International Oarball Union

It’s oarball season! Send us pictures from your games this week!

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We are also adding certifications for youth program management to ensure that whoever is in charge of your kid’s oarball is going to give them a safe, enriching, and fun environment

With the growing level of play in the sport of oarball, work is underway to develop a level 3 coaching certification. Level 3 coaches will be required to demonstrate knowledge of advanced tactics, physical training, and technical skills

Whoops…stay safe and warm anyway!

Stay safe, stay warm!

other than “no one likes them” why was Russia the only country to get massive sanctions and booted from international sports for their invasion

Have you ever posted anything…nice? A joke? A fun story? It looks like all you do is say mean things to people

All this to say- if you like #hockey or read #HeatedRivalry or watch #NHL but you don’t love how its best players have behaved lately, maybe try playing oarball. There’s room on the team for any shape of body, there are lots of fun skills to learn, and you may make new friends!

Not only does keeping the sport affordable help the culture welcoming and give people exposure to different viewpoints, but selfishly it improves the quality of play on the field. We don’t want to drive away the next great player because somebody called them a slur or laughed at their achievements

Slogans and training programs pointed at inclusivity can only go so far if we come out with rules that require players to buy expensive gear or play on massive expensive fields. So we strive specifically to keep the sport as cheap as possible

Many oarball players come from hockey and love the sport. But it’s prohibitively expensive, and that expense will always taint the culture that surrounds it. Which is why the International Oarball Union remains laser focused on affordability and accessibility

And there are material reasons for hockey to want to stay this way- multigenerational wealth for the families who can get in, a protective circle that frees one from accountability from even heinous crimes like rape, and the joy of playing a children’s game for thousands of adoring fans

This is plainly visible in the demographics of top hockey teams. Not only are they whiter than one would expect (hotbeds like Ontario, Minnesota, and New York are diverse but the players are not), but there are an outsized number of players who are children of NHLers or who are brothers

Rich kids get in first because they have more opportunity. Then their culture reinforces itself. Anyone from a different background or who looks different is an outsider. Outsiders are met with hostility and sometimes even violence. New perspectives are pushed out, and the vicious cycle repeats

Another barrier is geographic. Access to ice time, even in areas where hockey is immensely popular, is not distributed evenly. Children in privileged areas get shorter commutes, more ice time, and better competition. Over the years, that advantage adds up.

It costs thousands of dollars to buy ice hockey gear. Even more to play at even a recreational local level. That’s before the costs of elite teams & skating coaches necessary to even approach the NHL or Olympic levels. That cost is a huge barrier to new and different perspectives in the locker room

We’ve seen a lot of people who love ice hockey (or at least love Heated Rivalry) being disillusioned and dismayed by the revealed politics of top hockey players. Hockey is a wonderful sport to play and watch, but this is a predictable outcome of the sport’s insularity and expense.

Now that you’re grown you may want to check out oarball. It’s similar to hockey but infinitely cheaper!

If you’re interested in this sort of thing for your kid or you want to get involved, reach out! We’re always looking to add new non-competitive house leagues

We’ll take any basketball announcers and fans they drive away with this nonsense

We’ll give him some gear- we have to have him balling

Or, you could enjoy your life as much as possible and not try to “hack” it

Who’s loving the winter olympics? Maybe oarball should move our season to the winter and get in on the action

What is your favorite way to keep in shape for oarball season?

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

again, if you're looking to help with mutual aid.

The Competition Committee has released new competition guidelines. See them here:

This has been an ongoing discussion at the IOU for some time, but the decision is official today:
The International Oarball Union does not recognize and will not recognize the United States. There will be no Team USA. Instead, we will recognize the nations which were on the land first. #Landback

It’s time.

I want the see Steve Kerr’s Warriors and Minneapolis’ Timberwolves agree that they simply cannot play this game tonight.

A strike in solidarity with the besieged city and its murdered and abducted residents.

It’s not meant to be a one size fits all solution, but rather to give a mold that coaches can tailor into something that does fit their team and their players