Slovenia – Pandolo

Equipment
1 Base ­ (a firm flat rectangle made from metal materials),
1 Mazza (a 55 cm long piece of wood with rounded ends),
1 Pandolo (made from wood. On both of the edges it is shaped into a cone),
Face protections ­ (a protective shield for the face, which is usually made of plastic. All defense players should use them),
Gloves ­(for protection of the defense players hands),
Uniforms ­(players of each team have their own uniform, although it is not required).

1. Teams
The game is played between two competing teams. Each team plays with three players. In a game of pandolo there is also a referee. He must not interfere, unless a team has something to object or the play is too slow. In that case he solves the conflict on the base of the rules or simply warns the players to speed up the game. There are even yellow and red cards to punish bad words or insulting other team players.
2. Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to score as much points as possible by hitting the pandolo towards the end of the playfield. The team that has more points at the end of the game is the winner.

The game is played in rounds. In each round, both teams take part in attacking and defending. The toss of a coin before the start decides which team will start first on the offensive side and which in the defence.The attacking team has only player active on the playing field while the other team­mates are watching. On the other side the whole defending team is active on the field. When the first player completes his turn, he is replaced with the next player from the attacking team. When all the offensive players have finished, the teams switch places ­ the defending team becomes the offensive team and the offensive team goes in defence. The game then continues until all of the new offensive team’s players have finished playing. Then it’s the end of the first round.

In the second round everything repeats. The only difference is that the first attacking team now starts in defense.

3. Flow of the Game
Every active player completes his active role if not prematurely struck out, in the following phases of the game:

Phase One – ­ Active game of the first player

The first step is to toss the  pandolo into the game or “service”. The defense team spreads out in the wide area of the field. No defense player, however, can be closer than 12 mazza (stick) lengths from the base. The active player places himself maximum 1 mazza far from the base. He holds the  pandolo in his hand. When the game starts, the active player: hits the base with the mazza. then he shouts “Pandolo, pandolo zero” so everyone on the field can hear. With his hand, he throws the pandolo straight up into the air and he hits it with the mazza into the playing filed. If the pandolo doesn’t land in the field he has two more attempts.

Phase Two ­ – Catching the Pandolo

The defending players tries to catch the pandolo in the air. If they succeed the active player has ended his turn. Otherwise the pandolo is stopped on the ground by defending players, or it stops somewhere in the field by itself.

Phase Three – ­ Targeting the Base

From the point where the pandolo was stopped, one of the defense players tries to throw the pandolo to strike the base. The active player can defend the base only with the mazza. If the pandolo anyway hits the base the active player is struck out and he ends his turn. Otherwise the game continues.

Phase Four ­ – Striking the Pandolo

The active player that has not been struck out continues the game. The active player places the pandolo near the base (1 mazza). The defense team players take their positions in the playing field and no closer than 12 mazza lengths from the base. When everyone is ready the active player places himself near the pandolo. With one hit, on the edge, the pandolo lifts in the air and with the second hit he sends the pandolo towards the end line. If the defending player doesn’t catch the pandolo in the air, the active player repeats the last step two more times.

Phase Five – ­ Counting Points

The points are counted only if the active player has finished everything without the pandolo being caught in the air by the defending players. The attacking team measures, by eye, the distance between the base and the pandolo. One of the players than loudly says the distance in the unit of mazza.  If the defending team agrees with the distance the players scored as much points as the distance was. Otherwise they measure it mazza by mazza from the pandolo to the base. If the attacking team said a bigger number then the measured, they lost all the points. If they said a correct or a smaller number, the points are doubled.

4. Concluding the Game
At a tournament, the game is normally played in two groups. The first and the second team of each group passes to the finals where the first team, plays with the second one of the other group. The winners then play the final game for the 1 place on the tournament.

 

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