Square

The square is the area around the bin. It is out of bounds in the game, and if entered will result in a penalty for the other team. The current official measurements for the square are 2.9m x 2.9m, though this is often changed.

History

The square system originated in the original playing ground for Buce, at the quadrangle. This occurred naturally out of convenience, as the ground on the field is made up of concrete squares. The square system was then kept throughout the next Buce leagues, though changes have been made to its size over time, to avoid giving too much advantage to taller players who can block the top of the bin with their foot, and give more advantage to skilfully aimed shots at the bin.

Functionality

The square keeps players a fair distance away from the bin. It has been getting progressively larger through the evolution of buce to support shooting skill instead of player size.

Rules

The game rules state that if a player enters, or lands in the out-of-bounds area, and touches the hackeysack, a player, or inhibits the current play in any way, they are liable to concede a penalty to the other team, from the point where the player entered the square.

Creation

The square is usually drawn with chalk when no natural squares are on the playing field (see quadrangle), which is often freehand drawn after measurements of radius have been taken with a tape measure. The squares could be more accurately drawn with a metre ruler, but the technology is currently too expensive. The square has also been indicated with tape, but there are issues with is sticking to the ground.

Controversy

It has often been theorized by the great minds of the game that the square should indeed logically be a circle. This would mimic the shape of the bin, meaning the distance to the bin from all sides of the out of bounds area would be equal, and also there would not be strategic points around the square where the distance to the bin is less. This idea has been rejected for historical reasons by FIBUA.

The markings of the square is a common reason why the game of buce hasn't evolved to grass playing fields. The squares would be too difficult to easily mark on grass, therefore for convenience sake (and other reasons) the game remains on hard surface playing fields. A solution to this problem was offered by Keith Rogers, who suggested the square on grass could be a cut-out of some sort of foam material, this would also solve the problem of players not being able to know where the square is when they are watching the sack, but this idea has been rejected for functionality reasons by FIBUA. Alternatively, a thin layer of sand may prove useful for marking grass courts.