5 Reasons To Watch Kronum (Even Though You've Never Heard Of It)

5. Presentation

Firs of all, the Kronum field (or "round," as they call it) is a thing of beauty, and really is the first thing to catch your eye. For many sports fans, presentation is everything, and often starts with the field of play itself. The Kronum field is as unique to its game as is the court to basketball. The first thing you notice is that the field is circular, divided into four quadrants (or quads) and at each quadrant is a goal. Yes, there are FOUR goals on the field. We're so used to seeing the requisite two goals at either end of a field or court that to see four is, well, completely new and different. There are a total of four distinct zones of possession that determine how to play the ball and types of scoring opportunities for each team. Offense and defense is determined by possession of the ball (I'll get to that in a minute). The zones of play, extending out from a given goal, are the goal zone, wedge zone, cross (or flex) zone, and the prime ring. In Kronum, players can play the ball with any part of their bodies except in the wedge, which is a no-hands zone. The goals themselves are their own monster: each has a chamber, but on top of the goals is the crown. The crown has five rings, and scoring through these, depending where a player is on the field, doubles the points. I'll break it down: Goal Zone: 1 (chamber); 2 (ring) Wedge Zone: 2 (chamber); 4 (ring) Flex Zone: 2 (chamber); 4 (ring) Prime Ring: 4 (chamber); 8 (ring - also called a Kronum) Penalty Shot: 3 (chamber); 6 (ring) Simple enough, right? The prime ring also functions as a take-back line (think half-court basketball), where offensive and defensive possession of the ball is determined and can change. This makes for an extremely free-flowing game with very few stoppages of play. The ball itself was designed with the idea of being able to use both hands and feet. With the hands, the ball has to be advanced by dribbling, as in basketball, though Kronum allows for double dribbling as there's no offensive shot clock. But it's also slightly lighter and bouncier than a soccer ball, so plays made with the feet give the ball a lot more velocity. Each game is played over three periods of 20 minutes each, very much like hockey. Kronum makes an effort to incorporate something from all the major sports in its presentation, making it very accessible to new viewers and players.