Tubing and Zorbing

Tubing and Zorbing:

Having a Ball in Amesbury

by Mary Jo Kurtz

“What did you just say?” my 20-year-old son said as he looked up from his computer.

“We are going zorbing! Check it out online at TheOGO.com,” I replied.

As Sam typed in the address, his 9-year-old brother Joey rushed in from the kitchen to look over his shoulder.

“You mean, someone gets inside of that giant ball and rolls down a hill?” Joey quietly asked as his eyes stayed fixed on the computer screen.

“Maybe you,” I teased. “We’re going tomorrow morning at ten. That giant ball is called an OGO, and there is one in Massachusetts at the Amesbury Sports Park. And we can go tubing there, too!”

“How do you tube without snow?” they both asked.

To find out, they went to the sports park website and looked through the pictures. They spent the next half hour reading about zorbing, thinking about rolling inside a huge bouncy ball, and wondering how a snow tube can go downhill without snow or water. Curiosity had us all in the car early the next morning.  

We could see the Amesbury Sports Park to our right as we neared exit 54 on I-495 north.  A few tubes were going down the slides, and we noticed several large plastic balls at the top of the hillside. I sensed Joey’s excitement turning to hesitation as he studied the enormous plastic balls perched on the hilltop.

“Mom, what if I don’t want to go zorbing?” Joey asked cautiously, still staring out the window.

I knew the size of the OGO surprised him. Each ball is eleven feet in diameter. Riders are strapped into a harness in the middle of the ball. The OGO is then launched from the top of the hill where it proceeds to roll and bounce down a hillside to a landing field at the bottom. There, several attendants help the ball roll to a stop before unloading a well-tossed thrill-seeker.

A second type of OGO is also available for riders at the Amesbury Sports Park. It is called an H2OGO. Seven gallons of water fill the inside of the ball, and up to three riders can roll down the hill together. The water keeps the interior of the ball slippery enough that riders do not rotate. Instead, the ball revolves around them. This makes for a much less dizzying experience than with the harness ball.

A wave of relief came over Joey as we were getting our tickets. General Manager Kevin Jacques explained that riders of the harness ball had to be five feet tall. Joey’s smile returned quickly as he made sure we all knew he was only 54 inches tall.

“Well, you are tall enough to ride the water ball,” Jacques offered. Joey said he would think about it, and then he strategically changed the subject by asking where he could get a tube for tubing.

We walked towards the two large plastic slides that ran up the hillside. A motorized belt made getting to the top of the hill relaxing. The three of us joined hands and tubes as we made our initial tubing run. Attendants sprayed lubricant to the bottom of our tubes before launching us down the long plastic slide. We all screamed and laughed as we soared under the sunshine together.

Joey was the first one out of his tube. He grabbed it and ran to the conveyer belt. “This is great!” he squealed.

Over the next two hours, we raced each other and followed each other down the tubing slides without taking a break. It was a great way to spend a summer afternoon.

Finally, it was time for Sam to try out the harness ball. David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” played in the background and we could hear the lyrics, “Major Tom to Ground Control” as Sam tightened his straps before his launch. I took a few pictures of him inside the ball before joining Joey at the top of the hill to watch Sam roll away. A large metal gate holding the ball in place opened, and off went the OGO. It rolled and bounced its way down the hill before coming to a stop. Joey and I raced down the tubing slides to meet up with Sam.

“That was cool,” Sam smiled as he exited the orb. “I could definitely do that again.” And he did.

Now, I would love to tell you that the second time was even better for Sam. But he looked a little pale as he pulled himself from the OGO after a repeat ride.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Let’s just say I should have stopped after one roll,” he laughed.

We watched other riders bounce their way down the hill in the OGO. Some were older like me and many were younger like Sam. “We get people of all ages,” the attendant explained.

We watched groups of friends splash down the hill in the H2OGO, looking like a human washing machine rolling by. And we shared smiles with everyone who was zorbing and tubing that afternoon.

“This is great!” Joey yelled again as he ran by me for a final run down the slide. I lost count of how many times he screamed those three words to me.

One of the things that made the experience great for me is that it appealed to both of my children. There is a notable age difference between my boys often making it tricky for me to find activities that appeal to both of their generations. The Amesbury Sports Park had something for all ages, and that makes it a good summer destination for families. 

We left Amesbury Sports Park for home well rocked and rolled. We chattered and chuckled. We tubed and zorbed. We - literally - had a ball.

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“Tubing and Zorbing: Having a Ball in Amesbury” appeared August 2010 in Bay State Parent Magazine (Massachusetts).