VX
Highest governing bodyGlobal VX
NicknamesSuper fun Sport
First played2006
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team membersSingles (V2), Doubles (V4), 1v1v1 (V3), Team (5v5 - VX)
Mixed-sexyes
TypeHand sport, Ball sport, Team sport
Equipmentlow pressure, low impact VX ball; VstiX

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[1] to cater for its international development.

VX has continued to be popular in schools in the UK [2] and is now being adopted by universities,[3] colleges, youth organisations,[4][5][6] Street Games and the military.[7] 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 gender-neutral sport.[8] 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 British Isles. 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,[9] and saw the establishment of an international federation and eleven national governing bodies[10]

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.

In August 2017 VX gained international recognition as a sport at the General Assembly of the Sport Recognised Association.

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 US, 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)

  1. Joe Willis
  2. Scott Snowdon
  3. Carl Alsop
  4. Tom Hildreth
  5. Matty Horsfield
  6. Tom Burgess
  7. Lena Fowles
  8. Jess Porter
  9. Chris Town
  10. Iona Freeborn

Current v2 National Rankings, England (youth)

  1. Oliver Stocks
  2. Jak Foster
  3. Andrew Davidson
  4. Henry Pittham
  5. Jhapin Shahi
  6. Becca Fram
  7. Cain Branton
  8. Patrick Cavanagh
  9. Trinity Benson
  10. Will Seabourne
  11. Emma Fram
  12. Ellie Bowman

Current v2 National Rankings, England (junior)

  1. Jonathon Ward
  2. Toby Helferrich
  3. Matthew Ayre
  4. Charlie Fram
  5. Ed Pharaoh
  6. Antonia Evans
  7. Ellie Torrens-Burton
  8. Edward Dobbs
  9. Tom Griffiths
  10. Sam Griffiths
  11. Jamie Pritchard

Current v2 National Rankings, England (masters)

  1. Andrew Foster
  2. Leigh Branton
  3. Karen Bruin
  4. Jill Stocks
  5. Karen Evans
  6. Ricky Gibson

Current v2 European Rankings (senior)

  1. Carl Alsop (England)
  2. Joe Willis (England)
  3. Tom Hildreth (England)
  4. Dan Raper (England)
  5. James Foster (England)
  6. Jess Porter (England)
  7. Dan Shuker (England)
  8. Egoitz Campo Gonzalez (Basque Country)
  9. Scott Snowdon (England)

Current v2 European Rankings (youth)

  1. Oliver Stocks (England)
  2. Becca Fram (England)
  3. Andrew Davidson (England)
  4. Cain Branton (England)
  5. Patrick Cavanagh (England)

Current v2 European Rankings (masters)

  1. Leigh Branton (England)
  2. Karen Bruin (England)
  3. Jill Stocks (England)
  4. Widen (Basque Country)

Current v2 World Rankings (senior)

  1. Scott Snowdon (England)
  2. Tom Hildreth (England)
  3. Carl Alsop (England)
  4. Matty Horsfield (England)
  5. Charlie Ford (England)
  6. Joe Willis (England)
  7. Dan Raper (England)
  8. Dan Shuker (England)
  9. Tom Burgess(England)
  10. Jess Porter (England)
  11. Chris Town (England)
  12. Iona Freeborn (Scotland)
  13. Léna Fowles (England)
  14. Frances Tse (Hong Kong)
  15. Lai Ka Wan (Hong Kong)
  16. Laddi Bhardwaj (India)
  17. Lai Ka Wan (Hong Kong)
  18. Harish Kumar (India)
  19. Sharng (India)
  20. Laddi Bhardwaj (India)
  21. Osman Wong (Hong Kong)
  22. Natalie Chan (Hong Kong)
  23. Ching Nam Choy (Hong Kong)
  24. Kagf Lam (Hong Kong)
  25. Rahul (India)

v2 World Rankings (Youth)

  1. Becca Fram (England)
  2. Andrew Davidson (England)
  3. Oliver Stocks (England)
  4. Jak Foster (England)
  5. Cain Branton (England)
  6. Jhapin Shahi (England) and winner of the Cornerstones AWard
  7. Parminder Singh (India)
  8. Ellie Bowman (England)
  9. Henry Pittham (England)
  10. Patrick Cavanagh (England)
  11. Matthew So (Hong Kong)
  12. Emma Fram (England)
  13. Trinity Benson (England)
  14. Tsz Yan Lai (Hong Kong)
  15. Shyamkin (India)
  16. Samant (India)
  17. Leah Drake (England)
  18. Yoyo Chan (Hong Kong)
  19. Sonia Lau (Hong Kong)
  20. Karamjot Singh (India)

v2 World Rankings (Masters)

  1. Leigh Branton (England)
  2. Karen Bruin (England)
  3. Andrew Foster (England)
  4. Jill Stocks (England)
  5. Sewa Singh (India)
  6. Karen Evans (England)
  7. Suman Shankar Tiwari (India)
  8. Ricky Gibson (England)
  9. Gurmukh Singh (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 [13][14] 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)
2017: Person of the Year: Alessandro Foglino (Italy)
2018: Person of the Year: Dr Suman Shankar Tiwari (India)
2019: Person of the Year: Osman Wong (Hong Kong)
2020: Person of the Year: No awards made due to Covid
2021: Person of the Year: Carl Alsop (England)
2022: Person of the Year: Dan Shuker (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, Tom Hildreth, Craig Buttery) 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.

External awards

As the sport has grown its impact has started to be recognised by external bodies:

Ambassadors and patrons

The role of Official VX Ambassador was originally taken by Olympic Diver Jack Laugher.[25]
The latest Global VX Ambassador is Natalie Chan from Hong Kong.
VX's first patron is trail blade runner Phil Sheridan. The latest patron is Sylvia Grice MBE, a member of Ripon Lions.
The patron of VX Kenya is Mr Cosmas Nabungolo
The patron of VX Uganda is Mr Isaac Ssekamwa

UK clubs

Denmark Clubs

Uganda Clubs

Centres of Excellence and academies

Centres of Excellence and coaching academies are being established.


Statistics

2012 The Sport Becomes VX

References

  1. ^ Leeds Today 2012 television programme, Leeds Trinity College, Leeds August 8
  2. ^ BBC Breakfast 2012 television programme, BBC, Harrogate November 3
  3. ^ Hill L. (2014, March 4)The VX Phenomenon Nouse: The University of York Student Newspaper
  4. ^ Top 10 for 2011 (2010, Dec) Scouting p46
  5. ^ Mennell B (2009). The History of Easingwold Air Cadets pp110-114
  6. ^ Kidd, Ray (2014). Horizons. The History of the Air Cadets. Barnsley: Pen And Sword. pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-1-848-846-54-8.
  7. ^ Buttery C. (2011) Rock-it-Ball - 'The Sport that Unites Club Swinger
  8. ^ Hildreth P. and Mackenzie H. (2015) These Girls Can - and Do! VX and Gender Equality Physical Education Matters 10 (3) pp32-35
  9. ^ Government Business (2010): Rock-It-Ball - the Fastest Growing Sport in the World. Government Business. Volume 17, Number 8. pp. 62–63
  10. ^ Nieć P. (2011): Rock-It-Ball - Gra Zespołowa z Elementami Edukacji Olimpijskiej. Unpublished Dissertation, Poznan University, 2011
  11. ^ Bushell, Mike (2013). Bushell's Best Bits. London: John Blake. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-78219-012-7.
  12. ^ Skizzy 2013 television programme, Uganda TV, Kampala February
  13. ^ VX: Spreading Like Bushfire (2014, Jan 1)New Vision p37
  14. ^ Game On 2012 television programme, Urban TV, Kampala December 27
  15. ^ Rock-it duo over the moon at Olympic call to arms(2011, Dec 16) York Press
  16. ^ Lighting the way - Ripon's own Olympic torchbearers (2011, Dec 16) Ripon Gazette
  17. ^ Rockiteers to Carry the Olympic Torch (2011, Dec 24) Easingwold Advertiser and Weekly News
  18. ^ Local Heroes are honoured at Minster FM Awards Ceremony (2013, Feb 18) York Press
  19. ^ Award for HellCats (2013, Feb 23) Easingwold Advertiser and Weekly News
  20. ^ Easi Make an Impact at Awards Ceremony (2013, Oct 12) Easingwold Advertiser and Weekly News
  21. ^ Easi Make an Impact at Awards Ceremony (2013, Oct 12) Easingwold Advertiser and Weekly News
  22. ^ Easi Make an Impact at Awards Ceremony (2013, Oct 12) Easingwold Advertiser and Weekly News
  23. ^ Hoops Heroes: VX’s Paul Hildreth – “his dedication and drive are amazing”(2018, Jan 24) http://hoopsapp.co/hoops-heroes-vxs-paul-hildreth-dedication-drive-amazing/
  24. ^ Orfi Heroes: Paul Hildreth – “it's impressive what he's built, an entire sport from scratch”(2019, Jan 15) https://www.orfiactive.com/post/orfi-heroes-paul-hildreth
  25. ^ "Jack plans to make waves in new role as VX Ambassasdor". Ripon Gazette. October 10, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  26. ^ "Stillington rock into VX Futures". York Press. September 14, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  27. ^ "Timothy rockets to glory in first VX African Nations Cup". York Press. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  28. ^ Hawks are champions (2013, August 7) Scunthorpe Telegraph
  29. ^ "Tom Hildreth dominates at V2 World Cup". York Press. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  30. ^ "Now it's a World Title for Scunthorpe". Scunthorpe Independent News. August 21, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-29.

External links

Photos

Timothy Malingha, first V2 African Nations Champion who won the inaugural tournament in 2012 and went on to retain his title in 2013
Tom Hildreth in action against Scott Snowdon in the 2013 V2 World Cup Final. Tom became the first player to retain the title
V2 Youth World Champion Tom Brown (in red) in action against Liam Leckenby in the 2013 V2 Youth World Cup Final
External Awards 2012: VX player Tom Hildreth who was awarded the honour of being an Olympic Torchbearer as a direct result of his achievements in the sport and his community work within the sport
External Awards 2012: Helen Mackenzie who was awarded the honour of being an Olympic Torchbearer partly for her work in the sport of VX
External Awards 2013: Easi-RockIts HellCats were awarded Team of the Year by Minster FM in their Local Heroes Awards
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