Wallball _ Montreal (the Inaugural 24-Hour Wallball Olympiad)

The Inaugural 24-Hour Wallball Olympiad IMPORTANT NOTE: When playing this or any other game in public (or private), please be careful at all times when near roads and/or traffic. Please never play on or near a train or subway platform nor near to electrical wires. Please exercise caution and prudence at all times. Wallball is a beautiful, spontaneous game — one that can erupt almost anywhere and on any surface in the city. The exercise recorded here attempts to show that the game can indeed be carried out by people of all ages and backgrounds at any time of the day. As evidenced in sports such as soccer, football, rugby, basketball, and handball (and to some extent in cricket, rounders and baseball), it does not take much more than a ball to be a catalyst for play. This principle is the main feature of Wallball, where the city is your field of play and all you need is a ball to begin. This time taken to complete this exercise covered the period of a day, though breaks were taken for rest and food. The aim was to first go alone to various locations in the city -- to demonstrate how the game could unfold on several different surfaces. As shown, some surfaces work better than others. At times, bystanders and passersby question what is going on, and even participate in the game. That’s precisely the point. How can strangers engage with one another simply by sharing a common curiosity or interest? How can a spontaneous activity become sport and in turn a social catalyst? Several locations were visited during this tour of the city: a Metro station, the Olympic Stadium, Palais de Justice, Centaur Theatre, St-Paul Street in Old Montreal, the fragment of the Berlin Wall, Tour de la Bourse, Centre Bell, Place Ville Marie, Westmount Square and Westmount Park School. However, there is one surface in Montreal that is particularly ideal for this event. The final act of the film presents the game unfolding at the Canadian Centre for Archite...

Channel: Vimeo Video Length: 13m 45s Date Found: Thu, Mar 26 2009 2:51 AM Category: Home Video Date Produced: Mon, Mar 16 2009 1:47 AM View Count: 0