The Next Game of Trashball is scheduled for:

Time:
Sunday, October 17th, 2:30pm
Location:
The Field of Dao, Nicholas Senn High School
[5900 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660]

Who can play? Who can I bring?
Anyone who wants to! Anyone you want!

What do I wear?
Layers, long pants. You’ll be walking through alleyways and also running around a field. It will be early autumn. You will be remembering the thrill of breathlessness, falling in love with the unquestioning resilience of your fragile human flesh. You will feel alive.

Do I bring anything?
Some gloves, cleaning supplies and duct tape will be provided. But if you have any of the following, they are useful items to have for trashball:

  • Gloves

  • Sanitizing products

  • Tape Measure

  • Classic Little League snacks: orange slices, fruit rollups, ding-dongs, let’s remember youth.

the rules and parameters of trashball as they currently stand:

Trashball is a chaos trash game played wherever there is cool trash to be had. It should take between 90-120 minutes from start to finish, but more time may be necessary for orange slices and fruit roll-ups and stuff.

Before the Game:
The organizer of the Trashball game must ensure the procurement of the following:

  • A ball of any kind

  • Disinfecting and cleaning supplies

  • Water

  • First-Aid kit

  • 4 rolls of Duct Tape

  • 2 Tape Measures

  • A Ceremonial Melon

The organizer must designate or act as a “Dumpire” who is responsible for administrating the game and enforcing rules.

At the start of the game, the Dumpire creates a method of random team selection (teams may not be drafted) and divides the players into two teams, although alternative rules may permit three to seven teams.

Phase 1: Rummaging
Once teams are selected, they will have 20 minutes to scour the nearby area for discarded items. Safety and cleanliness should be kept in mind during this phase. Each team can bring back as much as they would like. It’s great to have a car or a shopping cart. Only items collected in this phase will be permitted to touch the ball during play.

Each team must bring back their own goal. The goal must be a container or other object capable of creating a horizontal goal zone. The width of the ball on its longest side is used to measure the size of the goal. Each team will start the match with points added or subtracted based on the size of the goal they bring back.

Phase 2: Preparation
Before the game, each team will be given 15 minutes to clean and prepare their discarded items for use in the game. Duct Tape must be provided to fix or adapt items or to construct contraptions.

The Dumpire must examine items for sharp edges or any safety issues and may ban dangerous items or extend the preparation phase until they are made safe. Each player has a right to examine these items and ask the Dumpire that they be removed or adjusted for safety.

Phase 3: The Game
Nobody knows how big or what shape a Trashball arena is supposed to be. The organizer and Dumpire must intuit, spiritually, where a game of Trashball should be played and where the bounds are to be placed.

Trashball is played in three rounds of seven minutes. The clock is stopped when the ball goes out of bounds. A point is scored when the ball breaches the plane of the opposing team’s goal.

Neither team may touch the ball with anything other than discarded items procured during the 30 minute gathering phase. The ball may not be carried, although it may be bounced, if the ball is capable of bouncing. Neither team may kick the ball unless they have fashioned footwear or a footwear extension from discarded items, and said creation must be ruled by the Dumpire to be “a contraption.”

When the ball goes out of the field of play, the clock is stopped and the Dumpire chooses how the ball will re-enter the situation.

After the first two thirds of the game, a 10-minute break must be taken, which is referred to as “Two-Thirds Time. After this break the teams will switch sides and trade discarded items to play the remaining third. At the end of the final third, the team with the highest score number is declared the winner and everybody’s like “okay I gotta go” or “we can go back to my place and watch the Matrix Reloaded?”