Crumpets

**Crumpets** is the national sport of Anders. This game is played every Friday at 5 pm (or 4 pm to account for Daylight Savings), rain or shine (never smud). Originally invented in the 20th century, crumpets was brought to Anders in the early 2000s. This game is fought tooth and nail, but it's all fun and games (remember, character counts!).

## Gameplay

The goal of crumpets is to score goals against the opposing team by hitting a mini soccer ball through the goal posts. Each team member is armed with a plastic baseball bat and attempts to bring the mini soccer ball down the field however they can. While the version of the sport played by Anders is based off of the ruleset currently recognized by the American Field Crumpets League (AFCL), there have been many notable adaptations made by Anders house over the years. The following is a list of notable Andersian Field Crumpets rule and tradition differences when compared to the official AFCL ruleset:

* Intentional hand/foot contact that doesn't advance the ball is allowed
* There is only one line of goal that yields one point
* Crumpets is played every Friday starting at 4:00 or 5:00 PM (depending on Daylight Savings)
* Crumpets goals are spaced “8 presidential steps apart”
* Players are able to continue hitting the ball behind an opposing team's goal, but that team may pick up the ball.
* Play is continued for roughly 1 hour, at which last goal is called. Then, the game ends after it has been scored
* A player may choose to use two smaller “throwing bats” which (as you might assume) may be thrown.

**Bat Types**

**Traditional Bat:** The traditional Crumpets bat is a large plastic bat, coming in various colors. While the color of the plastic bat may differ, the color of tape (or spray paint) layered over the top indicates which team the bat belongs to. This bat cannot legally be thrown but is larger and has more hitting power than other bat options.

**Throwing Bats:** In addition to traditional Crumpets bats, throwing bats may be included as well. Throwing bats are smaller in size, but they can be thrown at the ball in addition to hitting abilities. Two of these bats are wielded at one time. Experienced crumpets players sometimes use the throwing bats for easier "juggling" of the ball, though this action has been deemed controversial by some players. Due to lack of supply, the use of throwing bats has dwindled and is nearly extinct as of the early 2020s. Despite its rarity, the throwing bats remain legal in the context of the sport.

## History

Crumpets originated in Kansas and was brought to Iowa State University in the late 1990s. Following its introduction, it became increasingly popular, becoming a club, a band activity, an official intramural, and the official Andersian sport. Crumpets was first introduced to Anders in 2006 and its popularity within the house skyrocketed from there, eventually forming a tradition to play the game weekly regardless of weather\*. In recent years, the sport has also been played as a part of both BLF and Anders Olympics.

*\*A slight exception to this is smud. Crumpets is never, ever played in smuddy conditions.*

**Awards**

At each House Meeting, two awards are given out based on the previous week's Crumpets game(s):

* Crumpets MVP Award - Given to the perceived "Most Valuable Player."
* Angel of the Battlefield Award - Given to the person who showed the most sportsmanship.

**Midnight Crumpets**

Midnight Crumpets is a variant of Crumpets that is played outside of the typical Friday at 4/5 schedule. These games are often impromptu and occur around midnight on a given night. Midnight Crumpets is almost always more challenging than games played during the day; A lack of sunlight makes it hard to see and track the ball during gameplay. During the winter, Midnight Crumpets is also associated with freezing tempatures, making this variant of the game much more rare during those months.

**Annual Harwood vs Anders Matches**

*^Editor's note: This section is incomplete. If you are in possession of any information not recorded here, please feel free to add what you know regarding previous Anders vs. Harwood games.*

Annually, the rival Honors houses of Anders and Harwood arrange an official Crumpets game. Below is a list of all known Anders vs. Harwood matches.

 2021-2022