WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Combine traditional soccer with the jarring collisions of bumper cars and the result is a new sport called bubble soccer.

Up to six players per team have the familiar objective of kicking the ball in the goal. The twist is that they play in 13-pound inflated bubbles.

“Falling down and getting up is so [physically] intense, within 10 minutes you’re ready to come out of the bubble,” says Vicki Burnett, head of group fitness at Gold’s Gym Elite Training Center, in Woodbridge.

Players squeeze into the bubble and almost wear it like a backpack. It covers the head and goes down to the legs.

“You’re completely encompassed and safe in here,” Burnett says.

The gym in Woodbridge is the first in the region to have dedicated space for bubble soccer. It offers the sport to members and private parties.

Some describe the the sensation like that of a roller coaster.

“You’re getting knocked over, you’re getting rolled around, you’re being launched — you become the soccer ball,” says Burnett.

(H/T Washington Post)

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