Pickle

Official Rules
By: Justin Meharchand
Version History: Creation: April 16, 2012 Version 1.0 (May 4, 2012): Finished the Official Rules of Pickle. Contents: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Foreword History Overview Field Throws Catching Lines Substitutions Accessories

1. Foreword: The following is not a strategy guide, or meant for any influence of any kind whatsoever. This serves strictly and solely as a rule book. Although I hope that you would be so kind to try this game, I also hope that you by no means reproduce this in any way, shape, or form without my sole consent and approval. - Justin Meharchand

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

2. History: History has been modified slightly for retelling purposes. In early spring, 2006, Justin Meharchand, Rielle Ritchie, and Raymond Nie were bored during one afternoon recess at Bridlewood Junior Public School. They had a tennis ball, and they didnt feel like playing Red-A or any of their other usual recess games. So they thought of an idea, something that would give them something to do. They threw a tennis ball over a soccer goal post on the schools field back and forth to each other. At first, it was simply for fun, and they were deliberately throwing the ball to each other to catch it. Then after a while this bored them, and so they started making each other run to catch the ball, by throwing the ball a little more away from each other. This became quite entertaining and fun, and by now, many other kids had seen this display, and were wondering what game the three were playing. As the three played on, one of them (I cant remember who), threw it outside of the soccer goal posts. Without knowing any boundary and without thinking about how no real rules were created at this point, somebody said just out of spite, Thats out! And thus began the first ever game of Pickle. No boundary, however, was set behind the thrower and the catcher. So the narrow strip of pavement near the sandbox was used as a boundary. To determine the boundary for the other side, the boundary on the strip of pavement was measured back to the goal post in steps, and the other boundary was placed the same number of steps from the goal post on the other side of the goal post. It is sheer coincidence that this boundary set on the strip of pavement worked perfectly; for it was the perfect distance to run back and snag a catch. Because there were only two goal posts on the schools field, and many kids wanted to play this new game, it quickly turned into a team game as well. With several people on each side (the maximum I ever remember playing with was eight people per side), many kids were satisfied, as 32 kids were able to play at one time. The origin of the name Pickle is unknown to this date, though it is thought to have been given by Raymond Nie or Rielle Ritchie. A similar variation of the game (under the same name) is said to have been played by one other person that I know at a camp at summer in 2008, strictly in teams of three, but with slightly different rules (one major rule difference being that you must throw the ball from where you caught it). I was notified of this in August 2011 from the person of which I speak, who will remain anonymous. When creating this game,

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

Raymond Rielle and I all had no earlier notification or knowledge of any kind of this game, and the name was probably picked up from hearing it from another student in a comment at some point. Regardless, the Pickle that we three created is different from any other Pickle that I have heard of to this date. Also, there is nothing online about the game Pickle other than our group on Facebook to my knowledge or to anyone elses as of May 4, 2012. This game became very popular very fast at Bridlewood Junior Public School, and is still played by many of the schools students today. It is continuously spreading to many different people and schools, and although I know that ultimately, the names of the creators will be forgotten amongst the games many players somewhere along the way, I am happy and quite pleased with myself knowing that I have made my contribution to the playground by creating a game that will only continue to spread and prosper, and will played by kids at the playground for years to come. Just like Four-Square and Red-A, we all have wondered at least once who it was who came up with those games and many others. And eventually, everybody else will be thinking the same for Pickle, and I will know that I have done well. Even if nobody remembers who made the game, I will. And to me, thats all that matters. 3. Overview and Basic Rules: Some skills that are needed in order to play Pickle well include endurance, speed, flexibility, throwing accuracy, and strong hand-eye coordination. Pickle is played with nothing but a standard size Soccer goal post, a tennis ball, and a boundary of some sort that lies somewhere along the back line of each side of the playing field. The goal is to throw the tennis ball so that it goes over the crossbar and lands in the boundary on the side of the opposition, hitting the ground before it can be caught by the opposition. When this happens, the person closest to the ball, or the last person to touch the ball with their hand is out, and they must go off of the court to the sides of the goalposts. You may also play with points rather than outs. Every time an out would occur, the team that threw the ball to force the out is given a point. It is possible to get yourself out, or give the opposing team a point. This happens when you do one of the following: - You throw the ball outside of the boundary - You throw the ball underneath the crossbar - Deliberately throwing the ball at a player underneath the crossbar or with an illegal throw over the crossbar

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

If you get yourself out or if you give the opposing team a point, your team is given possession of the ball. Anybody on your team can make the next throw. If the ball is going out of bounds (but it is still in the air) and you catch it, no point is given, and you have possession of the ball. If you touch the ball but do not catch it, however, then it is still your possession, but the opposition receives a point. When playing with outs rather than points, if there are two or more people that were closest to the ball when an out was given, it is up to the receiving team to determine which player will go out. Whether it be Rock Paper Scissors, or guessing a number between one and ten, one person must go out before the next throw is made, and must leave the court and not interfere with the game physically or step back onto the court until they are substituted in (if the game is played with substitutions) or until the next game begins. The method of winning can be done with many different ways. If the game is a one-on-one game (a game with one person on each side) then usually there is a point limit set at the beginning of the game, and the first person to reach that number of points is the winner. Some examples of game types are: - First to 5 (win by 1 or by 2 points) - First to 7 (win by 1 or by 2 points) - First to 11 (win by 1 or by 2 points) - Win by 5 points (Win when up by 5 points) - Win by 7 points (Win when up by 5 points) - Best two out of three, 3 out of 5, or 4 out of 7 (for any type of game above) This type of scoring can be done with any number of players, but it works better when there are 3 players or less on either team for fluent playing. You can also choose to play with outs rather than points. This can make the game go much faster, especially when there are fewer people. All of the calls made in this game are done with using the honour system, which is basically making your own calls when there are no lines present. Because there are no referees in this game, the players themselves must make their own decisions based off of these rules and fair play. If necessary, one or two line/throw judges may be used in order for the game to be completely fair and unbiased.

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

4. Field Pickle is played on grass. The soccer post is approximately 8 feet 4 inches high and approximately 24 feet 8 inches wide. Each boundary is approximately 26 feet 8 inches from the goal post. Diagram of the Pickle Field:

Legend: Green lines = Boundaries Black line = Soccer Goal Posts

5. Throwing: You may only throw between the goalposts, anywhere inside of the boundary on your side, and up to 15 feet outside of the back boundary. You are not allowed to throw the ball if any part of your body is touching the ground on the side of the opposition. When the ball is released from the players hand, no part of the players hand may be over the crossbar. If the ball is released from the players hand while any part of the players hand is over the crossbar, then it is a re-throw for that player. If the player makes an illegal throw again before a change in possession of the ball, a point is given to the opponent for every time that an illegal throw is made in succession to the first illegal throw prior to a change in possession of the ball. If you are playing with outs rather than points, a player who makes two illegal throws in succession before a change in possession of the ball occurs is out.

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

6. Catching: A throw is considered caught only when it is in the hand of any player for exactly 1 second or more. You may use any part of yourself to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible until you catch it with your hand. You may bounce the ball back over the crossbar onto your opponents side with any part of your body, as long as the last contact with your body and the ball is made underneath the crossbar. Purposefully stalling the game by bouncing the ball in the air with your hand or any other part of your body intentionally to waste time is considered unsportsmanlike and is frowned upon. 7. Lines: The boundaries of the Pickle field are either shown by lines, (an) object(s), or by eye. Every boundary line on the Pickle field is exactly 3 inches thick. If no line is present, the honour system or (a) judges is/are used to determine the outcome of a shot. If you throw the ball over the crossbar with a legal throw and it lands on any line of a boundary, then it is a re-throw for the player that threw the ball. There is no penalty for hitting a line; in fact, you can do this for an unlimited amount of times at any time in the game. 8. Substitutions: Very popular when the game originated, the substitution stipulation ensured that people who were out for a long period of time got time to play by substituting with a teammate that was on the field. This helped when there were a large number of people on either team. The substitution stipulation is not mandatory for a game, and it must be agreed to be in use by both teams prior to the start of the game. When playing a series of games (such as a Best Two-Out-of-Three series), if both teams originally agreed to substitutions before the first game, then the substitution stipulation must be used for all of the games in the series. Same goes for if both teams agreed to not use substitutions before the start of the first game. The substitution stipulation may only be used when the game is being played with outs rather than points, and when there are

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

at least 2 players on either team. In order for a substitution to be made, both of the following criteria must be met: - Your team must have possession of the ball. - Your team must have at least one player out. When both of these criteria are met, it is then legal to perform a substitution. One player must call out Substitution or Sub or anything along those terms, and will then proceed to leave the field and be replaced by the team member that was originally out. Both players must agree to the substitution in order for it to occur. You may make substitutions with as many players as you like at any time as long as the above two criteria are met and the same number of players remain on the field from when before the substitution occurred. Generally, there is no limit to the amount of substitutions that a team can make in a game. There is, however, an option to limit the number of substitutions that a team can make, and/or a limit for how many times each player can come back on for a substitution (after or not after being out). This number (if used to limit how many times each player can come back on for a substitution), must be the same for every player in the game. You may not begin the game with substitutes waiting to come on to play. Every member of your team must be on the field when the game begins. Only after they get out may a substitution be performed. You may also not add any substitutes or players to your team after the game has begun or between the games in a series of games. 9. Accessories Like many other sports, many accessories such as watches, hats, and gloves are illegal to have on the field during gameplay, and must be removed. A full list of illegal accessories is listed below. A player must refrain from wearing anything listed below (unless deemed and proven to be religious) when playing Pickle: Hats of any kind Watches Bracelets Necklaces Earings Gloves of any kind

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012

The reasons why all of these items are illegal are because they may be used in assistance of catching (which gives the player an unfair advantage), or they may simply be unsafe. This is the end of the Pickle Official Rules. Thank you for reading.

Pickle Official Rules is the property of Justin Meharchand. All rights reserved. Justin Meharchand 2012