Ironball is a sport played on a vertical course, in which the objective is to carry a 20 kg iron ball as high up the field as possible. The course has ladders, wall cracks, ledges, and other features which aid in climbing, and a pool of water at least 10 m deep at the bottom.
The ball is a hollow sphere, approximately 26 cm in diameter, with an opening on one side and a bar going through the center. The ball was traditionally made of iron, but has since been replaced with a steel alloy with a better rust resistance. The ball can carry up to 5 kg of water in it, which makes carrying it full much more difficult.
Gameplay
Ironball is played between two teams of four players each. Each player is either a climber or an anchor. Climbers carry an ironball up to one of the scoring buckets. Climbers can, and often do, work together to carry one ironball up. Anchors force the opposing team's players back into the water. Players can change their roles midgame, but only while they are on one of the scoring platforms.
The game consists of 3 rounds, each 20 minutes long. Each round starts with three ironballs dropped into the pool of water. Climbers dive in after the balls and start climbing up with them, while anchors have to climb down from the top to reach the opposing team's climbers. Anchors can also knock each other off the wall, and an anchor who falls in the water can either grab an ironball (if one is available) and start climbing, or wait a 1 minute penalty before they can climb out.
The round plays out with climbers carrying their ironballs up to one of the three platforms and filling their bucket. Once a bucket is filled it cannot be used anymore for the round. At the end of the round points are tallied based on the height and percent full of each bucket. Players cannot interfere with their opponent's buckets.
Another option for winning the round is to to carry a full (at least 80%) ironball to the top of the stadium. A team that accomplishes this immediately wins the round and, if it is the final round, the match. The Strongest is famous for using this tactic and is the only team to have pulled off an upset victory (losing 0-2 going into the final round and topping the ironball).
Teams often swap out players between rounds, as substitutions and time-outs are not allowed mid round. The winner of the match is the team who won the most rounds. In the event of a tie, a lightning round is played, where the winning team is the one who fills their bottom bucket first.