If you’ve ever dreamt of playing a traditional sport while in an inflatable plastic bubble bouncing off competitors, look no further: Bubble soccer is now in Madison.
In bubble soccer, skills and fancy footwork go out the window because the biggest challenge is staying up-right, Madison entrepreneur Christie Low, who worked at Epic Systems and founded the city’s first bubble soccer program, said.
“As soon as someone comes after you in regular soccer, you’re both sort of battling for the ball, but in bubble soccer as soon as someone comes for you you’re usually just knocked down and go flying,” Low said.
Low was inspired to bring bubble soccer to Madison after watching a Youtube clip of the game being played.
After looking for a way to participate, Low realized there was no local outlet for the sport, and decided to start one.
“It just looked like fun!” she said. “I saw this video and I instantly wanted to do it, and I think a lot of other people do when they see it.”
Her group, Isthmus Bubble Soccer, started playing exhibition games at Middleton’s Keva Sports, and will begin league play in April. Eight teams have signed up so far for the month-long season, but more people are always welcome, Low said.
While students can arrange to play bubble soccer at Keva Sports, it may be a while before they see an intramural offering of the sport on campus.
Chad Schultz, the University’s Coordinator of Competitive Sports, is tasked with overseeing the daily affairs of University of Wisconsin’s club and intramural sports teams, and frequently receives student requests for activities.
Schultz was quick to confirm that he was indeed familiar with the sport.
“I’m well aware of it,” he said, citing expressions of interest his department has received from students. “I haven’t put on a bubble, but I’ve seen it played in person before.”
Schultz and other university officials tasked with managing student recreation have looked increasingly to creative, non-traditional activities partially in response to scheduled renovations and temporary loss of usable spaces in the Southeast Recreational Facility, Schultz said. Interest in bubble soccer has recently been a topic of discussion, but the Recreational Sports department needs to conduct more research to best determine if and how the sport will arrive for UW students, he said.
The cost of bubble soccer is one factor UW’s Rec Sports department has to keep in mind, Schultz said.
“Bubble soccer is quite expensive to start,” he said. “The bubbles can cost anywhere between $300 and $600 a pop, and our biggest reservation right now is that no manufacturer backs longer than a 30 day warranty on the product.”
Safety issues associated with bubble soccer are also a concern, Schultz said, so intramural bubble soccer teams careening through the SERF or the Natatorium might not be an immediate possibility.
