North Yorkshire sport of Rock-It-Ball plants new roots in Africa (From York Press)

North Yorkshire sport of Rock-It-Ball plants new roots in Africa

11:43am Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport

VX, a sport formerly called Rock-It-Ball and developed in North Yorkshire, has now spread its wings as far as Africa.

National governing bodies have been set up in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and a continental cup competition is soon to be launched.

Craig Buttery and Paul Hildreth, two of the senior officers from ‘Global VX’, are set to fly out to Uganda to donate equipment and help move the sport to the next level by coaching players, qualifying coaches and running sessions in schools, with the support of the Ripon Lions VX Club.

The highlight of the trip will be the inaugural v2 Africa Nations Cup, which will feature players from all three nations, and Buttery and Hildreth as guests.

VX found its way to Africa through Ugandan ace Bazake Robert, who set up a national governing body for the sport in his country, before going on to influence the establishment of those in Kenya and Tanzania.

“We are so impressed with what Bazake has achieved over there in such a short space of time and with limited resources,” said VX Global commissioner Craig Buttery.

“We look forward to meeting this inspirational young man and being able to welcome his players at our v2 World Cup in future.”

VX can be played as a singles, doubles or five-a-side game. Each player uses a ‘Rock-It’, which consists of a control bar and a thrower/catcher at each end.

Players can move anywhere on court but must dribble by rock-ing the ball between the two ends. Points are scored by hitting an opponent with the ball between the shoulders and feet or by catching an opponent’s thrown ball.