Introduction and Rules

[Lisa]

Jugger

Jugger is a sport that was inspired from the 1989 movie The Salute of the Jugger, released in the USA as The Blood of Heroes. The original transformation of the movie game into a real sport was done in two places of Germany and, independently, in the USA. Soon Australia joined the Juggers.

Jugger as sport is gaining popularity in Germany, especially with university and college teams, with its own league. There are teams in Australia, Ireland, England, Denmark, Spain and Costa Rica. A variation is played in the USA. And now we want to add the Netherlands to the list!

Equipment

The skull (German: Jugg or Schädel): The "ball".

The "Mal": A cell foam mat with a hole in it as the goal for the ball.

The "Pompfen": There are strict regulations on the length of the Pompfen and amount of padding used. They vary in type for different countries.

German-style weapons:
A staff, 180cm in length, thrusting is not allowed(!)
A Q-Tip, 200cm in length, double-ended, thrusting is allowed
A longsword, 140cm in length, thrusting is allowed
A short sword and shield, short sword 85cm in length, thrusting is allowed; padded shield, 60cm in diameter
A chain, 320cm in length
These are the ones we will also be using for our training in Amsterdam. The chains and shields are still in construction.

A team is composed of the following:
One runner: An unarmed player, and the only one allowed to touch the skull
One chain: A player armed with a chain
Three enforcers (German: Pompfer): Armed with their choice of weapons (except chain). May handle the skull with their weapons.

Rules

The goal is to score more points than your opponents within a time limit.
These time limits are counted by a regular beat on a drum amounting to about two seconds to every beat.
A game is usually divided into 3 sets of 100 "stones/beats" each.

The game itself is played with two teams of five.There can only ever be one chain per team at one time. The same goes for the runner.

The field itself is rectangular with two Mals at either end in the form of a foam square with a depression to receive the Jugg.

Each round starts with a count down from 3 and both teams run to the middle of the field in order to be the first to pick up the Jugg and get a chance to score.

When both lines reach the centre of the field the players try to "tap" each other out. This is done by lightly tapping the opponent with a legal surface of your weapon on a legal body part.
This means anywhere below the neck above the wrists. Do Not Hit The Head Or Crotch!! If you are hit be the opponent in the head or crotch (Let's assume by accident) you may ignore the hit (if you can) and continue fighting.
If both players tap each other at the same time, or indiscernibly close, both players are considered hit and go down.

When a player is tapped out they drop to the ground with one knee touching the ground. If they have been hit by a staff or other Pompfen, they stay down for five beats. If they have been hit by a chain, they are down for eight beats. The count begins when the knee hits the ground and while the player may move to retrieve a weapon they must return to where they were hit before they start playing.

While they are down another player may "pin" them by holding their staff on them, a chain player may not do this. When the weapon is removed you must wait two beats (or more, if there are still beats left from the initial hit) before joining the game again.

The purpose of all this is to break a hole in the opposite line and allow the runner a chance to score. Once a runner scores both teams reset to either end of the field, the Jugg is placed in the center again and the victorious team is awarded the point.