Goo Goo for Ga Ga

Friday nights during the summer are Ga-Ga nights at church.  The youth group loves playing this game.  Meredith and Peter are going tonight!  I didn't know too much about it until they proudly won the Mega-Rec Championship in Florida at the RYM Conference.  Ga-Ga was a big part of their score.  I mean, how many youth groups have their own ga-ga pit and play together every week?  

I think we had a slight advantage!  

So what is Ga-Ga????


Ga-Ga (lit. "touch touch") is an israeli variant of dodgeball.  The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the object of hitting opponents with a ball below the waist while avoiding being hit.  The game can be played by groups of individual players, teams and in one to one matches.


The Rules:


Ga-Ga is played in a large octagon or hexagon called a Go-Ga pit.  Ga-Ga begins with someone throwing the gaga ball up into the air.  when it bounces the players say, "ga" each bounce for the first three bounces.  After three bounces the ball is in play and the game starts!

1.  You can hit the ball with your hands, but picking up the ball and throwing it at a player is not allowed.



2.  If the ball touches a player anywhere on or below the waist (in some versions, below the knee) that player is eliminated from the game.


3.  A player cannot touch the ball two times sequentially, the ball must hit another player or wall before that player can touch the ball again.  If the player violates this rule, it is called a double touch and that player is out.  Some versions of the game allow double or even triple touches.


4.  If a player pops the ball up into the air, another player may catch it and ground it.  Some variations do not allow catching at all.


5.  The player cannot kick the ball.


6.  If a player hits the ball out of the arena without touching the wall, around, or another player, the player who hit the ball it out.






There you have it.  Ga-Ga.  Maybe you will want to build a pit and get the game going in your neck of the woods!

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