Gah Gah for Ga-ga Ball!

Thursday, May 26th, 2016

Gah Gah for Ga-ga Ball!
 
If you haven’t heard of Ga-ga Ball before you are in for quite a treat!  At Camp Birch Hill our campers and staff have an absolute ball playing this game.  Whether it’s between breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can almost always head to the Ga-ga Pit for a round with all your friends.  Ga-ga is a high-speed, high-energy game, dubbed a, “kinder, gentler version of dodge-ball.”  Instead of using a court, players stand inside an octagon and play till there’s only one player left standing in the pit.  The game’s origin dates back to the 60’s where the game was first played by the Australian Jewish community in Perth, Australia. The name “ga-ga” means bounce bounce in Hebrew.  Gaga is a lot of fun, it’s quick and addicting so don’t be surprised if you’re a parent of a camper and your children come home asking to get a Ga-ga pit for the backyard!
  
We cannot wait for camp to start this summer so we can jump in the Ga-ga Pit for a round with our camp friends.  
 
These are the rules:
 
– All Players start with one hand touching a wall of the pit.
 
– The game begins with a referee throwing the ball into the center of the pit.
 
– When the ball enters the pit, the players scream “GA” for the first two bounces, and “BALL” on the third bounce, after which the ball is in action.
 
– Once the ball is in play, any player can hit the ball when an open or closed hand.
 
– If a ball touches a player below the knee (even if the player hits himself or herself) he or she is out and leaves the pit.  If a player is hit above the knees, the play continues.
 
– If a ball is caught on a fly, the player who hit the ball is out.
 
– Using the walls of the octagon to aid in jumping is legal as long as the player does not permanently sit on the ledge of the octagon.
 
– Players cannot hold the ball.
 
– If needed a second ball can be thrown in the pit to expedite the end of the game.  The last player standing is the winner of that round.
 
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