A springball court aboard DS9
Springball was a Bajoran game that was played by two people at a time, as a sort of full contact handball. The players attempted to hit the ball inside a clearly marked oval on the far wall without hitting the foul zones. The players could "body check" each other to disrupt a shot or to steal a shot of their own, but no punching or kicking was allowed. A player could also grab the ball out of the air with an ungloved hand, but then had to stand in place and throw the ball off the wall to set up a "shot" with the glove – only a hit with the glove could score. (DS9: "For the Cause" script)
In 2344, during the Occupation, the Bajoran Springball Association released a new scorecard for springball. (DS9: "For the Cause")
Vedek Bareil Antos religiously kept up with the standings in the Bajoran Springball Championship, and was a player himself. Kira Nerys was an avid player of springball, and even had Chief Miles O'Brien design a springball holosuite program. (DS9: "Shadowplay")
Vedek Tonsa was an excellent springball player; one of the best on Deep Space 9, according to Kira. Sarish Rez, who was terrible at the game, hoped to arrange a game with Tonsa to give Sarish a chance to talk to him about supporting Shakaar Edon in the Vedek Assembly. (DS9: "Crossfire")
In 2370, Nog stole Kira's springball racket, only for her to discover it two years later as he was selling off all 'his' possessions prior to attending Starfleet Academy. (DS9: "Little Green Men")
In 2373, O'Brien hid Kira's springball racket, as she was carrying his child at that time, and he didn't want her to take any risks. (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places")
In 2374, when Julian Bashir was unknowingly subjected to a Section 31 holographic simulation, Bashir tricked the simulated O'Brien into giving himself away by claiming O'Brien had dislocated his shoulder playing springball. When O'Brien said it was fine, Bashir told him the injury was in fact acquired from kayaking, allowing Bashir to know that the situation was unreal. (DS9: "Inquisition")
In 2383, Sherwyns invited Ensign Brad Boimler to join the springball tournament, as there was a position open. Boimler did rather poorly, as he was brutally checked by Lieutenant Shaxs, though his screaming was noticed by the Bajoran, who then invited him to join his Bajoran dirge choir. (LD: "The Least Dangerous Game")
External link[]
- Springball at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works