New Hungarian Sport Promises Lots of Contestants in Skimpy Swimming Attire

Despite living in a land-locked country that is home to but a few lakes and rivers, Hungarians make the most of any opportunity in which they are in the water; Hungary is a consistent gold-medal threat in such Olympic events as swimming, water polo, canoeing and kayaking.

Now headball, a new Magyar sport, is making … um … waves. The rules of headball closely resemble those of soccer. Teams are made up of three players each, two fielders and a goalie, that try to shoot a beach ball into the opposing goal using their noggins. Matches are held within an enclosed 15×5-meter floating playing area.

Organizers hope headball, which is played in two seven-minute halves, will garner the sort of grassroots following that, in the late 1970s, propelled the popularity of another waterside sport, beach volleyball, and eventually turned it not only into a 24-hour-sports-channel favorite but an Olympic event as well.

Impromptu and informal versions of headball have been played at Lake Balaton, the country’s largest body of water, every summer for decades. In 2010 a group of Budapesters decided to make it an official sport, complete with its own organization, the MFLSZ or Hungarian Headball Association. And on August 19, 2011 Budapest played host to the first annual Headball Cup.

Still, to the casual observer, ie, a fellow like myself who breaks into a sweat during a game of pool, there seems to be a don’t-try this-at-home element to headball. Observing the video above, one cannot help but think there is a high likelihood — with so many heads moving this way and that in a relatively small space — that one or two might bang into each other every once in a while.