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PLAYERS SQUARE OFF
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Tony Pozzutto serves the ball during a game of four square. He and some friends are trying to break the world record.
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FUN GAME: Weisberg shares a laugh with friends while playing the game. In the background is Stoyak.
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ON THE COURT: From left, Ben Stoyak, Jonathan Weisberg, Tony Pozzuto and Steve Wiesen play four square at Church Hill Park in Liberty. The four Liberty teens are trying to get into the Guinness World Records for the longest continuous game of four square. They start 9 a.m. Monday and hope to keep playing through 9 tonight.
Four Square World Record
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The four-square players are also raising money for Relay for Life.
By ASHLEY LUTHERN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LIBERTY — Church Hill Park’s quiet was broken by the sound of a hair dryer early Monday.
“We want the duct tape for the borders to stick,” said Jonathan Weisberg, 18, of Liberty as he dried the outline of a four-square court on a concrete slab.
He and seven of his friends seek glory from Guinness World Records for the longest continuous game of four square. The record is 25 hours, but Weisberg and his friends plan to shatter that time.
The eight players began Monday at 9:05 a.m. If all goes as planned, they will finish around 9 tonight.
“We’re aiming for 36 hours,” said Steve Wiesen, 18, who first brought up the idea of trying to break the record. “I think we’d be satisfied with 30 hours, but we’ll play as long as we can.”
Or, as Zach Weisberg, 15, added, as long as their legs let them.
The eight participants are divided into two four-person teams. Each team will play in shifts of two- to four-hour blocks. After each hour, a five-minute break is allowed, according to Guinness rules.
Unlike baseball or basketball, there is no official set of rules for four square, Jonathan Weisberg said.
One person, usually called the Ace, serves using a kickball, or another ball with a similar bounce ability. The object is to allow the ball to bounce only once in a player’s square before he or she hits it to another square.
If it goes out of bounds before bouncing, then the person who hit the ball is out. If it goes out of bounds after one bounce and before the receiving player can hit the ball, then the person in that square is out.
When players are ruled out, they return to the lowest square while everyone else moves up, with the goal of reaching the Ace square.
“It’s a simple game, but there’s the pride factor,” Jonathan Weisberg said. “No friends are made on the four-square court.”
But despite that fierce competitive spirit, that’s exactly how he and his friends have become so close.
“We met in seventh grade, but we all started playing four square a lot in high school,” said Ryan Nasci, 18, of Liberty.
With the exception of Zach Weisberg, all of the other players, Ben Stoyak, 18; Jeff Banner, 19; Joey Giampietro, 18; Tony Pozzuto, 18; Wiesen; Nasci; and Jonathan Weisberg, are 2008 graduates of Liberty High School.
“I thought it was a nice way for them to be together, and it’s good they’re bringing the game back,” said Carol Reapsummer, who as their middle school teacher at W.S. Guy Middle School, was a witness to their friendship, four-square matches on the playground and now, potentially, their world record.
Guinness World Records requires that two witnesses be present the entire time and provide written statements about what they saw. Members of the crowd must also sign in, and the proceedings are recorded on video.
“I want to flood [Guinness] with evidence so they can’t reject our claim,” Jonathan Weisberg said.
The four-square players aren’t just going for a record, though. Each has collected per-hour pledges that will benefit a Boardman Relay for Life team.
“I’m guessing we’ll probably raise about $2,000, depending on how long we play,” Jonathan Weisberg said.
Even if they weren’t raising funds for Relay for Life or chasing a world record, the players would still be in the park.
“We’ve played about three hours every day getting ready, but we would be playing four square regardless of all this,” Jonathan Weisberg said.