Kronum: New Sport on the Rise By: Matt Nissenfeld

Kronum: New Sport on the Rise By: Matt Nissenfeld

Ready for a new sport that combines sports such as soccer and basketball? Then ladies and gentleman try playing this brand new revolutionary sport called Kronum. This sport was first founded by Bill Gibson in Villanova, Pennsylvania in 2006, and it has also become popular in Europe. The pro and recreational league games are played at the MapleZone Sports Complex in Pennsylvania, usually on this new indoor K-50 field.  Kronum also has a high school league which is growing in popularity each year.

            The field is a very unique part of this sport, as it’s a huge circle divided into four zones. The small semi-circle at the corner of the field (highlighted in blue) is known as the Goal Zone where if a player scores from there it counts as one point. The next zone right above the semi-circle (highlighted in red) is known as the Wedge zone.  If a goal is scored there it counts as two points, but use of hands on the ball is prohibited for both offense and defense - you can only use your feet in this zone. Above the Wedge Zone is the Flex Zone (highlighted in green), and goals scored there are also worth two points. Finally, comes the Cross Zone/second ring where if you could see carefully on the field looks like a giant cross or the giant circle in the middle.  A cross zone goal or second ring goal is worth four points.

            In Kronum, players can move the ball by dribbling the ball like a basketball, dribbling it with their feet like in soccer, or by taking two steps with the ball without dribbling. There are three positions you can play in Kronum. The first position is the Wedge Back who plays goalie for their team while on defense and stay in the Wedge Zone to try and score goals while their team is on offense. There are four wedge Backs on the field at once, since there are four goals to defend. Next comes four Rangers who stay back with the wedge backs to help in defending and scoring. The Rangers however are permitted to go into any of the four zones in the field, unlike Wedge backs. Essentially, they are the midfielders of Kronum.  There is also a position called a Crosser, whose role is similar to point guard in basketball.  They are known to keep possession of the ball, start up attacks, and get the ball to the Rangers or Wedge backs for the goal.  Like Rangers, Crossers are also permitted to go anywhere on the field they choose.

            The goal consists of a net with five rings arching at the top of it (pictured right).  If any goal goes through the chamber of the goal it’s as the rule implies, but if it’s scored in any zone through the rings of the goal, then the value of that goal is doubled. So Goal Zone would be two points through a ring, the Wedge Zone four, Flex Zone four, and if through the Cross Zone or second ring its worth eight.  An eight point goal is known as a Kronum - this goal is very hard to achieve because it tests power and accuracy as they have to try and get it into the ring from a far distance. Teams will battle back and forth for possession and goals as these games are often high scoring. If a team scores around 150 points it is considered normal in this league. The game starts off in a “Prime Rush” where each team’s ten players stand around the big ring in the center as the ref spikes the ball in the middle forcing one player from each team to jump up and get it - kind of like a tipoff in basketball. After a team scores the Wedge back from the goal it was scored on gets the ball and passes it off to someone else who usually gets the ball to another side of the field. 

            The Kronum league, located in Pennsylvania, consists of seven teams named the Jet Sets, Night Owls, Nimble Jacks, Throwbacks, Urban Legends, Work Horses, and the Evergreens. The Nimble Jacks have been the league’s most successful teams through multiple seasons. This sport has been getting more and more popular as it has been featured on ESPN Sportscenter’s top 10 plays multiple times, as well being featured on the show SportsNation. Kronum also has popular accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. Youtube has recently been airing live streams of their games so fans at home can watch them.  So have fun with this and play this revolutionary new sport and join the Kronum revolution and help this sport become the next major sport in the world!