Spikeball has been making waves over the past several years after the game was featured on the television show “Shark Tank” in 2015, but the history goes back to the 1980s and has evolved over the years as a game sold in stores and one that is involved in tournaments all around the world.
The game is played with with two teams of two, using an orange ball and a small net in the middle. The "net" is actually a mini-trampoline that a player returns the ball onto and smash or "spike" down so the ball bounces back up at the player's partner or opponents. A volleyball spike is similar, and players use their hands as in volleyball ... no rackets required. A player starts by serving onto the net and the ball bounces up where the other team has three hits to return the ball down to the net. If they don’t get three hits or miss the net, the opponent gets a point. The first team to get to 21 points is the winner. There are no boundaries when the ball is in play and often, the players will need to jump or dive for the ball.
Spikeball was conceived in 1989 and has gained steam during the 21st century, gaining a rep as a sport that is fun for all ages. The game, also known as roundball, was created by toymaker Jeff Knurek and marketed by the Japanese entertainment company Tomy, according to Recreation Insider.
The sport's populartity has bounced like a spikeball. There was a small time period between its creation and 1995, in which the game was popular, but then its favor fizzled out. However, the sport was given new life by Spikeball Inc. CEO Chris Ruder.
Ruder said in an interview with Kiplinger that in 2003, he took a trip to Hawaii and his brother’s friends brought a spikeball set along. They set up shop on the beach, and Ruder immediately had an affinity for the game. In subsequent years, Ruder started researching how to market spikeball, and in the process he found that there was no patent on the game and its trademark had expired. He bought a trademark for $800 and got a patent allowing him to make design changes and improve equipment.
Spikeball Inc. was created in 2008, and Ruder’s basement served as the warehouse for the endeavor, as well as his 1998 Subaru Outback, according to spikeball.com.
Ruder told Kiplinger that he and a team of six put together $100,000 to find a manufacturer in China, and they began selling the game. In 2013, the product had $1.3 million in sales, and Ruder was able to make spikeball his number-one priority. He quit his corporate advertising sales job and devoted his full effort to spikeball.
This is where the game really took off in the mainstream world of activity sports. Recreation Insider’s report said that by 2014, retailers as big as Dick’s Sporting Goods started to notice spikeball and asked Ruder if they could carry his products. Then in 2015, Ruder and his team went on “Shark Tank,” where a deal was negotiated with Daymond John for $500,000 with 20% of the company going to John. The deal never closed, but the exposure was already immense, as the show was aired on May 15 of that year.
Since then, the game has been featured by Dude Perfect, who has 38 million YouTube subscribers, as well as on “The Today Show” and in a variety of publications. Other brands started creating their own spikeball equipment, and in an effort to not lose the trademark, Spikeball Inc. became "Roundnet," as the game is played with a round net. It is still commonly referred to as spikeball.
In recent years, the game has been promoted to organizations that enjoyed the game. Ruder said a curriculum was created for gym teachers, and they also hired children to play the game with free sets while at Ultimate Frisbee events. In 2016, a national ranking system was created with more than 2,000 teams.
Mount Vernon connection
According to spikeball.com, there are more than 4 million spikeball players worldwide. Spikeball Inc. has 40 full-time employees, and there are more than 150 tournaments played each year.
Locally, at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, there is a Christian music festival held annually, called SonFest, and in 2021, there were family-friendly games to play throughout the day. This included inflatable games, sand volleyball and spikeball. The university also has a variety of intramural sports that students participate in. One of these includes a spikeball tournament.
Ohio State University offers a Spikeball Club, according to the university website. The club gives people the chance to play and learn the game. There is also a Buckeye Roundnet team that travels to tournaments and competes in the Spikeball College Nationals. Those interested in playing can contact Aaron Costanza at costanza.21@buckeyemail.osu.edu.
Ohio State University’s goalkeeper Peter Van Euwen also lists on the team website that one of his favorite pastimes is to play spikeball with his friends.
The Ohio Roundnet Association holds a collegiate series that involves a national championship. Schools include Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, the Mount Vernon Roundnet Club, Wright State, University of Dayton and Youngstown State.
In addition to organized association events and college competition, spikeball is played in recreation leagues, private clubs, schools and in backyards everywhere.
If you want to set up a Spikeball event, it can be done at the Spikeball Tour Series website. The site says that each year thousands of independent events take place worldwide, and the organization is trying to get them all together so they can be found in one place. The website provides links to set up the spikeball app where you can upload information about the tournament you have created. It also helps with inviting players. This can be done at tournaments.spikeball.com. Official rules can also be found on the tournamants page.
For recreational use, spikeball can be found at locations including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, Cabela’s and Walmart.
