Squamish

[Quincy]

An Explanation of Squamish

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Squamish (or Ditchball) is a ball/contact sport played on a clearly-defined, outdoor square of land. Two teams with anywhere from seven to fourteen members play against each other, trying to place the ball in their goal (a flagged hole), which is located on the opposite end of the playing field and being defended by the opposing team. The spherical ball (or squam) is moved by hand-passing, carrying, and kicking from team-member to team-member.

The game's military roots shine through to present day Squamish, even in children's Tag Squamish games, with the unique way in which the field is littered with thin ditches. While the object of the game is to move the ball past the opposing team's defense and score by placing it in the flagged hole, another object is to knock members of the opposing team into the ditches (terms such as ditching and being ditched will be heard from players and knowledgeable Squamish fans.)

A player who has been ditched whether deliberately or by force can not leave his/her ditch unless one of two things occur: 1) one team scores by landing the squam in the flaghole, freeing all ditched players to start again or 2) grabbing a member of the opposing team and ditching them in their place - in which case they are given opportunity to escape.

A ditched player can pass the ball to a free player, and a free player can pass to a ditched player.

There are penalties imposed when players cause excessive contact with the opposing team.

The victor of the game is determined by which team has scored the most holes by the end of the glass (hourglass.)

Brief History

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Documented evidence of what is possibly the oldest activity resembling Squamish can be found in a military manuel written during the Battle of Pallisade more than half a century ago; played as a guerrilla exercise with more violent variations of the current-day rules, it was originally called Squad Slash due to the use of weapons in the game.

Variations

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Flag or Tag Squamish - Rather than grappling/pushing/tackling, stealing a flag or appropriately tagging a player is a replacement way for ditching an opponent.

Squamish -- Grappling/pushing/tackling with penalties for use of excessive/unnecessary contact/violence/force, elimination for deliberate injuries.

Dirty Squamish - Played without a judge or referee, this is the most violent way that Squamish is played; there is an excessive amount of leniency toward force and contact, where the players make the rules. Dirty Squamish usually results in a great deal of physical pain.

The Squam

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The ball, otherwise known as the squam (in southern parts of the continent it is sometimes called "the hog"), is large and spherical and most commonly made from scraps of cloth and rags, tightly, crudely bound and shaped. Official games sponsoned by nobles and/or royal courts are played with a light, feather-stuffed squam and are often brightly-decorated so that sideline viewers can be better entertained by its progress across the playing field. The squam is large and unwieldy enough that it can not be comfortably tucked under the arm, so that it is not too difficult for opposing team members to smack it or wrestle it away. Althought: games of Dirty Squamish often-times have a smaller ball of rags with a stone in the center to make the squam heavier, forcing more physical contact from the players.

[Quincy]

The brown areas are the ditches and the flagged goal-holes. The LONG BROWN DITCHES are the off-side barriers.


The green area in the center is the NEUTRAL ZONE.


The Red and Blue zones represent the opposing teams. The Red team members must cross the field through the Blue zone to score in the goal with the Red flag and vice versa; also, members of the Red team cannot cross the blue side's off-side barrier until the red player holding the ball has crossed the line. This prevents the ball from being thrown all the way across the field to a cluster of players already around their goal.