https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/115922102/uball-a-new-sport-and-product-revolutionizing-basketball
Basketball is one of those rare sports that is bound to the court. Unless you’ve got two hoop poles cemented into the ground, or mounted on a wall, you’re not really playing basketball, you’re just dribbling away… which is quite a limitation, given how popular basketball is. You can play soccer, cricket, or even volleyball anywhere with just the right equipment, but basketball doesn’t have that freedom of movement. You’re restricted to wherever the hoops are. Tim Shields and his invention, the Uball, are hoping to break that shackle that’s holding basketball back. Much like being able to set up a volleyball net anywhere and begin playing, Uball lets you carry around and set up an 8.5 foot pole and hoop anywhere, giving you the ability to engage in a game of basketball anywhere you go, in the fields, at the beach, or even in your backyard.
What Uball does for basketball is similar to what ice did for hockey. It dramatically changes the way the game is played, while also catering to your obsession for the sport. The 8.5 foot hoop comes with Tim’s new version of being able to play basketball on sand or even on grass, where you can’t really dribble or bounce the ball (much like how you can’t roll an ice-hockey puck the way you’d roll a hockey ball). With Uball, there’s no dribbling and no out-of-bound areas. You can hold the ball for the duration of two steps, before passing it to a teammate, who can literally dunk or shoot from anywhere on the field… even behind the hoop! Uball’s hoop, however, conforms to the design of a standard basketball hoop, so as to not drastically change the gameplay. The only difference is that this eight and a half foot hoop folds up into a backpack-sized package that you can carry on your shoulders, along with the basketball.
The Uball’s design is optimized for portability, with a simple multiple-part assembly that weighs roughly 30 pounds. Its base firmly screws into the ground like a beach umbrella does, allowing the hoop to take the strains of the game without collapsing. Assembly takes minutes too, as you put the poles together, fix the hoop and backboard in place, and prop it all up on the firmly secured base. The poles can be height-adjusted too, if you’ve got children playing, and Uball conveniently comes with not one, but two basketballs that you can carry along with you. You can easily play a game with just one Uball hoop (Tim’s modified version accommodates for it too), or if you’d like something that’s more on the traditional side of the spectrum, you can have two people carry their own respective Uball kits for a more conventional game of basketball. Designed to finally make basketball as nomadic a game as soccer, Uball represents a dream where people can shoot hoops at the beach too!
Designer: Timothy Shields
Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $240 ($100 off).
Uball: World’s First Backpackable Hoop Set
Uball is a new version of basketball that you can play on a beach or at a field. The basketball hoop set can be packed up, carried on your back, and secured into the ground like a beach umbrella. Its reduced height of 8.5 ft. (adjustable down to 5.5 ft.) and smaller basketball allows everyone to experience one of the greatest plays in basketball: the slam dunk.
Uball is a movement that is reinventing the way people play and think about basketball. Check out the basic rules of Uball above. They also have an in-depth rule book you can view here.
Below: How It Works
Step 1: Similar to a beach umbrella, secure ground screw into ground by turning it.
Step 2: Attach rim to pole and backboard with two knobs.
Step 3: Join poles together with two pins at your desired height.
Step 4: Lift backboard, rim, and pole and place it on the ground screw.
Step 5: Tighten three knobs on ground screw to pole.
Uball basketballs are at a slightly reduced size (25.5″ circumference instead of 29.5″ circumference), so the average person can now palm the ball. The basketballs are still large enough where you can shoot it normally.
Uball Engineering
No detail was too small for their engineering experts. Through multiple rounds of development, testing and redesign, they are bringing to the world a product built for optimal portability and durability.
Portability: Your Uball set is converted into a backpack so that everything can be carried on your back on any adventure.
1. The ground screw, the rim, and the balls are easily attached to the backboard.
2. The backboard can be converted into a backpack with adjustable straps.
3. The pole and its pad come with a strap that you can sling over your shoulder for easy transport.
Durability: A high-quality product created to keep up with you.
Rim: custom-designed to withstand the force of slam dunks through its steel-faceted curve. We have developed a rim that can handle powerful dunks from athletes in the NFL, NBA, and elite college basketball programs, as well as the hundreds of students from 12-23 years old that have tested the strength of the rim over the past six months.
Backboard: structured with a steel frame so that it will maintain its integrity and rigidity in travel and play.
Pole: made of steel in order to handle the strength and stress of any type of shot.
Ground Screw: screws into the ground 12-15 inches deep, and is what makes the system stable.
Uball Story
Tim Shields, CEO, and Molly Shields, Vice President, are co-founders of Uball. Tim left the University of Virginia to pursue Uball full-time, while Molly is entering her senior year at UVA. Their love of sports and their entrepreneurial spirit helped them see an opportunity to create something completely new – revolutionizing the way people play basketball.
Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $240 ($100 off).