Scots Rock to World Cup Triumph
Thornaby Pavilion was literally rocking last weekend as it staged the inaugural Rock it Ball World Cup. 
The sport of Rock-it Ball was launched in April 2005 and is currently taking the country by storm.
The sport is played with a ‘Rock-It’, which is a control bar with a thrower/catcher on each end.
The four teams were representing England, Scotland, India and Pakistan and were playing the combat version of the sport which involves players firing low impact balls at each other. If you hit your opponent you score one point but if the opponent catches the ball in the catcher he scores two points
Over 300 spectators were treated to a tense and exciting afternoon of action as master of ceremonies TV celebrity Keith Chegwin cranked up the atmosphere.
The pre tournament favourites England started the round robin competition with a close 155-153 victory against the Indian team. After several hours of fierce competition, the final match was fittingly England versus Scotland with the victor taking the title of world champions.
In a nail biting game Scotland ran out 149 to 140 winners. Victory was made even sweeter against the ‘auld enemy’ as Scotland was the only mixed sex team in the tournament.
Craig Buttery, Commissioner of the International Rock-It-Ball Federation, said, “What an amazing day, there was so much riding on that last match and yet it was still played in such a wonderful sporting atmosphere. You couldn’t have scripted any of that. Congratulations to Scotland for their victory but also to all of those involved for their participation, and to the spectators for coming and helping make history here.”
David Seller, Thornaby Pavilion Manager added” Tees Active are delighted to assist new sports such as Rock-It Ball and after today’s fantastic competition we hope to see more World Cup competitions at the Pavilion”
Photographs supplied by Chris Mason.
For further information on Rock-it ball visit www.ribuk.co.uk.