A stick-and-ball game, stairball is played up and down the stairwells of Moru Kel. It involves attempting to advance a ball — made from the nut of the ochala tree — up or down to the landing that the opposing team is defending.
Players are divided into 2 teams, typically of 5 players each although as few as 3 or as many as 7 are not uncommon. One player is the guardian, who stays back at the team’s landing to defend against long shots. The others are free-flowing, though often unofficially divided into attackers and defenders.
The guardians have a stick, which is about 4-5' long with a curved flat surface at one end. The stick can be used to block the ball from entering their landing, or to hit the ball toward the opposing landing. The other players must use their hands to block and throw the ball.
Moving with the ball is prohibited: players holding the ball must advance it to another player or attempt to throw it into the opponents’ landing.
The nature of the game is such that the team headed down the tier has a major advantage. In pick-up games, teams change ends after each score. In more competitive games, the game is divided into quarters with teams changing ends after each quarter.
The game is often played by children in the afternoon and early evening. A moratorium exists on play around lunchtime and around the end of the work day, as the stairwells are packed with workers.
In recent years there has been a clash between residents of some regions and children over the custom, with especially Sawnose and Ochala staircases being the targets of proposed restrictions on the game. The 4F society has endorsed the game, lobbying against restrictions on behalf of the city’s youth.
A number of the schools, societies, and temples in the city hold an organized tournament during the spring festival of Grenna.
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