zorb balls

The zorb balls are double-sectioned, with one ball inside the other with an air layer between. This acts as a shock absorber for the rider, damping bumps while traveling. Orbs are lightweight and made of flexible plastic, as opposed to the rigid plastic, for example, of a hamster ball. Many zorbs have straps to hold the rider in place, while others leave the rider free to walk the orb around or be tossed about freely by the rolling motion. A typical orb is about 3 metres (10 ft) in diameter, with an inner orb size of about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in), leaving a 50–60 centimetre (20–24 in) air cushion around the riders. The plastic is approximately 0.8 millimetres (0.03 in) thick. The inner and outer orb are connected by numerous (often hundreds of) small nylon strings. Zorbs have one or two tunnel-like entrances.

When playing zorb football there are a number of different scenarios which can be played out:

• Zorb bowling is when a group of people stand at one end of the pitch whilst another player stands at the other end. It is then his job to run and dive at the group, trying to knock as many of them over as possible.
• Zorb is when two players line up in a circle drawn on the ground, with the object of the game being to push each other out from the circle.
• Bulldog is when one player is given the task of knocking down as many players as he can while inside the bubble, stopping them from getting from one end of the pitch to the other. Whoever gets knocked down then has to join the guy in the middle.