Speedgate

Speedgate
Current logos for Speedgate
Type	Outdoor or Indoor
Contact Sport	Yes
Teams	Two teams, six players each
Mixed Gender	Yes
Equipment	Speedball, End Gates, Center Gate

Speedgate is a sport invented by AI at AKQA. In early April, 2019 an AI system at AKQA was given 400 popular sports and their rule sets. The AI provided 1,000 outputs, of which three were field tested. The final Product was Speedgate, a unique combination of elements from rugby, croquet, and soccer. The sport requires a 180 by 60 foot (54.864 by 18.288 meter) area.

Gameplay

Two teams playing Speedgate

Speedball is played by two teams of six members. Three members are known as 'forwards' and the other three are known as 'defenders'. The forwards can move freely throughout the field while defenders must stay in their team's half of the field until the forward clear the Center Gate. The ball can be passed through an underhand throw (starting below the waist) or by a kick. A goal can only be scored by kicking the ball through the opposite team's end gate and can be either two or three points, depending on the manner in which it is scored. The goal will only be two points if the ball is only kicked once through the opposite team's end gate. The goal may progress to three points if, when the first kick passes through the goal, a team mate then catches the ball and kicks it through the end gate directly afterward, this goal is called a ricochet.

Procedure and Rules

The procedure and rules of Speedgate are similar in complexity to soccer and croquet.

Procedure

A game of Speedgate will begin with each of the team captains going into the center gate with a referee and shaking hands. The referee will then produce a coin which sides will be called by the captains before flipping. Once flipped, the winning team will kick the ball through the center gate to a team mate on the other side. At this point the game will begin. There are three, seven minute periods in each game with a two minute recess period between them. In the second period, the kickoff will be started by the team that did not start the kickoff in the first period, while the kickoff of the third period will be started by the team with the less points.

Rules

A diagram of a Speedgate playing field

There are two referees in each Speedgate game, one to monitor gameplay and one to monitor gate possession.

• No kicking, shoving, elbowing, tackling or hitting
• Body blocking is allowed in a passive manner (any dispute will be settled by the gameplay referee)
• Moving through the center gate will result in a foul
• If the team in possession commits a foul, possession is transferred and the center gate has to be cleared again
• If a player in possession is fouled and loses the ball, possession is retained by that player
• Out of bounds gives the other team throw/kick-in
• Once a team has scored, possession is transferred, defenders must make their way back to their half before being allowed to influence gameplay
• Players with the ball in hand are not allowed to move
• Player must pass or kick the ball within 3 seconds
• Opposing players are allowed to go after the ball after the 3-second period
• Jumping is allowed
• The ball is allowed to touch the ground
• Teams are allowed full subs.
• Each team is allowed 3 subs during each period of play.
• All gates must be cleared with a drop kick or grubber kick.
• Gates must be cleared below gate tips.
• Clearing the end gate results in a 2-point goal.
• A teammate catching a scoring ball and kicking it back— immediately clearing the gate a second time—results in a 3-point goal.
• All gates may be cleared from either direction.
• No players are allowed to cross through the center-gate at any time.
• Only 1 defender is allowed in the end-gate circle at any time.
• Players must clear the end gate from outside the end-gate’s circle.
• If the game ends in a tie, three 3-minute periods will be played with a 1-minute interval
• If overtime ends in a draw, a penalty shootout will decide the winner.
• Penalty shootout requires a player to clear the end gate from the center gate with no goalie defending.