The intramural office will be trying a new sport this spring called flickerball in place of the usual ultimate Frisbee tournament.

People everywhere play different variations of flickerball with each game seeming to have a different set of rules. Eastern is no different.

Kevin Linker, head of intramurals, is trying out his own style. It will be played under the same basic rules as ultimate Frisbee, but with a football. Points are scored by throwing the ball in the end zone as opposed to the common way of throwing it in a basket.

“We needed something to replace ultimate Frisbee and we wanted to do something that would be similar and can be run in the same time frame,” Linker said. “So flickerball was the best option.”

Linker said ultimate Frisbee began to crumble the last few years and finally last year, not a single team signed up. He credits the loss of student interest to the fact that no points were awarded to the halls or fraternities by winning the tournament.

This year, 100 points will be awarded to the champion of flickerball and some students are eager to try out the new sport.

“I’m excited to try something out of the ordinary,” said junior Dreu Martinez, a member of the ATO flickerball team. “I’ve never played this before, and from what I’ve heard, it sounds pretty interesting.”

Linker said the fieldhouse will host the single-elimination tournament next week as long as the weather allows for Eastern’s athletes to remain outdoors for practice.

“If it rains, athletics takes precedence, so they’d have to move us, which I hope doesn’t happen,” Linker said. “We need to make sure that we’re moving right along through the tournament.”

The game consists of two, 10-minute halves with six players on each team. There is no running with the ball; after catching it the player is given 10 seconds to get rid of the ball again. Each touchdown will award the team with one point.

Although the field will ultimately resemble a football field, flickerball is a no-contact sport. The defender must remain 3 feet away from the player in possession of the ball to allow for throwing space.

Players who commit a foul will be placed in a penalty box on the side of the field for one minute or until the other team scores, whichever happens first.

Linker said ultimate Frisbee was more a game of integrity. No referees were used in ultimate Frisbee and fouls were called by the players, which caused problems.

Linker said he is confident his staff will be ready to go when the tournament begins.

“The veteran referees that we have are pretty good and able to adapt,” Linker said.

If the flickerball tournament is run effectively and works out well for the participants of the sport, students can expect to see flickerball on the schedule again come next spring.

Chad Grimm can be reached at 581-7944 or ctgrimm@eiu.edu.