SCOTLAND have been crowned the first world champions of a sport invented in the region.

Four teams battled it out in the inaugural Rock-It Ball world championships yesterday.

The event at Thornaby pavilion, Teesside, was compered by TV personality Keith Chegwin.

Pakistan finished second with England third, and India fourth.

About 100 spectators attended the championships to see the teams led out by mascots and their national anthems played.

Rock-It Ball was invented by Paul Law, a former teacher from Romanby, Northallerton, Paul Hildreth from Newton on Ouse, near York and Bob Eldridge, of Marishes, near Thornton-le-Dale, to encourage children to be more active.

Independent clubs have been set up and more than 500 schools across the UK are involved in the sport.

It is played between two teams of five players. Each player has a Rock-It - a control bar with a thrower/catcher on each end. Points are scored by either hitting an opponent with the ball, or by catching a ball.

Players can move anywhere on court and five balls are in play at any one time.

Craig Buttery, commissioner of the International Rock-It Ball Federation, said yesterday's championships were an unqualified success.

"This event will create a profile for the sport world-wide," he said.

"We are a very small sport, and have only had an international governing body since December, but in that time we have organised and held a world cup, and have got a North-East league starting at the end of this month.

"For a sport that has only been around for two years, that is pretty phenomenal."

In July 2005, a national championships was held for the first time. It took place at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington and was won by a team from Northallerton College.

Keith Chegwin has been involved with the sport since last September, when a special Cheggers Rock-It was launched.

It is a basic version of the Rock-It and is designed to get as many people as possible playing the game.

He said: "In the short time since Rock-It Ball's launch, the impact and effect on children has been huge. This is something special and new."

RULES OF THE GAME

The rules according to the International Rock-It Ball Federation include:

* Timing - matches consist of four, four-minute periods with a one-minute interval between each period.

* Officials - matches are supervised by two referees and one umpire.

* Venue - the playing surface is a hall with space for four badminton courts and a minimum height of 3.5m.

* Teams - each team has five players on court at any one time from a squad of 12.

* Scoring - points can be won or lost in five different ways: by striking an opponent with the ball, by being struck with a ball by their own player, by catching a ball thrown by an opponent, by catching a ball after it rebounds off another player's Rock-It, or by catching a ball after it rebounds from another player.

* Out of bounds - players who catch the ball in accordance with the scoring rules stop and raise their Rock-It in the air. They are classed as out of bounds until their score has been noted and they are told to play on by the umpire. The same applies to players who have been struck by a ball.

* Movement - players can only move two steps in any direction before they must dribble the ball.

* Discipline - players can be docked points and sent off for a range of offences, including failing to declare strikes and intentionally running into an opponent.