James W Feger

Rising concern for Rocball

I’m writing to you in hopes that we out here on the Pacific rim of the small island community in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)

might be heard internationally concerning

the development of our own team net sport, Rocball, over what is now taking place between the Federation de Volleyball in Laussane (FIVA), Suisse and the World Organised Rocball, Inc. (WOR), Saipan,

Cnmi.

Rocball is the indigenous sport of the CNMI. Rocball has been developing out here since 1981. Rocball started out as a

lunch time activity for our junior high and high school students. Over the past 17 years, rocball has developed into the unique team net sport that it is today because of the students and children of the

Cnmi.

We have, on several occasions, over the past 17 years, written to FIVA to include them in on the creation and development of rocball. We had hoped to actively involve them in this new approach to this type of team net sport. We have not once received a response from FIVA.

In March and April 1993-94 Rocball was exposed internationally on CNN’s World Report. Right after this and in November of 1994, we received news that FIVA was beginning to add new rules to

volleyball.

We investigated and discovered that they were unjudiciously adopting our rules of play to try to restructure and enhance volleyball.

In December 1994, we faxed and regis tered mailed FIVA of their encroachments on Rocball’s copyrights rules of play and reminded them of the many times we had solicited their interest in the past.

We requested them to immediately stop incorporating Rocball’s rules of play into volleyball.

Once again, we just recently learned from our former students and avid Rocball players coming back from colleges in the US, that FIVA did in fact incorporate one of Rocball’s unique systems of play.

Rocball is the first sport in the world to incorporate the combination of hitting/kicking as part of its style of team net play action. And, it seems that there are other areas of play action now being used in volleyball that Rocball has had an influ encing factor upon.

Rocball wasn’t created with the help of two generations of CNMI students as raw material source for FIVA to restructure and draw more interest to volleyball.

Rocball is a game derivative of volley ball, and we have always credited it as such but it is as different from volleyball as baseball is from cricket or American foot ball is from rugby.

Rocball has also been copyrighted on numerous occasions since 1981 through

the Library'of Congress, Washington DC.

And FIVA has been notified about this more than once.

We, obviously, are hoping to expose Rocball as the successful team net sport it is, on a more global basis. Please keep us in mind: WOR intends to continue to be a positive force in this type of team net sport.

James W Feger

President/founder, World Organised Rocball, Inc.

Saipan, CNMI