Thruball

Thruball is a fast-paced team sport that mixes the best of pickleball, volleyball, and spikeball. It’s played by two teams of two, lined up on opposite sides of the court with the gate — the rectangle — centered on the boundary lines.

A point starts when the server hits the ball through the rectangle toward the other team. The goal is to send it through in a way the opponents can’t return. Each team gets at least two and up to three touches to play it back through, and the rally continues until a team can’t return it.

Thruball is self-officiated, so fair play is on the players. Everyone’s expected to know the rules and uphold them — competitive play is encouraged, never at the expense of mutual respect or the simple joy of the game.

• Each team must hit the ball at least twice, and no more than three times, per trip back through the rectangle.
• Players can move freely during a point, but can’t touch the stand or interfere with an opposing player.
• A legal hit is made with the paddle only — your body can never touch the ball.
• You can’t hit the ball twice in a row, unless it ricochets off the rectangle on your team’s second hit. If it does, either teammate can use the team’s third hit to send it through.
• Double contact — the paddle touching the ball twice in one hit — isn’t allowed and results in a loss of serve or point.

Every game starts with a “rally for serve” to decide which team serves first. Either team can start it, and no points are awarded.

Standard play uses a “gentleman’s serve” — the ball is served through the rectangle purely to start the point. A serve is legal when the server sends the ball cleanly through the rectangle (without touching it) and it lands within the boundary lines, or an opposing player makes contact.

Teammates alternate who serves each time their team wins the serve back from the opponent.

Only the serving team can score.

• If the serving team loses the rally, no point is awarded — the serve switches to the receiving team.
• If the serving team wins the rally, that same player keeps serving until the receiving team wins one back.

Faults. A server gets one fault, then one more attempt to land a legal serve. Two faults loses the serve to the other team. A serve is a fault if it:

• Lands outside the boundary lines
• Misses the rectangle
• Hits the rectangle without going through

Lets. Servers get unlimited lets. If a served ball passes through the rectangle but clips it on the way and still lands inbounds, it’s a let — re-serve.

• Non-Gentleman’s Serve: Serve with the intent to score. The server’s back foot must be on the boundary line.
• Longest Volley: All four players are on the same team, and every pass through the rectangle counts as one. The goal is to reach the highest group total possible.