Highest governing body Global VX First played 2006 Mixed gender yes | Nicknames Super fun Sport Contact No | |
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Team members Singles (V2), Doubles (V4), 1v1v1 (V3), Team (5v5 - VX) | ||
VX, originally Rock-It-Ball, is a ball sport from the UK. It evolved in North Yorkshire (Great Britain) and was launched in February 2006 at the Youth Sport Trust's Sports Colleges Conference. The sport was continually developed by the International Federation and in 2012 the Federation approved a move by the worldwide membership to rename the sport VX to cater for its international development.
Contents
- History
- Rules
- Versions
- Current v2 National Rankings England senior
- Current v2 National Rankings England youth
- Current v2 National Rankings England junior
- Current v2 National Rankings England masters
- Current v2 European Rankings senior
- Current v2 World Rankings senior
- v2 World Rankings Youth
- v2 World Rankings Masters
- Federation
- Hall of Fame
- Legends
- Ambassadors and Patrons
- UK clubs
- Centres of Excellence and Academies
- Statistics
- References
VX has continued to be popular in schools in the UK and is now being adopted by universities, colleges, youth organisations, Street Games and the military. It is also attracting interest from the Prison Service and Primary Care Trusts. It now has a foothold in 25 countries of which 15 have National Governing Bodies(NGBs).
VX is a totally gender-neutral sport. Males and females play on a totally equal footing in all disciplines and at all levels. It is also accessible to players of all abilities. It is not an adaptation of any single sport however there are elements of several sports including dodgeball, lacrosse, basque pelota and hockey.
History
The sport, originally known as Rock-It-Ball, is a ball sport which originated from the UK. It evolved in North Yorkshire (Great Britain) and was officially launched at the Youth Sport Trust's Sports Colleges Conference in February 2006.
Rock-It-Ball spread through schools in the UK. It featured on four of the Youth Sport Trust’s programmes, began to be played regularly in 17 countries, and saw the establishment of an international federation and eleven national governing bodies
Over time the international administrative body had taken the original game and further developed and extended it, setting up a full sports infrastructure. In 2012, in order to cater for the international growth, the sport was rebranded by the international community to VX. All the clubs and NGBs followed suit and now all leagues, tournaments and international competitions are under the VX banner.
Rules
VX is played by two teams of five players. The court is roughly the size of a sports hall with four badminton courts. In the USA, basketball courts are used. Each player uses a VstiX. This is made up of a control bar and a thrower/catcher at each end. Players are not restricted to a certain area but can go anywhere on court. They must dribble by rock-ing the ball between the two ends, or by using one end of the VstiX to bounce the ball on the floor. Five balls are in play. One point is scored by hitting an opponent with the ball between the shoulders and the feet. Three points are scored by catching an opponent's thrown ball. When a player is hit (s)he must stand still, raise a hand and look to the referee. The referee records the point and tells the player to play on. The referee is assisted by two umpires positioned on the opposite side of the court. The role of the umpires is simply to look for infringements. All infringements incur a three-point penalty. Violence results in ejection from the game and disciplinary action. Examples of infringements are:
Formal matches consists of four quarters each of which lasts four minutes.
Versions
As part of the development of VX, the International Federation introduced Singles (V2), a 1v1v1 (V3) version and Doubles (V4)
The new versions were created by the International Federation to develop the sport and provide individuals with an opportunity to set up clubs more easily.
Current v2 National Rankings, England (senior)
- Scott Snowdon
- Tom Hildreth
- Will Charters-Reid
- Carl Alsop
- Tom Burgess
- Matty Horsfield
- Neil Young
- Dan Shuker
- Philippa Fowles
- Jess Leech
Current v2 National Rankings, England (youth)
- Matthew Leyshon
- Jess Porter
- Ethan Eldridge
- Joe Willis
- Andrew Davidson
- Jack Wells
- Archie Bell
- Leah Drake
- Thomas Snowdon
- Ben Stephens
Current v2 National Rankings, England (junior)
- Henry Pittham
- Oliver Stocks
- Martin Ayre
- Matthew Ayre
- Jhapin Shahi
- John Durkin
- Samuel Eldridge
- Ewan Gilmore
- Cain Branton
- Abbie Webster
Current v2 National Rankings, England (masters)
- Paul Hildreth
- Leigh Branton
- Karen Bruin
- Dave Snowdon
- Ricky Gibson
Current v2 European Rankings (senior)
- Tom Hildreth (England)
- Scott Snowdon (England)
- James Foster (England)
- Diego Venturini (Italy)
- De Maria (Italy)
- Arosio (Italy)
- Pastore (Italy)
- Egoitz Campo Gonzalez (Basque Country)
- Riboni (Italy)
- Daniel Santos (Basque Country)
- Galli (Italy)
- Martel Martinez (Basque Country)
Current v2 World Rankings (senior)
- Scott Snowdon (England)
- Tom Hildreth (England)
- Tom Brown (England)
- Carl Alsop (England)
- Matty Horsfield (England)
- Charlie Ford (England)
- Jess Leech (England)
- Pawan Kumar (India)
- Tom Burgess (England)
- Dan Shuker (England)
- Lena Fowles (England)
- Jakob Davidsen (Denmark)
- Sahil Tiwari (India)
- Harsimran Kaur Sohi (India)
- Gurkiran Kaur Sohi (India)
- Laddi Bhardwaj (India)
v2 World Rankings (Youth)
- Kane Duncan (England)
- Jess Porter (England) (and winner of the Cornerstones Award)
- Archie Bell (England)
- Oliver Stocks (England)
- Chris Town (England)
- Miles Cottrell (England)
- Dom Lockwood (England)
- Jack Wells (England)
- Ethan Eldridge (England)
- Jhapin Shahi (England)
- Clarice Bruin (England)
- Leah Drake (England)
v2 World Rankings (Masters)
- Paul Hildreth (England)
- Andrew Foster (England)
- Leigh Branton (England)
- Karen Bruin (England)
- Tony Notarianni (USA)
- Lee Cottrell (England)
- Devinder Singh Kohli (India)
- Jill Stocks (England)
- Sewa Singh (India)
- Gurmukh Singh (India)
- Suman Shankar Tiwari (India)
Federation
The International Federation was established in December 2006 but changed its name to Global VX when the sport was rebranded in 2012. Global VX administers the sport on a global basis, assists with the establishment and running of NGBs and organises international competition. Global VX also runs the annual rules committee which takes place every January.
Global VX also has an awards programme. The annual 'Executive' Awards recognise the work of volunteers in the sport. 'The Person of the Year' Award is awarded to an outstanding volunteer who has done exceptional work to promote and develop the sport. The 'Person of the Year' and the Executive Awards are announced annually on Dec 31st
2010: Person of the Year: Conrad Broughton (England)
2011: Person of the Year: Matti Chasan Bergstein (Denmark)
2012: The first Person of the Year since the sport was rebranded: VX Uganda. Unusually, the award did not go to one individual but was presented to VX Uganda as a body to recognise the work and effort that had been made by several people to grow the sport in Africa
2013: Person of the Year: Eric Clark (Ripon Lions) & John Sheepy (Boroughbridge Lions)
2014: Person of the Year: Tony Notarianni (USA)
2015: Person of the Year: Dr Suman Shankar Tiwari (India)
2016: Person of the Year: Matty Horsfield (England)
Hall of Fame
Any member affiliated to Global VX (e.g. player, coach, administrator) can nominate any other affiliated member who they consider to have made an outstanding contribution to the sport. Any nominee with three nominations passes to the next stage for voting by the committee. The Hall of Fame Awards generally takes place every two years. In 2010 the voting committee felt unable to differentiate between the 3 nominees who reached the voting stage and so, as an exception, voted to induct all three. In 2008 the founders of the original sport (Paul Hildreth, Paul Law, Bob Eldridge) were honoured by inducting them into the newly established Hall of Fame.
Legends
The 'Legends' Award and Gallery is reserved for players who have reached an outstanding level of achievement. This award was instigated in 2012 as a direct result of the achievements of Scotland's Scott MacMichael and is not intended to be an annual honour.
Ambassadors and Patrons
The role of Official VX Ambassador has been taken by Olympic Diver Jack Laugher.
VX's first patron is trail blade runner Phil Sheridan. The latest patron is Sylvia Grice MBE, a member of Ripon Lions.
UK clubs
Centres of Excellence and Academies
Centres of Excellence and Coaching Academies are in the process of being established.
Statistics
2012 The Sport Becomes VX