JOIN US TODAY
Sundays 6 PM
Gloucester Twp Park
Hickstown Rd Blackwood NJ
20 Volunteers are needed to acquire footage.
Jersey Pitch-Grid Handball is a new sport. It's much safer than American Football or Rugby Football. There is no violent contact or culture within our game. With that said our sport is much more difficult than North American Football or either Rugby game. The challenge is to play at full speed while exercising restraint.
There are rules which engineer out violent contact that causes head trauma and concussions There are also safety features which cause our game to be fair for both sides of the ball.
Like every other sport Jersey Handball has restrictions within the rulebook. It's every athlete's obligation to overcome the obstacles levied on them. Click the rulebook below..
BALL SPECS
OUR QUANCO
Each Jersey Handball is handcrafted at Henry's Handball Shop in Westville New Jersey. No hand made oval ball is ever completely symmetric we do like to flirt with perfection on occasion. We strive for that perfect ball every time a build begins.
Each Henry is made with 110% Comanche Bison Leather. They have a non stretch material for backing which holds the ball's shape.
Currently each panel's materials are bonded together at our shop then sent to a local gasket company to be CNC cut ensuring a consistent shape and size.
Our balls have American Latex bladders which come from Alabama. We've nicknamed the new balls "War Eagle" for this reason. And because no civilized person would ever call anything "Tide".
Each Handball measures out to 9.25 inches in straight length. They measure 20.5 inches short circumference by 24.5 inches long circumference. A Jersey Handball must have a short to long circumference ratio of over 80% to be considered a handball. Any ball with less than an 80% ratio is a football.
The Henry Shop doesn't have expensive machines or reverse pressure equipment. Our product has the human element which isn't flawless. We create works of art. We make "Old Time Handballs". The Old Time Handball era just happens to be right now.
PITCH-GRID
JERSEY'S FIELD
Our field is 90 yards between the goal try lines. There are five set lines every fifteen yards between each goal try line.
Our field lines can be applied to every other 100 meter or yard grass field without having to move the other game's goal posts.
• American Football Field
• Canadian Football Field
• Rugby Union Pitch
• Rugby League Pitch
• Association Football Pitch (with goal post extentions added)
SCORE
VALUES
Because ball carriers are permitted to strike the ball by hand or foot to pass and shoot, our game has more ways to score. This part of our game is called "Hurling".
• Our touchdown is called a "Try-Down" and comes with a conversion attempt from the opponent's five yard line wherein one, two or three points are available.
• A "Back-Jack" is a striked ball that lands on the field before crossing the goal line and then downed.
• A "Down-Goal" is a striked ball that travels through the end zone under the crossbar.
• A "Marque" is a striked ball caught by a receiver in the end zone.
• An "Ace" is a punted field goal above the crossbar.
The defense can't allow the ball to cross their goal line without surrendering points.
TRY-DOWN = 5 (conversion 2)
BACK-JACK = 4 (conversion 2)
DOWN-GOAL = 3 (conversion 3)
MARQUE = 2 (conversion 2)
ACE = 1 (conversion 1)
DESIGN STRUCTURE
•,Each game has 10 rounds.
• Each team has an offensive drive per round with 6 downs to score.
• Each down has 30 seconds to begin.
• Each team has 4 time outs per game.
• Each team has ten fielded players with 5 of them eligible to catch forward passes.
• The offense must have 6 set players on the line and 4 free motion backfield players. Unlimited motion is allowed from the eligible line player to the opposite side line.
• The defense must observe a one yard neutral zone or a ten yard neutral zone for Free Strikes.
• No offensive player may line up a greater distance than ten yards behind the spot
• During live play defenders must be on side behind the ball in order to down the ball (carrier). Defenders behind the ball forward the 1 yard neutral zone are not permitted to contact the ball carrier or play the ball. No contact between players without the ball is permitted forward the 1 yard scrummage zone.
SAFETY
• No player is permitted to line up in a three point stance except the snapper.
• Snaps are received a minimum two player spaces behind the snapper.
• Ball carriers must hold the ball away from the body. Bring the ball in get whistled down.
• Defenders must wrap both arms around the ball carrier to draw the whistle downing the ball.
• Blocking is with the hands only from the front or side and is restricted to one yard forward the ball's spot line.
• No contact is permitted forward the one yard neutral scrummage zone except for defenders and the ball carrier.
• A forward pass must cross the line of scrummage. Any throw behind the line remains live if not caught. All players can catch throws behind the line.
• Ball carriers are permitted to strike the ball forward by hand or foot to advance the ball and score points.
• Ball carriers are not permitted to stiff arm, lower the head or bull rush.
• If a Defender deflects a forward pass the ball is then free. The free ball then remains live after contacting the field in bounds.
• No player may dive to block, mug a ball carrier or gain yardage.
JAQK THE GRUNBY
BAND OF MUMMERS
Captain William Kidd and crew would often dock the Adventure Galley near the West Farm on Tmber's Creek just in land of Fort Nassau which overlooked the village of Gloucester.
A second Galleon with Kidd's half brother Ensign John Leeds at the helm would also tie down near the larger ship along it's wake. The Knave's Row was a sleak heavily gunned oarsmen's sailor that could out maneuver most sailing vessels allowing both ships to badly wound the most sea worthy of frigates. Even Royal navy ships on the high seas weren't immune from their heaviest of iron fire.
The two vessels would mostly take full advantage of grounded Spanish crews during violent storms. The Spaniards would anchor in bays then row to shore waiting out the crippling winds.
The Kidd's would then tie on and empty their hulls of cargo. They'd then sail north up the Dela'wer to sell their booty at ports like the ones at Essington and Deep Fjord.
Ensign Jack and crew would rumble with local clam diggers and yoemen. They'd rum and tumble for weeks during the spring thaw. They'd play Carneval Mawr games from the Shrovetide through Beltane.
They'd dress in like colors and paint their faces to disguise their identities. This practice was known as Mummery and dated all the way back to Japeth. Some called the field game Kha'Yeed. Others who were from Cardiff or Cornwall knew it as Hurlya Dornbel.
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The Kidd's buried a total of nine strong boxes of Spanish silver in the pine sands of deep Downe Jersey. In 1701 Captain William Kidd was arrested and taken to London where he was tried and hanged for piracy.
Both crews disbanded and were never seen again. Rumors began turning into legends when crazed stories of a screaming winged dragon roamed the pine swamps of Southern Jersey. Someone wanted people to fear going into that area.
In 1909 a wooden box was unearthed near Estelle Manor. Inside were the remains of a plumb shaped sheeps leather ball and four playing cards which were a Jack O'Diamonds, Ace O'Spades, Queen O'Hearts and King O'Clubs. This is a studs hand called a Knave's Row.
LEAGUE
HOMEGROWN HEROES
Our made for TV Leagues are powered by young adult athletes from the surrounding area. There's an untapped talent base out there chomping at the bit for their day in the sun. Our 18 to 40 athletes will play a pro game on TV to pay down debt.
America will love the suburban small town experience. Our prices will be blue collar friendly as well. Our appeal will span far and wide while our overhead cost remains very low when compared to other sports.
We're currently experimenting on an inexpensive method of replacing torn jerseys.
Jersey's jerseys have a code which communicates player eligibility. Each jersey has a prefix letter and a single digit. Letters "A, B, F, J, K & M" are eligible to run routes forward to catch passes. Letters "N, Q, X & Z" are ineligible line players.
HEARTS
FORT NASSAU
HANDBALL CLUB
DIAMONDS
SCOTLAND RUN
UNITED
CLUBS
GLOUCESTER IRISH
JERSEY HANDBALL
SPADES
BLACK HORSE
UNION HANDBALL
Four Houses ~ One Cause
QUANCO
JAQK'S POT
Predict the results of each possession drive against 3 to 5 other gamers. The gamer with the least of his/her color chips in the pot after 10 full rounds of Jersey wins the table's buy in money.
Each gamer must ante 5 chips and risk 5 on the field. If a prediction rings true the banker will pay the gamer's stack. Other predictions cost one win or lose but pay the pot every other gamer's color if true. Don't run out of chips before all ten rounds are over because those player's chips aren't counted at the end.
PROCEDURE PENALTIES
Any violation of pre-snap protocol results in the officials whistling the ball down with the flag being thrown. Violations by the offense results in a loss of down. The offense gains a down if the defense violated a procedural rule. This makes down seven possible so downs are counted downward for this reason.
ACTION INFRACTIONS
When the rules of live play are violated the ball is returned to it's spot wherein a down is added or subtracted based on which team committed the penalty. A spot foul may also result in the ball being spotted where the foul took place and remaining the current down if a defender's violation resulted in a yardage gain being halted because of the foul. The gained yardage is awarded to the offense.
PERSONAL FOULS
Any safety or conduct penalties result in the loss or gain of a down along with the offending player sitting out the following down. Their team must play the next down with nine players. If a personal foul is declined the offending player must still sit out the following play while a substitution player is fielded.
All penalties fall into these 3 categories.
HERITAGE
ORIGINS
Hurlya Dornbel is Cornish. It means "Handball Field Game". An ancient tradition lives on today in Cornwall and Devon.
Cornish Hurling's Shrovetide tradition predates Christianity by thousands of years. Field sports originated on the Pontic Steppe when Proto-Celtic tribes roamed the grasslands of the Levant to the Black Sea shores.
Games like Kha'Yeed are lost to history but variations were known by many because of trade routes. These fire festivals existed from the Eastern shores of Siberia to the Western African and European coasts. Jersey Handball is a continuation of this heritage. This sport's mission is to berth a new Fraternity. Our athletes will have hundreds of brothers after leaving the game. Our four houses will aid our society during challenging times. Maybe we can end currency berthed by usury in favor of a sound paradigm.
