AquaSphera
One of the new sports I invented for The Paradise Planets is called AquaSphera. It's an underwater sport played with 15 on a side. There are two goalies, five "gaters", and eight other players in various formations throughout the field.
The two goalies are allowed to pass through their end gate as they cover all angles of the spherical end gates. The five "gaters" from each team contend with each other to clear the center for their team or prevent the opposing team to do the same. The remaining eight players are positioned in various defense, offense, and midfield positions based on the team's strategy.
The Field: Holographic boundaries wrap around the pill-shaped waterfield of AquaSphera. The touch line in between the center and end gates are for kickoffs. End gates and center gates are spherical. A holographic "goal line" wraps around the end gates, and a holographic center circle encompasses the center gate where all gaters are positioned. A penalty line is drawn outside of the goal line where all penalty kicks are taken. Here's a rough sketch diagram I created to help convey how the waterfield is designed.
The Objective: The objective of AquaSphera is to score more goals than your opponent by kicking the disc past both goalies and through the end gate. Teams must do this within the allotted time of the given match. Teams also need to prevent their opponents from scoring on their own end gate without committing a foul.
Clearing the center: Teams must clear the center before they can score. This means passing the disc through the center gate to their teammates who successfully complete the pass. A fumble or interception in this process simply means the center gate has not yet been cleared by either team. Once a team has successfully cleared the center by passing the disc from one teammate to another, their team can now charge down the field and attempt to score.
Point system: With the center cleared and lit up in their team's colors, the team can now shoot the disc on goal. If the disc passes through the opposing team's end gate, they score TWO points. If a teammate catches the winning shot on the other end of the gate and successfully kicks the disc back through the gate, this counts as an extra point, or "ricochet point."
The Disc: The size of a large frisbee, the disc has an outer texture of rough sandpaper. Powered by a piezo-electric transducer, it glows a soft white and oscillates at ultra-high frequencies to cut through the water without resistance.
Moving the Disc: Players are allowed to touch the disc with any part of their body, including catching the disc with their hands, but they can only pass and shoot with their feet, with the exception of the goalies. Goalies are allowed to pass the disc with their hands.
Players can dribble the disc by kicking it to themselves, but they cannot hold onto the disc with their hands while traveling through the water for more than three seconds. Traveling with the disc in their hands for more than three seconds results in a foul and the dispossession of the disc. Defenders can attempt to take the disc from the opposition by intercepting passes or properly tackling their opponents with possession of the disc.
AquaSphera matches last 90 minutes and are split into two 45-minute halves, separated by a 15 minute halftime break.
Overtime: If a match ends in a tie, the AquaSphera match goes into overtime. This adds an additional 30 minutes of gameplay, in two 15-minute halves. If the game still ends in a tie after the overtime period, teams will perform a shootout to determine the winner. Five players from each team shoot the disc from the penalty line. The team with the most penalty kicks scored wins the contest.
Substitutions: Each team has up to four substitutes per match, and can sub all four into the game at any point during the match.
Fouls: Whenever a foul is committed, possession of the disc is given to the other team to pass the disc in from the nearest boundary or the spot of the foul.
Only goalies are allowed inside the End Gates. Should any player pass through the center gate or an end gate for more than three seconds, a foul is called, and that team loses possession of the disc.
A holographic boundary wraps around the entire waterfield. Any team that kicks the disc out of bounds loses possession of the disc.
A foul due to unnecessary physical contact can be called anywhere on the waterfield. If a tackle or collision occurs without a clear and successful attempt on the disc, the referee bot will issue a penalty.
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