Organizing a Marble Team
Welcome to the world of Marbles, a game that has been played
through the ages, a game that your grandparents likely played. By some accounts it has been played for 300
plus generations, and now it is time once again to pass it on to the next
generation.
It is also a wonderful way to teach behavioral and
sportsmanship skills, and how to interact socially.
But what does it take to get a group started? Where can you go with it once you have a
group started? This is an attempt to
answer those questions and hopefully many more.
It is about the love of a game that is simple on the surface, but for
those that commit themselves to it, a game with many subtle nuances. And, in today’s economy, it’s also a game
that can be very cheap to play.
1. Selling the idea of a marbles
group
A. Finding an
Organization to sponsor Marbles Team
Once you have committed to starting a marble group it will
be important to find a sponsor for the group.
Recreational centers, church youth groups, schools, after school
programs, and scout groups are good places to start looking. Schools and
teachers are good to bring on board as teachers will find the game to be of
benefit for the social skills. Because
of the relative cheapness of the game, the sponsor is more important in finding
interested players and a location to play than actual financial sponsorship.
Most sports take place in either
fall and spring seasons, so it’s generally best to follow the same schedule.
Whether or not you choose to have the team meet in the fall is up to you; this
will give players more time to practice, but may also conflict with players who
play another sport in the fall. Having a
spring season is a must if you’re interested in attending the National Marbles
Tournament; with the tournament being the week after Fathers Day, your players
won’t have had enough practice if the last time they played was in December.
B. Getting Kids
to play
With a sponsor and a place to play, it will be time to find
the most important element of all in playing the game, and that is the
players. While the National Marbles
Tournament is for players aged 7 through 14 (the cutoff date for birthdays is
the 10th of June) for any given year, marbles can be played by kids
of all ages, and play between parents and their children is encouraged. Recruiting player is open to ones
imagination, but schools, after school programs, church groups, scouts, town
fairs are a good place to start. Indeed,
any place open to the public that attracts children is a likely place to
advertise and recruit. Recruiting should
involve a hand’s on demonstration, including Keeps, Ringer, or any other game
that you feel captures the imagination of your recruits. Once you have some players they can be
included in the demonstration to show kids playing. Posters in schools and demonstrations in
schools is also a good way to attract players.
C. Who is
playing at the National Marbles Tournament
When trying to select a sponsor and recruit players it is
good to look at what established groups are doing and where they are getting
their players. Presently the National
Marbles Tournament has groups from 18 locations in the country, from the East
Coast to Colorado. Sponsorship breaks
down as follows:
5
Recreational Councils
5
Schools
2
Churches
4
After School Organizations
2
Other
Many of these groups encourage former players to become
coaches when their playing days are over.
All of the groups encourage current players to do demonstrations for fun
and for recruitment.
2. Forming a group and
activities.
If the sponsor does not have a place to play, you’ll need to
search for one. Many groups will use an
indoor room located in a school, recreational building or a church. The floor can be a flat tile, linoleum, wood
or short pile carpet. It is best if a
marble ring can be marked on the floor, but make sure the owners of the room
will allow anything permanent. If
permanent markings are not allowed, painters tape can be used as a
substitute. Painters tape leaves less of
a mark than masking tape. Some groups
have their own small carpets that are marked for play and can be laid on any
floor. Other groups use outdoor spaces
for spring and summer activities. Cement
surfaces are recommended, as they are often the flattest, but cement rings require
yearly painting in wet climates. The
National Marbles Tournament is played of cement rings located on the beach in
Wildwood NJ. Established groups often
build cement rings outdoors, with funding coming from grants, and
donations. Once a location is picked and
a group is formed, a time is needed. The
time may be dictated by who the group is associated with or by consensus of you
the coach, the players and parents.
A.
The love of the game
To form a strong team, the love of the game needs to be
built upon, and sportsmanship must be practiced. For some this means playing just for fun; not
all players are in it for the competition, with many younger players enjoying
many different games without worrying about who is winning as each in their own
way is winning. Many different marble
games can be played, and all center on how to shoot a marble. Most organizations start all of their players
in non-competitive groups, with the older and more talented players graduating
on to the next competitive level.
However, it is the non-competitive player that will form the foundation
to your organization. For those wanting
to be in a competition, the game played at the Nationals is Ringer.
Sportsmanship is part of the game as well, and many of the
groups focus heavily on sportsmanship.
One of the earliest ways of determining a champion is seeing
sportsmanship develop first. Many of the
Nationals Champions were sportsmanship champions at the Nationals years before
they won the competition. Some groups
will bring only players who they feel can win the sportsmanship title. Sportsmanship is as simple as cheering on
their opponents game, shots, wins, or losses, helping to rack the marbles, and
remembering to thank the referees for a job well done.
B.
Games to play
For those wishing to be in the National Marbles Tournament,
the coaches and students will need to be familiar with that official game
“Ringer.” Copies of the rules for Ringer
can be found elsewhere in the web page, www.NationalMarblesTournament.org. For those with no interest in the Nationals,
or for groups that want some variety, there are many good books with different
marbles games, so check your bookstore.
You will also find many games handed down by word of mouth, so check with
older relatives for some ideas. You can
also be creative and invent your own!
C.
Old marbles
Looking at old marbles is another way to engage the
players. Many people have collections of
marbles dating back to their youth, or handed down from their
grandparents. While many are worth just
pennies, a select few can be worth hundreds of dollars.
3. Equipment Needed
One of the biggest advantages to playing marbles is that the
materials needed are cheap and easy to obtain.
A.
Marbles
1.
Target Marbles
Target marbles are a requirement. For the game of Ringer 13 glass marbles
(Mibs) are needed. The regulation size
for the mibs is 5/8ths of an inch in diameter; most marbles you can buy are of
this size. Any color is acceptable,
though blue is the official color used at the Nationals. Target marbles can be obtained from Marble
King of Paden West Virginia (www.marbleking.com). Marble King is a sponsor of the National
Marbles Tournament, and the last US manufacture of glass marbles.
2.
Shooters
Along with the mibs, a shooter is needed for each
player. The shooter can be a simple a
different colored glass marble. The
requirement for the game of Ringer is a marble larger than one half inch in
diameter, but no larger than three quarters of an inch in diameter. Often bags of marbles that come with a
“shooters” include a marble that is too large to be a shooter. These marbles
are known as boulders. Boulders are not allowed in normal game play. Many tournament players use stone marbles
(usually agate and are of varying size), but even a standard-sized glass marble
is acceptable. The only other rule for
shooters is that they shall not be made of metal. Steel ball bearings and such are forbidden in
tournament play.
B.
The Ring
1.
Surface
The most important feature in the surface to be played on is
that it be flat. Many rings will have
very slight hills and valleys, and these are fine, but avoid them if
possible. Ring boundaries and lag lines
will need to be marked on your surface.
Straight lines also help when learning to aim the shooter marbles.
2.
Backstops
Marbles do roll, sometimes very fast, so if you have several
games going on or if the marbles can go where you will not be able to retrieve
them, some form of backstop will be necessary.
A wood backstop is used on the rings for the Nationals, but plastic
piping, heavy rope, or even garden hose can form your backstops.
3.
Size
Ringer is played on a 10-foot diameter ring, usually set in
a 14-foot square to give the players extra room to shoot. Other games can easily be played on smaller
rings and on different shaped rings.
C.
Racks, Gauges, Knee Pads, Band-Aids
Racks
The game of Ringer requires the 13 mibs to be placed into an
X in the center of the ring (one in the center, 3 on each side). The distance between mibs is 3 inches. At the Nationals, the mibs are placed in a
rack with the correct dimensions. The racks
are usually made with two pieces of wood fixed into an X, with 3/4th
inch holes every three inches. However, for
practice, many players find it easier to mark the location of the mibs on the
ring itself.
Gauges
To ensure that all shooters are proper size, gauges may be
needed. Calipers will work, but most
players prefer gauges. Gauges can be
made from sheet metal or plastic, with the 2 holes drilled or punched one 1/2
inch and the other 3/4 inches in diameter.
Punches hold their diminutions better than drill bits. Circle tinplates used for drawing circles are
not accurate because they take into account the width of the pencil, and should
not be relied on.
Knee Pads
Young players sometimes find the playing surface hard of
their knees. For those that complain
about the hard surface, kneepads can be used.
Band-Aids
Heavy play for several days can cause scrapes, scratches,
and blisters on the player’s hands, usually the knuckles. Band-aids can be used, tough they may get in
the way, so Liquid Skin is more popular among serious players.
Sunscreens
At the National Marbles Tournament, play goes on for 4 to 5
hours a day. During this time the sun
will be shining, so sunscreen should be used.
The trouble with sunscreen is that, when it is applied to the player’s
thumb and index finger, it is very slippery and control of the shooter is
lost. Avoid getting sunscreen on the
shooting thumb and finger. It’s
encouraged that someone else applies sunscreen if possible.
4. Entering the National Marbles
Tournament
When you feel comfortable with playing marbles and you wish
to extend the experience of the players, it is time to come to the National
Marbles Tournament. The teams at the
Nationals are a welcoming group, and coming to the Nationals should be kept in
mind even if you feel you are not ready.
A.
Invitational
The National Marbles Tournament is an invitational
tournament, but they have to know that you’re interested if you’re to be
invited! A request for an invitation
needs to be made to the Board. The goal
of the tournament is to encourage the game of marbles. The Tournament Board is always looking for
new areas to join with teams from new states being sought out. Existing groups receive their invitation in
March, and the deadline for entry forms are required by June first. Local tournaments are normally played in
April and May.
B.
Local Tournaments
To qualify for a spot at the Nationals, a team needs to have
an advertised tournament, and then a playoff with a championship round. The champions are then eligible for the
Nationals.
C.
Level of Play
Since it is the champions that are eligible, all players at
the National Tournament are champions.
Players can return every year until they are 15 years old, and it is
inspiring to watch the player’s progress in their skills, both in play and in
sportsmanship. For some, winning just
one game is a goal satisfied. For others
rooting for a new friend becomes part of the tournament. In any given year there are only two National
Marbles Tournament champions (One boy, and one girl), but every year many walk
away winners.
D
Fund Raising
While the game of marbles is cheap, getting to the Nationals will cost some money. Each team is responsible for getting their players to the tournament, as well as paying for the rooms and meals with their own funding, so fund raising takes on some importance. Current groups use Marble Shows, metal scrape recycling, and Yard Sales to help defray the cost of going to the Tournament.
Good luck and we hope to see you at National Marbles Tournament
