modern biotiball based on several sports
mainly an asari biotic sport
which in turn has its base on prothean training regimes
takes elements from human sports such as football and basketball
the intergalactic biotball league (IBL) is the pinnacle of the sport, held bi-annually (based on a standard galactic year in citadel space)
the galactic leagues vary
world/colony leagues vary even more
while the IBL isn't officially sanctioned by the council (and thus non-council races can compete), many events happen in council space and are supported by proxy by the citadel council for their cultural/economic value
eligibility for the IBL is any qualifying team, with players only being able to compete for one team per championship
a team is made of 6 active players on the field; the maximum players for rotation is 12
teams don't have to be location specific but many are
team positions are not set, instead player types can be chosen from below, all are optional
vanguards (unlimited actives) - frontline hard hitters, focused on goal-scoring (also called strikers, attackers)
guardians (unlimited actives) - mobile defense, focused on preventing scoring by the other team/allowing own team to score (also called defenders, blockers)
sentry (limited to 1 active) - defence restricted to the scoring area, focused on preventing scoring (also called goalies, keepers)
distruptor (limited to 2 active) - mixed offense/defense, the only position allowed to aim biotics directly at players not in proximity to the ball to disrupt/distract them (also called buffers)
4 quarters of 15 minutes, breaks are 3 minutes, half time is 15 minutes
[1st quarter] [break] [2nd quarter] [half time] [3rd quarter] [break] [4th quarter]
each score is called a goal when the ball passes through one of the 3 hoops
each goal hoop has a point value (1, 2, 3)
biotiball scores tend to happen a lot quicker than other sports, so average goal amounts (not point totals) over the course of the game are between 10-15
officially called a 'court' but invariably called a pitch, court, arena etc depending on location/size
the IBL courts are long ovals, though rectangular courts with curved sides are often used
there are 3 scoring rings/hoops at each end of the court: a static vertical hoop in the centre worth 1 point, and two horizontal hoops either side which (in IBL-standard games) that move up and down at different heights: 2 points for the left which is placed lower than the centre, 3 points for the right which is placed higher than the centre.
biotics are regulated by the use of adjustable amps to dampen biotics to non-lethal levels
all players are substance-tested before IBL matches
team layout is set at the start of the game: so if the team has 3 active vanguards they can't switch one out for a distruptor, but they can switch between active/benched vanguards
there is a 2 strike system for fouls (akin to football's card system) of warning (yellow), then sending off (red)
a sent-off player cannot be replaced
a maximum of 2 minute time-out can be granted per game per team
as asari are natural biotics they make up the majority of the players, and 90% of teams have at least one asari player
humans are up and coming, young new biotics
turians are invariably ex-military cabals, so skew older
drell are few and far between, but highly valued as players due to their memory capacity in relation to tactics
volus are surprisingly numerous, especially to bulk up turian teams. they are often distractors
players from species with very few biotics are sought for commodity as well as skill (salarian, quaran)
krogans are seemingly most embroiled in doping scandals, although a lot of prejudice is in play
the batarian hegemony does not sanction teams, but there are a lot of batarian players
doping scandals - biotic and physically enhancing drugs
asari domination of teams
