Canadian sport perfected by U.S. Air Force

2nd Lt. George Tobias

They swarm around the table pushing and jockeying for position, trying to knock their opponent’s ball into a pocket, “crack” the balls collide.

And just as fast, the roles have changed.

This was the scene at The Landing on Aug. 18 when a Crud tournament pitted teams from the 27th Mission Support Group, 523rd Fighter Squadron and 524th Fighter Squadron against each other in fierce competition, with team “Hound 01” from the 524th FS emerging victorious.

Crud, a sport developed by the Royal Canadian Air force by a bunch of bored Canadian pilots on their way to England, is said to date back to World War II. Though the game originated in Canada, “It took the U.S. Air Force to perfect it,” said 1st Lt. Kenyatta Ruffin, 523 Fighter Squadron.

According to the American Crud Players Association, Crud is played with two pool balls; a Shooter (the cue ball), and any other regulation numbered pool ball. No cue stick is used. Each player begins with three “lives” to possibly be lost as the game progresses.

While shooting from either end of the table, a player tries to hit the Object ball with the Shooter ball, causing it to either go into a pocket or stop all movement on the table before an opposing player can take his turn. The team that loses all of its lives first, loses the game.

Traditionally, the losing team must pay a penalty to the winning team (usually by aligned players on the scoreboard). If the winning team has at least one player with all their lives, the penalty is doubled.

Also, as recompense for services rendered, the first player to lose all three lives must pay a penalty to the judge of the game. The next player out pays the penalty to any assistant judge and the third player pays to the scorekeeper.

Crud originated as an officers’ sport, but like many sports in the military, rank is not recognized and all players are referred to by their callsigns.

Because of this, one of the most popular variations of this sport is Combat Crud, in which body checking and full blocking is allowed. The judge, however, is not to be touched. In this variation, junior ranking players can actually knock over higher ranking players and not find themselves in trouble for their actions during play.

To view the official rules of Crud, visit the American Crud Players Association Web site at (Web address is case sensitive) http://www.aifcv.org/pdf/CRUDRULES2000.pdf.