Bodyguard

Bodyguard is a ball game for groups of almost any size (best for around 10 to 20 players).

Equipment

 * a soft ball to hit other players (size of a volleyball)

Procedure
All players (except two) are standing in a circle. The radius of the circle should be adequate for the age (the skills) of the players, larger if their skills are better. Two players are standing inside the circle; one is the VIP, the other is his bodyguard.

The players around the circle have the task of hitting the VIP with the ball. The bodyguard has to prevent the VIP touching the ball; even catching is not allowed for the VIP. Thus, the bodyguard has to protect the VIP and ward off all incoming balls. Both bodyguard and VIP may move around inside the circle, but of course may not leave it.

Which team of bodyguard and VIP can withstand the attacks for the longest time?

Variants

 * Of course, the game gets (much) harder when more than one ball is used.
 * when many players participate, you can add more pairs of bodyguard and VIP