Part lacrosse, part rugby and part The Running Man – the Ultimate Tazer Ball League may be stunning audiences near you, if league organizers have their way.
The world's newest sports league has four teams, two in California, one in Philadelphia and another based out of Toronto. However, the Toronto Terrors might be at a distinct disadvantage because they can't actually practice the game because stun guns are illegal in Canada.
Yes, stun guns are as important to the game as a stick is to hockey.
The game's rules are fairly simple. It pits four players a side in an arena roughly the size of a hockey rink. There are nets at both ends and the players score by putting a large soccer ball (it's a bit heavier than a basketball) into the goal.
Of course to score, the team must make its way down the field dodging tackles and players armed with hand-held stun guns -- who are allowed to zap the ball carrier. First team to score five points, wins.
A demonstration video on the league's website (http://utblive.com/) shows players collapsing to the pitch, writhing in pain, after being stunned. There are also goals and bodychecks.
League organizers say the sport is safe; the 300,000-volt Tasers give off a charge of five to eight milliamps, which is below lethal limits. Any amount of current over 10 milliamps is capable of producing serious shock, according to the Ohio State Physics department.
"It's like being snapped with a rubber band, being shot at close range with a paintball is worse," says Erik Wunsch, one of the league's three founders, in a telephone interview from Germany.
The genesis from the sport came from several paintballers' desire to find the "next big thing" in extreme sports, Wunsch said.
"We wanted to add another exciting element to an athletic sport," he says of the use of stun guns. "It has all the best elements of all the best sports. The stun guns just add another exciting element to it."
A promotional video for the Ultimate Tazer League went viral on YouTube this week, but its over-the-top nature left many wondering if it was an elaborate joke.
The videos, with professional wrestler trash talk and slow-motion action sequences set to dramatic music, definitely have the air of satire to them.
"I wanna knock somebody out – while tazing them," says one player in the video, peacocking for the camera.
