Jugger
The Hannover Living Undeads in the middle of a Jugger match | |
| First played | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Mixed-sex | Mixed-gender |
| Type | Ball game, team sport |
| Equipment | Skull-shaped ball, prop weapons, stakes or mounds |
| Venue | Field |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Spain, Germany, Australia, Ireland, United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Colombia, Argentina, Italy, Israel |
Jugger is a sport inspired by the 1989 film The Salute of the Jugger (released as The Blood of Heroes in the United States), in which a game of the same name is played. The film version was invented by the film's stunt coordinator, Guy Norris, and its writer-director, David Webb Peoples, especially for the movie. The transformation into a real sport happened independently in Germany, the United States, and Australia in the late '80s and early '90s.
Jugger as a sport is gaining popularity in Germany, especially with university and college teams, with its own league. There are teams in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Ireland, England, Poland, Czech republic, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Colombia, Costa Rica, The Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Romania. Several variations on the game's rules exist: some focus on teamwork, speed, and agility, and are referred to as "sport jugger"; while others use a model that more closely resembles the aesthetics and intensity of the game played in the movie, most commonly referred to as "wasteland jugger."
The first ever international jugger tournament took place in Hamburg, Germany on 20 May 2007 between the Irish team Setanta and a number of the Northern German teams. In 2008, Australia and Ireland came to Germany to take part in the 1st German Open, making it the first two-continent tournament in jugger. The bi-annual World Club Championships regularly see teams and players attending from 4 continents (Europe, Australia, North America, South America).