any chance of Spikeball being in the Olympics someday? How soon will the Spikeball game become an Olympic sport? These are the burning questions that you will find answers to as you read through the rest of this article.
Is Spikeball’s Popularity Rising in The World?
A Brief History of Roundnet
The Roundnet game was invented by Jeff Knurek in 1989. In case you don’t know, Knurek is an American toymaker and industrial designer. After successfully creating the game, the toymaker marketed it through Tomy – a Japanese entertainment company that usually makes toys for children. With the marketing campaign employed by Knurek, round et was able to gain some popularity in the early 1990s.
However, due to a couple of reasons like “outdated equipment for the game”, Knurek and Tomy both were unable to keep up with making roundnet popular. So, that caused the game to fade away slowly over time.
In 2003, things started to change slowly for Roundnet when Chris Ruder, the now CEO of Spikeball Inc. started showing interest in the game. According to Chris’ interview with Kiplinger, the Spikeball CEO started to show interest in roundnet when he and his brother traveled alongside two other friends to Hawaii, who came with their old roundnet set.
Furthermore, Chris did a lot of research to understand more about the game and how to bring the sport back to life. He started by purchasing a trademark for the sport at $800. After that, he made some changes to the game’s design and that’s how things started changing for the game.
Spikeball is a Fast-Growing Sport Worldwide
Spikeball’s popularity is indeed rising in the world.
Here’s the thing; Chris Ruder showed interest in the Roundnet game when it faded away, with only a few people talking about it. However, today, the sport has gained a lot of favors from players across the world.
For instance, according to research, more than 1 million people now play the roundnet game in the US alone. Interestingly, this figure was achieved in 2016. Across the world, however, the Spikeball website says more than 4 million players now play the game. You can check below to see some of the continents where the Spikeball game is being played.
Spikeball Inc. has its headquarters located in Illinois, USA. This is one of the reasons why the game is widely played in the US. The game is popular among high school and college students.
In most colleges in the US, Spikeball is usually added to the PE curriculum for students willing to learn the game. Besides, colleges are also allowed to have teams that can represent them in the college tournaments.
Apart from the US, Canada is another North American country that plays the Spikeball game. Today, there are several different roundnet clubs in the country.
Europe is another continent where the Spikeball game is gaining a lot of popularity in recent years. Belgium, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Czech, France, Norway, and Spain, are some of the European countries that play the Roundnet game. That’s not all; Spikeball is also common in Asia (Japan) and Africa (South Africa).
That said, the bottom line is that Spikeball’s popularity is fast rising in the world.
Will Spikeball be in The Olympics Someday?
In case you don’t know, before any sport can be considered for inclusion in the Olympics, it has to meet several different criteria.
According to NPR, here are some of the things that are check before a sport can be included in the Olympics:
- Will the game be adding value to the Olympics’ legacy?
- How popular is the sport worldwide and in the host country?
- How much it would cost to broadcast the events
- Is the game governed by the international sports federation?
- Does it comply with the Olympic Charter as well as the World Anti-Doping Code?
For Spikeball to get listed in the Olympics, it has to meet all the criteria listed above. And as you can see, you’ll agree with me that the sport has already met some of the criteria, such as being popular worldwide. That said, I’m positive that Spikeball will certainly get listed in the Olympics sooner or later.
How Soon Will Spikeball Become an Olympics Sport?
As earlier mentioned, Spikeball will certainly be included in the Olympics someday. How soon the sport will get listed depends on how fast it’s able to meet all the criteria mentioned in the previous section of this post. With the fast-growing rate of the Spikeball game across the world, I’m hoping the sport gets listed in the Olympics in the coming years.