Hooverball is a medicine ball game invented by President Herbert Hoover’s personal physician to help keep then-President Hoover fit. The Hoover Presidential Library Association and the city of West Branch, Iowa, co-host a national championship each year.
In general, the game is played on a volleyball-type court of grass or sand and involves throwing a heavily weighted medicine ball over the net. Officially, in Hooverball, the medicine ball weighs about 6 lb (2.7 kg) and is thrown over an 8 ft (2.4 m) volleyball-type net. The game is scored like tennis. The ball is caught and then thrown back. The weight of the medicine ball can make the sport to be quite physically demanding.
The sport is best known in Iowa, although it has gained extended interest globally due to practitioners of CrossFit. A group in Baltimore hosts a tournament each spring. CrossFit Salt played today with a 20lb med ball best of 3 championship.
