GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (dpa) – It’s a hen party with a difference; young women in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are running around with their torsoes inside inflated plastic balls.
The eight women are taking part in a new sport which has taken off in recent years: Bubble ball.
The transparent balls are a bit like the oversized rings that children can climb inside and roll around in on swimming pools, only much bigger.
They have a big hole in the middle. Getting your head and upper body inside is a little tricky; slowly the girls pull the balls on, using two handles to help, until they’re standing with the balls down to their thighs.
And now for the game, which is much like a normal game of football, with two teams, red and blue, trying to score goals at either end of an indoor football field.
Bubble ball was invented in Scandinavia, but has since spread across Europe and North America.
Companies like Yunaball in Germany will deliver the balls direct to customers.
Two women collide while playing bubble ball. PHOTOS: DPA
Two teams of four women apiece line up for a group photo at the Sportpark of Gelsenkirchen, Germany
The inflated plastic balls are held by two shoulder straps
“We lend out the balls and then supervise the games,” says Nassrat Azizzadah.
Games can be played outdoors as well as indoors.
The sport arrived in Gelsenkirchen in Germany’s west a year ago.
“At the beginning of 2015 we stocked up again and opened a second playing field,” says the sports centre’s Jens Haltermann.
Bubble ball is particularly popular in the winter, when school classes, company parties, groups of friends and hen and stag parties book the equipment.
“Two defenders behind, two strikers in front,” calls one of the players, as the eight women start getting competitive.
Clumsily, as if clad in mascot costumes, they run over the field, laughing as they bump into each other.
“It looks pretty silly,” says one of the friends who has stayed on the sidelines to take photos.
It isn’t really important to the group who scores the most goals, they just want to have fun together.
It’s not 100 per cent harmless, despite the cushioning. You can in fact injure ankles and feet while playing bubble ball. When the girls fall over after a tackle, they lie on their backs like beetles, unable to get up again.
In fact you’re just as likely to injure yourself in bubble ball as in a real game of football, warns Ingo Froboese, a professor at the German Sport University Cologne.
“The danger of falling over is a lot greater, and uncontrolled movements can be really dangerous for your legs,” he warns.
After 10 minutes of playing time, the women have already broken a sweat and need a break.
“It’s quite exhausting and hot inside,” says the future bride’s sister. “When you really run it’s hard to breathe.”
The balls, which weigh around 15kg, press down on the shoulders and restrict upper body and leg movement.
Only now and then when celebrating a goal do you see a few jubilant arms waving out of the opening at the top.
So is bubble ball really a sport?
“Absolutely,” says Froboese. “But it’s not a real workout.” Rather it’s a trend in sport with a ‘fun factor’,” he says.
Lena Burggraf of Germany’s Bubble Football Association (DBF Bund) disagrees.
“It might not be a recognised sport, but we still play professionally,” she insists.
Championships have already been played in some German states and next year 24 nations are due to play in a bubble football world cup in Asia.
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