Tag Archives: Sport

Throw the ball and jump!

• In the sport of dodgeball, two teams throw balls at their opponents while dodging the balls that are thrown back at them.
• Dodgeball is typically played in primary and secondary school, and university.
• The aim of dodgeball is to throw balls at the opposite team and hit them with the ball, or to catch balls thrown from the opposite team, before the balls bounce.
• Dodgeball games generally use three to ten dodgeballs.
• A typical dodgeball  ball is made from foam and is about the size of a volleyball.

Dodgeball
Image courtesy of Presidio of Monterey: DLIFLC & USAG/Flickr

• Dodgeball is generally played on a basketball court, enclosed area or soccer field.
• There are many different rule variations to the dodgeball game including the use of pins or bottles.
• Dodgeball can be dangerous, as you could be hurt by a dodgeball or slip.
• A record was set for a dodgeball game with the most players on 25 September, 2012 by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with 6,084 players.
• The phrase ‘playing dodgeball’ is sometimes used in America in reference to something unpleasant that was attempted to be avoided.

Bibliography:
Dodgeball 15 February 2013 , Wikipedia,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodgeball>

Game, set, match.

• Tennis is generally a sport where you hit a ball over a net with a racquet, towards an opponent who aims to hit the ball back over the net.
• Artwork from 500BC in Ancient Greece shows an early form of tennis that was played.
• In France, during the 1400s, a type of tennis evolved and eventually included a tennis racquet and the term ‘tennis’ was used.
• Tennis was first played as a competitive sport in the early 1870s.
• Early tennis racquets were constructed from ash wood and modern tennis racquets are made from carbon graphite or fibreglass.

• Tennis racquets must be less than 81.28 cm (32 inches) lengthwise and 31.75 cm (12.5 inches) but can be any shape or weight.
• The general scoring system is 4 points (15, 30, 45, game) for a game, 6 games equals a set, and 2 sets equal a match.
• An umpire watches the tennis game from a high chair so he/she can see the players, the ball and the court.
• There are many tennis hitting techniques such as drives, lobs and smashes.
• Tennis games can be played single or double, but double games require teamwork to win.

Bibliography:

Vicaro, A 2000, Tennis, oling Kindersly, Great Britian

Freefalling…

• Sky diving is also known as parachuting.
• Sky diving is the practice of parachuting down to earth from an aircraft.
• Sky diving jumps are generally performed from aircraft, from 1,000 – 4,000 meters (3,000 – 13,000 feet) in altitude.
• First time sky divers jump with an experienced trainer, and this is called a tandem jump.
• Approximately 21 sky divers die every year in the United States of America, which is equal to 1 in every 150,000 jumps.

Sky Diving
Image courtesy of Alwaysmnky/Flickr

• As a safety precaution, most sky divers must have two parachutes on him or her, one parachute being a reserve.
• If you sky dive, you shouldn’t jump in bad weather like thunderstorms or big winds as there is a high risk of danger.
• Vertical wind tunnels and virtual reality simulators help sky divers train for jumps.
• On the 8th of February, 2006, in Thailand, a world record was set when 400 people jumped from an aircraft and free-fell whilst linked.
• In 2011, on his 40,000th jump, Don Kellner set the world record for the most sky diving jumps by one person.

Bibliography:
Parachuting 16 February 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting>

Concentrate now…

• Fencing is a sport that includes striking your opponent with a bladed weapon.
• Fencing was one of the few sports to be included in the first modern Olympic Games, and one of five sports that has been included in every Olympic Games since.
• Spanish fencing was being practised in the 13th and 14th centuries, and it is from this that modern fencing is derived.
• There are three main types of fencing weapons: the foil, sabreo or the épée.  The blades are flexible and blunt or flattened so they do not harm the opponent.
• The fencing uniform includes a jacket, a plastron (an underarm protector), a glove, breeches and a mask.

Fencing
Image courtesy of Qrodo Photos/Flickr

• The fencing uniform typically is made from cotton or nylon mixed with polyethylene, so that it is resistant to sword penetration.
• In the United States and European countries, fencing is a popular sport in some schools and universities and students have the opportunity to compete in the World University Games.
• In fencing competitions, weapons with electronic sensors are used to make scoring more accurate.
• Fencing is regarded as a sport safer than golf, and people are at the most risk when a weapon breaks.
• In fencing competitions, two people generally move back and fourth on a 1.4 by 13 meter(6 by 44 feet) strip, attempting to strike one another.

Bibliography:
Fencing 2 February 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing>

‘Elbow up, thumb down, palm out’ is how you put.

• Shot put is an athletic event when you ‘put’ or ‘throw’ a heavy, spherical metal ball.
• Shot put appeared in the Olympic Games for men in 1896, and for women in 1948.
• The first recorded competitions of shot put were in the 1800’s, in Scotland.
• Modern shot probably came about from the competitions that soldiers had in the Middle Ages, involving the throwing of cannon balls.
• The shot (ball) can be made from many materials including  iron, cast iron, solid or stainless steel or brass.

Shot Put
Image courtesy of Sangudo/Flickr

• The shot is thrown with a pushing action, with one hand.
• A shot put athlete stands in a typical 2.1 meter (7 ft) diameter circle and throws the shot as far as they can within the throwing area or sector.
• A shot can range from 1 to 7 kg (2.2 lbs to 16lbs) in weight.
• Shot put records have been set by Randy Barnes, 23.12 meters (75.85 ft), for men and Aratalya Lisovshaya, 22.63 meters (74.25 ft).
• In shot put, any shot that lands outside a sector, the throwing area, equals a foul.

Bibliography:
Shot Put 22 January 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_put>