KAROL KUDYBA
Sports Writer

Situated just inside the main doors of the Law Building on campus is, depending on who you talk to, either the best or worst part about the college: the foosball table.

Future lawyers take their foosball seriously. So loud and frequently used, the table was decommissioned for the duration of final exams last semester. After all, it’s tough to apply judicial precedent with a heated game going on just outside the door.

For first year law student Nick Jacob, the game is about finding a release in the college and a diversion from studies.

“It gives you something to look forward to during class,” Jacob said. “If you need a 20-minute break you can just find a buddy in the library and play.”

Games can last longer than 10 minutes depending on the players and the rules are taken very seriously.

There are “no spinzies” in this house. Spinning your players or multiple handle rotations detracts from a player’s skill and deteriorates the table. Games come down to ability, fast wrist movements and being able to distract your opponents with a healthy dose of legally respectful name calling.

Forget about scoring goals from the back field — to survive here a player needs good ball control and a keen sense of geometry. Most shots are created by passing the ball horizontally between a player and the wall, setting up an angled shot on the rebound. A straight-ahead shot is guaranteed to get you foosed — trapped in your own end all game long.

To improve at foosball, it takes repetition, fast hands and practice. At the end of a long day, when some of the house lights in the law school have been turned off, it’s not uncommon to see a lone law student at the table, repetitively banging the ball off the side wall to practice setting up his shots.

Watching instructional foosball videos on YouTube during long classes doesn’t hurt, either.

Jacob is currently spending his spare time mastering the “snake shot,” a shot in which a player manoeuvres the ball to the backside of the foosman and holds the handle on his wrist. While slowly rocking the ball side to side, the player then quickly and violently spins the handle nearly all the way around. The resulting shot is nearly impossible to block and its speed has been clocked at over 50 km/h.

The peak of the competitive foosball season is the annual Chartrand Invitational, a tournament held in the winter semester with participation open to all (the word “Invitational” is added for prestige). The campus competition boasts both singles and doubles tournaments and the best of the best foosball playing law students compete.

Sadly, anyone wanting to compete will have to wait until next year’s tournament to taste foosball glory — start practicing your snake shots now if you want a hope of advancing past the first round.

However, even with the ban on spinning, the table is starting to near its last legs and may have to be replaced before next September. Until then, expect to hear a lot of banging and trash talking anytime you enter the University of Saskatchewan Law Building.

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photo: Karol Kudyba