Students of Francois Langevin have been learning the sport of Kin-Ball this year.
Kin-Ball may not sound familiar to many students.
Langevin said Auburn is one of two universities to offer the sport, the other being Pittsburg State University.
“The sport’s origin is in Quebec, Canada, where I grew up,” Langevin said. “I used to play Kin-Ball when I was younger.”
Langevin said his boss showed him a video of Kin-Ball last fall and asked if he knew anything about the game.
Langevin explained his past experience with the game, and then Auburn decided it would offer the sport.
Langevin then obtained a grant to pay for the equipment.
“The sport is played on two basketball courts at one time, which forms a 70 foot by 70 foot playing surface,” Langevin said. “Three teams of four compete at the same time.”
The first thing a spectator will notice about the game is the large size of the ball.
“Participants play with a 2-pound ball that is 48 inches in diameter,” Langevin said. “The goal is to get the other teams to drop the ball.”
Langevin explained how a team can score points.
“Three members of a team line up and make contact with the ball forming a sort of tee,” Langevin said. “Then, the other member of the team will shout out ‘Ominkin’ and then the color of a team before hitting it toward that team.”
Then, Langevin said, the goal is to keep the ball in the air by any means possible.
“You can kick, catch, slide or bounce it off your body or teammate,” Langevin said. “If the ball drops, however, the other two teams receive one point.”
The game is played for three periods of 15 minutes, Langevin said.
Andrew Parker, a sophomore in radio, television and film, said he took the class because he needed the hours.
“I needed 12 hours, and this was one of the only classes still available,” Parker said. “I looked it up on YouTube, and it looked like a lot of fun, so I signed up.”
Parker said Kin-Ball matches are intense, especially toward the end of the match.
“The scoring stays really close,” Parker said. “There is never one team that is far ahead. The last minute of every game usually decides the match.”
Zachary Simpson, a senior in chemistry, said, like other students, he just needed a class.
“The majority of us didn’t really know what it was when we started,” Simpson said. “It is definitely just as fun as the YouTube videos make it look like.”
Simpson said learning the rules was easy.
“You can pick up the rules in like 30 minutes,” Simpson said. “The hardest part is the sliding.”
Jonathan Hall, a sophomore in chemistry, said he decided to take the class not only because he needed the hours, but also because the class sounded easy.
“After watching the videos, it seemed like an easy A, but it is more work than I thought,” Hall said. “I want to take this class again.”
Hall said the pace of the game made it more difficult than what he was expecting.
“Setting up with three people is hard, because you have to do it so fast,” Hall said. “It is a really fast-paced game.”
Hall said sliding is a good technique, but it is not one he enjoys using.
“I tried to slide once because I really wanted to win,” Hall said. “The ground hits back hard. I didn’t try sliding again.”
