Tag, Toss & Run
Page 11
At its most polite and docile version, footbag or hacky sack involves players standing in a circle and passing a beanbag ball or sack back and forth with their feet. Initially popularized in this country at Grateful Dead concerts in the 1970s, the highly social game has become a staple activity at American playgrounds and street corners within the past three decades.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Kick Volleyball, Net Footbag, Net Hacky Sack
Look, Ma, No Hands!
A traditional Southeast Asian sport that has been around for at least 500 years, sepak takraw — sepak means “kick” in Malay, and takraw is “ball” in Thai — takes the hacky sack and adds elements from martial arts, soccer, and volleyball. Played on a badminton-sized court with a net, the rules are roughly similar to those of volleyball with one major exception: hands cannot be used to advance the ball back and forth over the net.
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Kick a lightweight ball over the net — no hands allowed
PLAYING AREA
A large smooth area; be aware that this game is brutal on lawns!
EQUIPMENT
• A lightweight ball
• A badminton net, set 5 feet high (lower for less competitive play)
AGES
8 and up
PLAYERS
2 on 2, up to 6 on 6
The addition of a net elevates this game into a sport and advances the elements of skill, strategy, athleticism, and exercise. The best players are typically whippet-thin and in amazing physical condition, capable of full 360-degree whirlwind spins in the air from a standing position — but the rest of us can play a kinder, gentler game, provided we master at least some of the necessary footwork!
Rules. A traditional sepak takraw ball is constructed of woven rattan about 5 inches in diameter. These days, soft woven plastic balls are most common, and beginning players can easily make their own out of newspaper and duct tape. The ball shouldn’t bounce too high or hurt players if it hits them.
Games are played to 21 and points are awarded whether a team is serving or receiving.
As in volleyball or badminton, a team scores a point when the ball hits the ground within the opposing team’s court.
If the served ball lands outside the court, the other team receives the serve.
If the ball lands outside the court and the opposing team touched the ball last, then the serving team gets a point.
Teams can play the ball only twice before advancing it over the net on the third kick.
A player can advance the ball by bouncing it once off his or her head or chest before kicking it.
Serving is done in rotation, but nonserving players can stand anywhere on the court.
GAME OF THE GODS
King Naresuan of Ayutthaya, who ruled Thailand from 1590 to 1605, is said to have enjoyed the game, and in Bangkok, a 1782 mural at the nation’s most cherished shrine, Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha), depicts the Hindu god Hanuman playing sepak takraw in a ring with a troop of fellow monkeys.
The ball is traditionally made of woven rattan.
Strategy. It’s usually best to have the players with the best kicking and leaping ability near the net, especially if they have mastered the “roll spike,” an upside-down kicking technique that propels the ball back over the net at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour! (Kids, don’t try this at home!)
As with so many games, sepak takraw can be played by a couple of kids on a patch of dirt or at the level of international competition.
Sepak takraw has been contested as a sport at the Asian Games since 1990 and a campaign is underway to persuade the International Olympic Committee to add the sport. More than 20 countries, including the United States and Canada, now have national associations with representatives on the board of the global governing body, the International Sepak Takraw Federation.
This purest of contests, as old as time, could not be simpler to play. You take your end of the rope and I’ll take mine. We’ll both pull with all our might; one of us will win, one will lose. Yet of all the games in this book, tug of war probably competes with Red Rover as having the worst image in today’s America.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Rope Pulling, Tug of Peace
Seen as too competitive, too dangerous, and too potentially harmful to self-esteem, the simple act of going mano a mano on opposite ends of a rope has been banned from many school grounds for the past 20 years or so. Even in schools where it’s allowed, some administrators would have the players call their game “tug of peace.”
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Teams take opposite ends of a rope and try to pull each other over a centerline
PLAYING AREA
A smooth, open area (the grass may get a little torn up!)
EQUIPMENT
A sturdy rope that won’t break
AGES
3 and up
PLAYERS
At least 2
Enough, already! It’s time to loosen the noose around this game. One of the great games for teaching teamwork and team pride — and even rewarding the big kid who is perhaps heavier than his or her average classmate — tug of war should be played by today’s youth just as it has been for millennia. We are all for adult supervision, of course, so grab a rope and pull!
Ready, Set, Pull!
As with many children’s games that have been commandeered by adults, this one has official rules and associations. National and international competitions are often eight on eight, for example, and dictate official footwear so players don’t gain an unfair advantage (see note on the 1908 Olympics on page 179).
In the backyard or playground game, though, the most important role of the adult is to make sure the children have a safe rope that won’t snap and send players on both sides flying backward. Short of that happening, the worst injuries related to tug of war (or peace) are the occasional rope burns that come from soft hands pulling too hard; however, even those rarely happen if the tug of war is contested among players of similar weights and ages. Gloves help, too!
One safety note for caregivers and adult playground monitors is to have players on each end of the rope alternate, with one player gripping from the right side and the next player in line gripping from the left side. This helps eliminate crashes if the rope is suddenly pulled forward. And never allow any player, even the player at the end of the rope, to tie the rope to any part of his or her body.
AN ANCIENT GAME
Carvings and drawings indicate that versions of tug of war have been around for at least as long as recorded civilization. In Korea, children wrapped their arms around each other’s waists with the players at the front gripping each other’s hands. In ancient Afghanistan, players pulled on a wooden stake rather than a rope.
That’s One Big Rope!
The Naha Tsunahiki, held each year in Naha, Japan, holds the dual distinction of employing the world’s largest natural rope for the world’s largest tug of war contest. Thousands of people from the west side of the city tug against thousands from the east side, trying to drag a 600-foot rope made of rice straw that weighs more than 44 tons and measures 5 feet in diameter.
When the contest is finished, a citywide celebration ensues, but not before everyone pulls out a pocket knife and slices off a good-luck souvenir for the coming year.
Tug of war was an official Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920, with 1908 showcasing an especially bitter fight between the United States and Great Britain. The British players, nearly all police officers wearing heavy boots with steel heel plates, easily held their positions in the grass at White City Stadium in London. The U.S. delegation protested vehemently, but ultimately, Britain’s finest swept the gold, silver, and bronze medals.
In any given week, volleyball is enjoyed by some 800 million people around the world. Although it was invented in the United States more than a century ago, the game exploded in status after American success in beach volleyball in the 19
96 Atlanta Olympics. Kent Steffes and his legendary partner, Karch Kiraly, won the gold medal and captured the American imagination.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Beach Volleyball, Fistball, Jungle Ball
Since then, municipalities, homeowners’ associations, and private homeowners have dug their own pits, filled them with sand, and fashioned their own beach courts in their backyards. For most of us, though, volleyball is the quintessentially perfect lawn game.
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Teams serve and return a ball over a net, scoring points if the other team misses
PLAYING AREA
A smooth, soft lawn
EQUIPMENT
• A ball
• A net (or rope)
• Boundary markers
AGES
5 and up
PLAYERS
2 on 2 to 6 on 6, or more
Dig, Set, Spike!
Volleyball has loads of rules, covering things like how the ball can be hit — with an open or closed first, or off the head or feet. In backyard games, some of these are made up as the game goes along, but the general idea is to advance the ball over the net in such a way that the other team cannot return it within three hits.
All you need is a soft bouncing ball and a rope tied between two posts or trees for the makings of an afternoon of fun. Of course, a bevy of companies stand at the ready to supply you with a regulation ball and net, which the official rules will tell you must be exactly 7 feet, 11⅝ inches off the ground.
In your yard, you can make the net any height you like, play the game with a kickball or a beach ball, and invite Grandma, Uncle Charley, and all the kids to join in. For a family activity where everyone will get some exercise, few games rival volleyball.
Rules. The official court size is 30 feet wide by 60 feet long, but those dimensions can be modified depending on the number and size of players, not to mention the size of your yard. Teams are typically six against six, or two against two for beach volleyball, but an informal game can include any number of players. Official games are played to either 15 or 25 points, but again, that’s flexible in home play.
The game begins with a serve from behind the end line of the court, which is divided in half by a net or rope.
Servers continue serving as long as their team scores points. The serve changes whenever the receiving team scores a point.
If the serving team serves or hits the ball so that it lands inside the boundary of the opponent’s court, the serving team scores a point and serves again.
If the serving team serves or hits the ball and it doesn’t go over the net or lands outside the boundary of the opponent’s court, the opposing team scores a point and receives the serve.
If a player touches a ball before it goes out of bounds, the opposing team scores a point and receives the serve.
The ball may be hit by three players on one side before being returned, but cannot be hit by the same player twice in a row.
A player may play the ball off the net but may not touch the net; if so, a point is awarded to the opposing team.
Players are generally required to rotate the serve from player to player on a team, and also rotate their position on the court. In some games, players can stand anywhere on the court after the serve. Taller players are usually positioned closest to the net.
PARTNERS IN FUN
Although Canadian Dr. James Naismith is known the world over for having invented basketball at Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1891, a lesser-known fact is that his friend and colleague, William Morgan, invented volleyball only four years later. As the director of physical education at the Young Men’s Christian Association in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morgan was looking for a game that could be enjoyed by a population older than those playing Naismith’s basketball. He originally called his invention “mintonette.”
Variation: Fistball
Europeans originated a game similar to volleyball known as fistball or faustball that has been contested for at least 1,800 years. The court is much larger — 60 feet wide and 150 feet long — although the service line is closer to the net than in volleyball.
In fistball, the ball is allowed to bounce once on the lawn between each hit, but only three hits are allowed before the ball must advance back to the opposite side of the net, which is only six feet off the ground. Games are played to 11 points.
As the name would indicate, the ball must be hit using a fist and not an open hand; however, advancing the ball off any part of the arm is allowed. Fistball is a huge sport in many nations, which compete for a World Championship every four years.
“LEARN THE LINGO”
Bump Passing with the forearm
Dig Passing a ball close to the ground
Set When one player passes the ball so that another player can spike it
Spike A ball hit hard on a steep angle
BEACH VOLLEYBALL has spawned its own colorful jargon, including:
Beer When a hard-hit ball lands between a defender’s legs
Hubby & Wife When a serve is directed straight down the middle between two players, who are paralyzed by indecision about who should hit the ball
Jumbo shrimp A shot hit over the head of the defender to a far corner that lands in bounds
The wheelbarrow is a simple machine that has been around since the time of the ancient Greeks. For children, a ride in a wheelbarrow from a willing adult can represent a racecar, a chariot, or a sailboat. Turning themselves into human wheelbarrows is a pastime that has amused generations of bored kids. It can be awkward and exhausting, especially for the “wheelbarrow,” but it’s always a barrel of laughs for everyone involved.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Crab Legs Race
Ready, Set, Go!
At its core, the wheelbarrow race is a simple first-to-the-?nish-line contest to be won by the fastest, strongest players; however, all sorts of rules and configurations can add twists and turns, thereby adding to the thrills and occasional spills of the game.
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
The “wheelbarrow” walks on his or her hands while a partner holds his or her legs
PLAYING AREA
The flatter and smoother, the better; even with actual wheelbarrows, this isn’t a game for pavement!
EQUIPMENT
Wheelbarrows (optional)
AGES
4 and up
PLAYERS
4 or more
Obstacles and relays are great additions to the race and some players have turned the transfer of positioning into an acrobatic art form. Rather than simply dropping the teammate’s legs to the ground and assuming the position of wheelbarrow, the most nimble players perform a double summersault while still holding on to the teammate’s legs. The end result is that the original wheelbarrow is now standing and the standing player becomes the wheelbarrow. It’s one of those moves where practice makes perfect.
Variation: Use a Real Wheelbarrow
If the kids are older and stronger and you have more than one wheelbarrow available, races involving actual wheelbarrows are lots of fun. Try adding obstacles to the racecourse so that the effort requires as much dexterity in steering as it does in running.
If it’s a two-on-two race, make the race from point A to point B and back again, with the players switching places halfway through. The speed of the exchange becomes a fast and furious factor in the race. When more players are available, relays can be great fun and help to take the emphasis off any one player’s strength or weakness.
Still another variation of the wheelbarrow race has one player holding each handle of a wheelbarrow containing a load of some sort, perhaps even another player or two. The level of balance and cooperation required among all the players overshadows strength and speed.
Guinness World Records recognizes Australian sprinter Otis Gowa as holding the record for the fastest 100-meter wheelbarrow run. On May 15, 2005, Gowa pushed 110-pound Stacey Maisel over the gras
s at Davis Park at Mareeba, Queensland, Australia, in 14 seconds. Guinness also crowned a group of 1,378 students in Singapore in 2009 for setting the record for the largest wheelbarrow race, with 689 teams.
How Far Did You Say?
Perhaps the longest wheelbarrow race in American history began December 8, 1878. Offering a purse of $1,500 to whomever could trundle a wooden wheelbarrow from San Francisco to New York City the fastest, newspaper publisher George Hearst found willing takers in R. Lyman Potter of New York and Leon Pierre Federmeyer of France.
Besting Potter by an estimated 1,000 miles, Federmeyer wheeled into New York City on July 23, 1879. Having passed through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the wellcelebrated pedestrian was estimated to have traveled 4,500 miles.
Technically speaking, the great American pastime of baseball is a lawn game — if you have a very, very large lawn with no picture windows, planters, and innocent bystanders. That’s because the nearly rockhard ball is notorious for breaking things . . . lots of things. That difficulty led David N. Mullany, a former semiprofessional baseball pitcher from Shelton, Connecticut, to devise a plastic ball and bat for his 12-year-old son in the early 1950s.