Freelance Traveller

Medusa: A Planetary Sport

by Gaizka Márquez

This article originally appeared in Spanish in Vuelo Raso N.7 and was translated by Google Translate and Jeff Zeitlin; the translation appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Freelance Traveller. The title in the PDF was “Medusa: A Worldwide Sport”, but was corrected for this presentation.

Medusa is a sport originating in Squallia played with a special ball. Two teams of seven players each face each other on a sloping playing area separated by a central net. The objective of the game is to pass the ball over the net into the opponent's court while simultaneously trying to prevent it by forcing the opponent to fail in their attempt and thus increasing their control of the ball.

The ball can be touched or propelled with any part of the body, but it cannot be caught, held, or carried. The rules are clear in this regard: if a player catches the ball or is hit by it, they are “chipped” and eliminated, and a substitute may take their place. Each team has a maximum of three substitutes (ten players in total), after which the team plays with fewer players until the match end or all players are “chipped.”

The Ball and Playing Time

The ball is an essential element characteristic of this sport: a spherical, hard plastic net with a diameter of 25 cm, with a paintball inside weighing 1 kilo (normally). The paintball is programmed to explode after 15 minutes, although in friendly matches this time can be reduced or extended by the referees without prior notice to increase the excitement. The regulation variation allowed is ±5 minutes maximum.

Once the referee gives the kickoff, the teams have no way of knowing how much time remains, as this countdown is hidden. Once the time expires, the paintball will explode, splashing and stinging (“dribbling”) nearby players, who will be forced to leave the field of play. There is no break between balls, but it is the measure used to keep track of the progress of the match:

• First ball: “Low tide” or first play.
• Second ball: “Rough sea” or second play.
• Third ball: “High Tide” or third play.

Once the third ball has exploded or when one team loses all of its members, the match ends.

Scoring

In Medusa, not only can points be won, but the rules can also cause them to be lost.

Earning points:

• If the ball is moved to the opponent's court and a player is eliminated due to a “dribble,” 2 points are awarded.
• If the ball touches the ground in the opponent’s court, 3 points are awarded.
• Contact with the net (either with the ball or a part of the body) is penalized with 4 points for the opponent, but the player is not penalized.

Losing points:

• For each player “dribbled,” 2 points are lost.
• For being the team with the longest control of the ball, 5 points are lost (for each ball).

This distribution of points gained and lost sometimes means that it is better to sacrifice a player and allow the opponent to win 2 points before the ball touches the ground. In turn, the opposing team can risk having more time on the ball so that the ball explodes in the opponent’s court and more opposing players are “dribbled.” The riskiest plays can include pulling the net to create movement, giving the opponent points but blocking their advance and increasing their control time.

Player Positions

• Players specialized in defending close to the net are called “long players” or simply “longs.” There are usually three of them.
• The central player is called the “body” and usually acts as captain and support player anywhere on the court. The “body” is usually the best physically and tactically prepared player on the team.
• Rearguard players (usually three) are called “short players” or simply “shorts,”; their job is to quickly set up attacks by repositioning the ball, collaborating with the longs and the body.

Due to the characteristics of the game, it is normal for players to begin attacking and defending as a group and gradually move away as time progresses, thus trying to have the fewest number of “hits” or “dribbles” when the ball explodes. This translates into a very intense and aggressive game that evolves into a more strategic game as time goes on.

Playing Field

Due to the very thin atmosphere of Squallia, these matches are not usually played outdoors.

The playing field is a square cage 20 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 4 meters high, divided in half by a 2-meter-high net, favoring lateral play over frontal play and preventing the ball from leaving the playing field when it needs to "bounce."

The net is made of elastic material, so a hit will keep it moving for a while until it stops by itself or a team sacrifices points to stop it. The playing field floor varies depending on the stadium, and there are no established rules other than that it must be free of obstacles and have a maximum slope of 20°. They are available made of sand, sliding metal (which slips when covered with paint), or even non-slip metal, but with a slope of 10°.

Tournaments and Leagues

In Squallia, there is at least one principal league and several smaller leagues in each country (it's a Balkanized system), as well as a world tournament known as The Union of Tides. Teams in a league are ranked based on the total points accumulated in each match, making rankings very volatile and making it difficult to hold the top spot on the list for long.

Once the leagues are over, the world tournament is held with knockout rounds in which each of the league winners participates. Interestingly, the winner of the previous tournament has a direct pass to this tournament, where, if they fail to retain their title, they must hand over the Coral Cup to the new winner.

Betting

Betting is illegal in Squallia, however, that doesn’t prevent it from occurring. The most common bets are on the league winner and the total number of eliminations in a match; betting on the winner of a match is not as common as in other sporting events.

Special Rules

Any type of doping is prohibited, not because of the sporting competition itself, but because in Squallia, with a legal level of 9, any type of drug is prohibited. Furthermore, in official leagues, playing with implants is not permitted. As a final interesting fact, since this affects not only the players but also the public, it is prohibited to bring any type of time-measuring device onto the field. Only referees have access to a double stopwatch, which they use to measure ball control time, and despite this, the numbers are invisible until the ball explodes.