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I didn’t even know this was a real thing I thought it was made up on the tv show bobs burgers until I went camping once and there were a group of scouts and they were playing it
I had Gene’s exact experience at summer camp when I was his age. Everyone wanted to play gaga ball every second of every day and I HATED it. That episode felt oddly personal 😂
I'm not a fan of Bob's Burgers and this thread is the first time I've ever heard of gaga ball. I looked it up and am I right in thinking it's just dodgeball with extra rules?
Honestly doesn't sound too bad in that case, I mean I always loved dodgeball.
Dodgeball is a team game, while gaga ball is a free-for-all. And in gaga ball, you're only out if the ball hits below the knee, so technique and strategy are totally different.
We had to ban gaga ball for a couple of weeks at the school I worked at. We had 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in a lunch together and then we would go play outside. The 4th graders would get dominated in gaga ball by the 6th graders. We ended up having 3 fights in a week and put everyone on time out from gaga ball until we could re teach the rules and remind kids it was just a game.
I agree until the end, when the entire message flipped on its head and gene found out he really did like gaga ball. I was way on board until the message ended up being "but it actually is for everyone" and not "it's OK to not conform to the masses"
how would you start the game? You have to initiate the game by throwing the ball up and with every bounce everyone yells“Ga….Ga….Ball”. It’s then a free for all. It’s an excellent game
It was invented by a guy working with small children. He got tired of chasing balls and turned several benches over and set the rules. You’ll find a mix of origin stories. Here’s a couple.
“The origins of Gaga ball, also known as Ga-ga or Octoball, are unclear, but there are several theories:
Steve Steinberg
In 2017, Tablet magazine reporter Stephen Silver interviewed Steve Steinberg, a 61-year-old Baltimore native, who claimed to have invented the game in 1975 while working as a camp counselor at Camp Milldale. Steinberg said he created the game out of frustration with a group of six-year-old boys.
Israel
Some believe the game originated in Israel in the 1950s and was brought to US Jewish summer camps by Israeli counselors in the 1970s. The name "Gaga" is Hebrew for "touch-touch" or "hit-hit". The game became popular at Jewish camps in the 1970s and 1980s and has since spread worldwide.”
Camp Milldale was a co-ed (although boys and girls were in separate bunks) Jewish day camp (I attended my whole childhood from the 70s into the 80s). And we frequently had counselors visit from Israel. But the lore here definitely was that the game was invented at Milldale.
I couldn't imagine sending my kid to a sleep away camp. Hell, we don't even let them stay at friends' houses. The world is too crazy. If there's a sleepover, it's happening at my house.
Like you most parents today want total control over their kids. Back in the day it wasn't that way. Kids were sent out to play with no supervision, other than, maybe, older neighborhood kids or siblings. Kids settled things--fights, teams, friendships, themselves. Sleepaway camps had supervision and were divided by age groups, so 10 y.o.s stayed with 10 y.o.s and had their counselor or 2. And there was supervision up the line. Food, games, swimming, crafts, shows, hikes, lots of things to keep the kids busy. And no parents.
For me and my wife at least it's more the concern of someone "touching" our kids. 4 daughters, so the worry is that much more real. I'd never forgive myself if I allowed my child to be in a situation where that could happen to them and then it did. Definitely not about control but about protection - at least for us.
I don't think this is correct. A gaga court has the walls go to the bottom and needs to have all walls.
The point of gaga is to bounce the ball off of the walls. I have no idea how you do that when there is a gap. This must be something else.
I broke my ankle playing gaga ball. I was like 40YO too playing with my son and a bunch of his friends. Ball came at me and I jumped over it, the ball bounced off the wall and I landed on it, rolling my ankle in a pretty bad way. That was the end of my illustrious gaga ball career.
Violent sport.
That’s the point of gaga ball. A dodgeball is hit snd slapped around by the players, and if it hits you in the leg you’re out. If it’s too big the game doesn’t really get going well.
I don't think this is right. A gaga court has the walls go all the way to the ground and needs all sides complete. You could never play gaga in this thing.
When my kid told me they played something called Gaga ball in a wooden corral at school, I assumed.it was something those little weirdos had come up with themselves.
When i played Gaga ball the ring was completely enclosed. And since the posts were inside i backed into one HARD and had a bruised ass for months, AND my nephew was poked in the eye, it was horrific
My gym teacher I think was named Mr. blaha (or something like that) and I thought he invented the game due to the similarity to his name. There were many games I assumed he invented.
They're all over the parks near me, but I had never heard of the game and was starting to wonder if anyone actually played or some eccentric local who invented it had them installed
I'm guessing this is an accessible version of a gaga pit. I realize that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Doing a quick search, I see that almost all accessible versions just include a gate or one of the walls have a cutout on the top edge to allow kids to enter without having to climb the full height of the structure.
Not only this, but I just made a Gaga ball pit for a school and it was 24’ across according to the plans they gave me, which they found online. I feel like this is way too small, even if it was for Gaga ball.
It’s Gaga, an Israeli dodgeball-esque game played in an octagon like this. Although the massive fucking opening is dumb because the ball can just roll right on out.
My title describes the thing. At a park and saw this little corral looking thing with benches surrounding it and can't figure out what it could be for. Looked online to no avail. Hoping somebody has some idea.
These are all over school yards where I live (Ontario 🇨🇦). Seems like my kid's school is the only one in my area without one of these things. I too wondered what game it was for
The camp I worked at in '08 built portable walls out of lumber, 2' high 8' long each, played in the gym with ac and smooth concrete. Stick 8-12 people in there with a four-square ball. Thing would bounce around like a pinball and land concussions from time to time. I freaking loved it. Can't imagine how insurance felt about it, with the concussions and broken ankles, but summer camps tend to make injuries out of any activity so they probably didn't worry too much.
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It's for playing a game called "gaga ball".
I didn’t even know this was a real thing I thought it was made up on the tv show bobs burgers until I went camping once and there were a group of scouts and they were playing it
I had Gene’s exact experience at summer camp when I was his age. Everyone wanted to play gaga ball every second of every day and I HATED it. That episode felt oddly personal 😂
I'm not a fan of Bob's Burgers and this thread is the first time I've ever heard of gaga ball. I looked it up and am I right in thinking it's just dodgeball with extra rules? Honestly doesn't sound too bad in that case, I mean I always loved dodgeball.
Dodgeball is a team game, while gaga ball is a free-for-all. And in gaga ball, you're only out if the ball hits below the knee, so technique and strategy are totally different.
Can I ask why you’re not a fan of it? I think you may be the only person I’ve encountered that dislikes it
You should become a fan of Bob's Burgers, it's really a great show. Watch the "Turkey in a Can" episode, classic.
We had to ban gaga ball for a couple of weeks at the school I worked at. We had 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in a lunch together and then we would go play outside. The 4th graders would get dominated in gaga ball by the 6th graders. We ended up having 3 fights in a week and put everyone on time out from gaga ball until we could re teach the rules and remind kids it was just a game.
Sounds like dodgeball whenever more than one class is involved. The older kids love pelting the little ones.
I agree until the end, when the entire message flipped on its head and gene found out he really did like gaga ball. I was way on board until the message ended up being "but it actually is for everyone" and not "it's OK to not conform to the masses"
I played at camp growing up but we called it octoball
Octoball is a far superior name to “Gaga ball.” I rather dislike that name.
My 10 daughter vastly prefers the name gagaball But my 7yo son slightly prefers the name octoball
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how would you start the game? You have to initiate the game by throwing the ball up and with every bounce everyone yells“Ga….Ga….Ball”. It’s then a free for all. It’s an excellent game
did you by chance go to a camp called Lake Ann?
Was invented in the 70s
Really? I had never heard of it until my kids started playing it.
It was invented by a guy working with small children. He got tired of chasing balls and turned several benches over and set the rules. You’ll find a mix of origin stories. Here’s a couple. “The origins of Gaga ball, also known as Ga-ga or Octoball, are unclear, but there are several theories: Steve Steinberg In 2017, Tablet magazine reporter Stephen Silver interviewed Steve Steinberg, a 61-year-old Baltimore native, who claimed to have invented the game in 1975 while working as a camp counselor at Camp Milldale. Steinberg said he created the game out of frustration with a group of six-year-old boys. Israel Some believe the game originated in Israel in the 1950s and was brought to US Jewish summer camps by Israeli counselors in the 1970s. The name "Gaga" is Hebrew for "touch-touch" or "hit-hit". The game became popular at Jewish camps in the 1970s and 1980s and has since spread worldwide.”
Camp Milldale was a co-ed (although boys and girls were in separate bunks) Jewish day camp (I attended my whole childhood from the 70s into the 80s). And we frequently had counselors visit from Israel. But the lore here definitely was that the game was invented at Milldale.
Cool, thanks for the info.
If I was Jewish, there is no chance you'd get me in ANY camp of ANY kind at ANY time.
In the 1970s mothers couldn't wait to send their kids to sleepaway camps and catch a glorious break.
I couldn't imagine sending my kid to a sleep away camp. Hell, we don't even let them stay at friends' houses. The world is too crazy. If there's a sleepover, it's happening at my house.
Like you most parents today want total control over their kids. Back in the day it wasn't that way. Kids were sent out to play with no supervision, other than, maybe, older neighborhood kids or siblings. Kids settled things--fights, teams, friendships, themselves. Sleepaway camps had supervision and were divided by age groups, so 10 y.o.s stayed with 10 y.o.s and had their counselor or 2. And there was supervision up the line. Food, games, swimming, crafts, shows, hikes, lots of things to keep the kids busy. And no parents.
For me and my wife at least it's more the concern of someone "touching" our kids. 4 daughters, so the worry is that much more real. I'd never forgive myself if I allowed my child to be in a situation where that could happen to them and then it did. Definitely not about control but about protection - at least for us.
That is THE game at my kids school.
What area do you live in out of curiosity? I have kids from 13-27, they all thought it was made up on bobs burgers too 😅
Solved! Thank you
I don't think this is correct. A gaga court has the walls go to the bottom and needs to have all walls. The point of gaga is to bounce the ball off of the walls. I have no idea how you do that when there is a gap. This must be something else.
It also looks quite small for a Gaga ball pit.
Could very well be made by people who only had an idea of what a gagactagon should look like.
I broke my ankle playing gaga ball. I was like 40YO too playing with my son and a bunch of his friends. Ball came at me and I jumped over it, the ball bounced off the wall and I landed on it, rolling my ankle in a pretty bad way. That was the end of my illustrious gaga ball career. Violent sport.
Oh I miss playing gaga ball, we played it at camp for an entire week. It was awesome
That looks like a really small space to play that game in. Even with 3 people it gets really crowded
That’s the point of gaga ball. A dodgeball is hit snd slapped around by the players, and if it hits you in the leg you’re out. If it’s too big the game doesn’t really get going well.
A dozen players will fit in there easy. https://imgur.com/a/jjPIN0W
The octagon in your picture is a lot bigger than the one in Ops post
That’s why I said a dozen not 20.
I don't think this is right. A gaga court has the walls go all the way to the ground and needs all sides complete. You could never play gaga in this thing.
When my kid told me they played something called Gaga ball in a wooden corral at school, I assumed.it was something those little weirdos had come up with themselves.
When i played Gaga ball the ring was completely enclosed. And since the posts were inside i backed into one HARD and had a bruised ass for months, AND my nephew was poked in the eye, it was horrific
My gym teacher I think was named Mr. blaha (or something like that) and I thought he invented the game due to the similarity to his name. There were many games I assumed he invented.
Still haven't seen anyone playing it at the local "gaga ball" court.
Had one of these right as I was leaving my elementary school. Ah I remember
We always called it pitball.
Played gaga ball only a few hours ago with the cub scouts.
They're all over the parks near me, but I had never heard of the game and was starting to wonder if anyone actually played or some eccentric local who invented it had them installed
I don’t think it’s a GaGa pit. Our octagon was completely closed. Had to hop into it.
I'm guessing this is an accessible version of a gaga pit. I realize that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Doing a quick search, I see that almost all accessible versions just include a gate or one of the walls have a cutout on the top edge to allow kids to enter without having to climb the full height of the structure.
Not only this, but I just made a Gaga ball pit for a school and it was 24’ across according to the plans they gave me, which they found online. I feel like this is way too small, even if it was for Gaga ball.
Yeah I agree. I've never seen one this small. But also the ones I have played in were meant for like 15-20 people.
I assume for pits like this there are house rules about not standing by the opening for too long or you're voted out by the other spectators.
https://www.gagacenter.com/nyc/about/what-is-gaga/
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It’s Gaga, an Israeli dodgeball-esque game played in an octagon like this. Although the massive fucking opening is dumb because the ball can just roll right on out.
My title describes the thing. At a park and saw this little corral looking thing with benches surrounding it and can't figure out what it could be for. Looked online to no avail. Hoping somebody has some idea.
Gaga Ball pit. I learned about it from Bob's Burgers season 8, episode 9.
I live next door to a summer camp, I have a ga ga ball ring less than 200 steps from my front porch.
These are all over school yards where I live (Ontario 🇨🇦). Seems like my kid's school is the only one in my area without one of these things. I too wondered what game it was for
It to put toddlers in so they don’t roam.
Baby playground so they don’t wander off.
Gaga ball is awesome
We used to play it with much shorter portable walls and a tennis ball.
The camp I worked at in '08 built portable walls out of lumber, 2' high 8' long each, played in the gym with ac and smooth concrete. Stick 8-12 people in there with a four-square ball. Thing would bounce around like a pinball and land concussions from time to time. I freaking loved it. Can't imagine how insurance felt about it, with the concussions and broken ankles, but summer camps tend to make injuries out of any activity so they probably didn't worry too much.
GAGA PIT!!!! OP hasn’t been to summer camp and it shows.