Most baseball uniforms include the player's name and uniform number, usually on the back (and sometimes the front) of the shirt, which helps the spectators identify the different participants within a team. Uniform items typically include shirts, pants, shoes, socks, caps, and gloves.
||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabbahi||item.||site-page||basketball||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-basketball-3.gif||||||All About: Basketball||newitem166291525||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms basketball||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Basketball > ||||||||All About Basketball, History||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||||Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 feet (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.[1]

Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket from above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is penalized and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).

Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.

While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations played in the outdoors have become increasingly popular among both inner city and rural groups.

The first rules, court, and game

In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith,[2] a Canadian physical education professor from McGill University of Montréal and instructor at YMCA Training School[3] (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so a hole was drilled into the bottom of the basket, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through, paving the way for the game we know today. A soccer ball was used to shoot goals. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game.[4] The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.[5] Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called "Duck on a Rock", as many had failed before it. Naismith called the new game "Basket Ball".[6]

The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players. The game ended at 1-0; the shot was made from 25 feet (7.6 m), on a court just half the size of a present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court. By 1897–1898 teams of five became standard.

Women's basketball

Women's basketball began in 1892 at Smith College when Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith's rules for women. Shortly after she was hired at Smith, she went to Naismith to learn more about the game.[7] Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she organized the first women’s collegiate basketball game on March 21, 1893, when her Smith freshmen and sophomores played against one another.[8] Her rules were first published in 1899 and two years later Berenson became the editor of A.G. Spalding’s first Women's Basketball Guide[9], which further spread her version of basketball for women.

Surge in popularity

Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the USA and Canada. By 1895, it was well established at several women's high schools. While the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules for the game. The first pro league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. This league only lasted five years.

Basketball Hall of Fame founded

By the 1950s, basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball. In 1959, a basketball hall of fame was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, site of the first game. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees and people who have contributed significantly to the development of the game.

Development of equipment and technique

Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a major part of the game around the 1950s, as manufacturing improved the ball shape.

Historical antecedents

Basketball, netball, dodgeball, volleyball, and lacrosse are the only ball games which have been identified as being invented by North Americans. Other ball games, such as baseball and Canadian football, have Commonwealth of Nations, European, Asian or African connections. Although there is no direct evidence as yet that the idea of basketball came from the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame, knowledge of that game had been available for at least 50 years prior to Naismith's creation, in the writings of John Lloyd Stephens and Alexander von Humboldt. Stephens' works especially, which included drawings by Frederick Catherwood, were available at most educational institutions in the 19th century and also had wide popular circulation.

Early college basketball development

Dr. James Naismith was instrumental in establishing college basketball. He coached at the University of Kansas for six years, before handing the reins to renowned coach Forrest "Phog" Allen. Naismith's disciple Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the University of Chicago, while Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith's at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the University of Kentucky.

On February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate 5-on-5 game was played at Hamline University between Hamline and the School of Agriculture, which was affiliated with University of Minnesota.[10][11] The School of Agriculture won in a 9-3 game.

In 1901, colleges, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, the University of Minnesota, the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Utah and Yale University began sponsoring men's games. In 1905, frequent injuries on the football field prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to suggest that colleges form a governing body, resulting in the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). In 1910, that body would change its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Early women's basketball development

In 1892, the University of California and Miss Head's School played the first women's interinstitutional game. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's intercollegiate basketball game at Smith College, March 21, 1893.[12] The same year, Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College (coached by Clara Gregory Baer) women began playing basketball. By 1895, the game had spread to colleges across the country, including Wellesley, Vassar, and Bryn Mawr. The first intercollegiate women's game was on April 4, 1896. Stanford women played Berkeley, 9-on-9, ending in a 2-1 Stanford victory.

Women's basketball development was more structured than that for men in the early years. In 1905, the National Women's Basketball Committee's Executive Committee on Basket Ball Rules was created by the American Physical Education Association.[13] These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials. The International Women's Sports Federation (1924) included a women's basketball competition. 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held by 1925. And in 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first national women's basketball championship, complete with men's rules.[14]

The Edmonton Grads, a touring Canadian women's team based in Edmonton, Alberta, operated between 1915 and 1940. The Grads toured all over North America, and were exceptionally successful. They posted a record of 522 wins and only 20 losses over that span, as they met any team which wanted to challenge them, funding their tours from gate receipts.[15] The Grads also shone on several exhibition trips to Europe, and won four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments, in 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936; however, women's basketball was not an official Olympic sport until 1976. The Grads' players were unpaid, and had to remain single. The Grads' style focused on team play, without overly emphasizing skills of individual players.

The first women's AAU All-America team was chosen in 1929.]].[16] Women's industrial leagues sprang up throughout the United States, producing famous athletes, including Babe Didrikson of the Golden Cyclones, and the All American Red Heads Team, which competed against men's teams, using men's rules. By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to two-court game with six players per team.[17]

First Canadian interuniversity game

The first Canadian interuniversity basketball game was played at the YMCA in Kingston, Ontario on February 6, 1904, when McGill University visited Queen's University. McGill won 9-7 in overtime; the score was 7-7 at the end of regulation play, and a ten-minute overtime period settled the outcome. A good turnout of spectators watched the game.[18]

Early American professional and barnstorming teams

Teams abounded throughout the 1920s. There were hundreds of men's professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States, and little organization of the professional game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went. Barnstorming squads such as the Original Celtics and two all-African American teams, the New York Renaissance Five ("Rens") and (still in existence as of 2009) the Harlem Globetrotters played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.

American national college championships

The first men's national championship tournament, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, which still exists as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament, was organized in 1937. The first national championship for NCAA teams, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, was organized in 1938; the NCAA national tournament would begin one year later.

College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948 to 1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in match fixing and point shaving. Partially spurred by an association with cheating, the NIT lost support to the NCAA tournament.

U.S. high school basketball

Before widespread school district consolidation, most United States high schools were far smaller than their present day counterparts. During the first decades of the 20th century, basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread television coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of high school basketball was unrivaled in many parts of America. Perhaps the most legendary of high school teams was Indiana's Franklin Wonder Five, which took the nation by storm during the 1920s, dominating Indiana basketball and earning national recognition.

Today virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in varsity competition. Basketball's popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2003–04 season, 1,002,797 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball, commonly called Hoosier Hysteria in Indiana; the critically acclaimed film Hoosiers shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these rural communities.

National Basketball Association Main article: National Basketball Association

In 1946, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed, organizing the top professional teams and leading to greater popularity of the professional game. The first game was played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers on November 1, 1946. Three seasons later, in 1949, the BAA became the National Basketball Association (NBA). An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.

The NBA has featured many famous players, including George Mikan, the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy and defensive genius Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics; Wilt Chamberlain, who originally played for the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters; all-around stars Oscar Robertson and Jerry West; more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone; playmaker John Stockton; crowd-pleasing forward Julius Erving; European stars Dirk Nowitzki and Drazen Petrovic and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan.

In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the NBDL. As of 2008, the league has sixteen teams.

Women's National Basketball Association Main article: Women's National Basketball Association

The NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) began in 1997. Though it had shaky attendance figures, several marquee players (Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker among others) have helped the league's popularity and level of competition. Other professional women's basketball leagues in the United States, such as the American Basketball League (1996-1998), have folded in part because of the popularity of the WNBA.

The WNBA has been looked at by many as a niche league. However, the league has recently taken steps forward.

In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with ESPN. The new television deal runs from 2009 to 2016. Along with this deal, came the first ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" will be "dispersed to the league's teams."

The WNBA gets more viewers on national television broadcasts (413,000) than both Major League Soccer (253,000)[19] and the NHL (310,732).[20]

In a March 12, 2009 article, NBA commissioner David Stern said that in the bad economy, "the NBA is far less profitable than the WNBA. We're losing a lot of money amongst a large number of teams. We're budgeting the WNBA to break even this year."[21]

Philippine Basketball Association Main article: Philippine Basketball Association

The Philippine Basketball Association is the second oldest professional league in the world. The first game was played on April 9, 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Philippines. It was founded as a "rebellion" of several teams from the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (now defunct), the then-FIBA recognized national association. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the league's first season that opened in April 9, 1975.

The Philippine Basketball Association features several famous basketball players like current superstars Gary David, James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Willie Miller, Kelly Williams, Cyrus Baguio and many others. Former PBA Superstar features Allan Caidic, Benjie Paras, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, Atoy Co, Bogs Adornado, Philip Cezar, Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, and many others.

International basketball XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Krešimir Ćosić of Yugoslavia (blue shirt) vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia

The International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur, was thus "FIBA."

Men's Basketball was first included in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men was held in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for Women was held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in Montreal, Canada with teams such as the Soviet Union, Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.

Pros in the Olympics

FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of their Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, behind Yugoslavia, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico (in a 19-point loss) and Lithuania in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and Italy.

International stars in the NBA

Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all over the globe can be found in NBA teams:

* Chicago Bulls star forward Luol Deng is a Sudanese refugee who settled in Great Britain. * Steve Nash, who won the 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP award, is a South Africa-born Canadian. * Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors, top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, is from Italy. In addition, American superstar Kobe Bryant spent much of his childhood in Italy while his father was playing there. * Dallas Mavericks superstar and 2007 NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki is German. * All-Star Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers is from Spain. * 2005 NBA Draft top overall pick Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks is Australian. Also, 2008–09 rookie Nathan Jawai is the first Indigenous Australian ever to play in the league. * Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is from China. * All star and former three point champion Peja Stojakovic is Serbian. * All star Andrei Kirilenko is Russian. * Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa and Denver Nuggets forward Nenę are Brazilian. * Cleveland Cavaliers big man Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and Linas Kleiza from Denver Nuggets are Lithuanians. * Perhaps no NBA team is as identified by international players as the San Antonio Spurs. The team's three most prominent players are all international—Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Manu Ginobili of Argentina and Tony Parker of France. (Duncan competes for the United States internationally, as the Virgin Islands did not field a basketball team for international competition until well after Duncan started playing internationally, and all U.S. Virgin Islands natives are United States citizens by birth.) * Ginobili's countryman Andrés Nocioni plays for the Sacramento Kings.

Even in the 90's, many non-American players made their names in the NBA, such as Croats Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoč, Serb Vlade Divac, Lithuanians Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis and German Detlef Schrempf.

Globalization of basketball

The all-tournament teams at the two most recent FIBA World Championships, held in 2002 in Indianapolis and 2006 in Japan, demonstrate the globalization of the game equally dramatically. Only one member of either team was American, namely Carmelo Anthony in 2006. The 2002 team featured Nowitzki, Ginobili, Yao, Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia (now of Serbia), and Pero Cameron of New Zealand. Ginobili also made the 2006 team; the other members were Anthony, Gasol, his Spanish teammate Jorge Garbajosa and Theodoros Papaloukas of Greece. The only players on either team to never have joined the NBA are Cameron and Papaloukas. The strength of international Basketball is evident in the fact that the last three FIBA world championships were won (in order) by Serbia (Yugoslavia in 1998) and Spain.

Rules and regulations Main article: Rules of basketball

Measurements and time limits discussed in this section often vary among tournaments and organizations; international and NBA rules are used in this section.

The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arc which is 6.25 metres (Template:Convert/) from the basket in international games and 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) in NBA games.

Playing regulations

Games are played in four quarters of 10 (international) or 12 minutes (NBA). College games use two 20-minute halves while most high school games use eight minute quarters. Fifteen minutes are allowed for a half-time break, and two minutes are allowed at the other breaks. Overtime periods are five minutes long. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours.

Five players from each team (out of a twelve player roster) may be on the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers.

For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a jersey with a clearly visible number, unique within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players' names and, outside of North America, sponsors are printed on the uniforms.

A limited number of time-outs, clock stoppages requested by a coach for a short meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one minute unless, for televised games, a commercial break is needed.

The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee ("crew chief" in men's college and the NBA), one or two umpires ("referees" in men's college and the NBA) and the table officials. For college, the NBA, and many high schools, there are a total of three referees on the court. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow, and the shot clock.

Equipment Main articles: Basketball (ball) and Basketball court Traditional eight-panel basketball

The only essential equipment in a basketball game is the basketball and the court: a flat, rectangular surface with baskets at opposite ends (or in the case of 3-on-3 street basketball, half a court with one basket). Competitive levels require the use of more equipment such as clocks, scoresheets, scoreboard(s), alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems. An outdoor basketball net.

A regulation basketball court in international games is 28 by 15 meters (approx. 92 by 49 ft) and in the NBA is 94 by 50 feet (29 by 15 m). Most courts are made of wood, usually maple.[22] A steel basket with net and backboard hang over each end of the court. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet (3.05 m) above the court and 4 feet (1.2 m) inside the baseline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is considered important for the basket to be of the correct height; a rim that is off by but a few inches can have an adverse effect on shooting.

There are also regulations on the size a basketball should be. If women are playing, the official basketball size is 28.5" in circumference (size 6) and a weight of 20 oz. For men, the official ball is 29.5" in circumference (size 7) and weighs 22 oz.

Violations

The ball may be advanced toward the basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled (bouncing the ball while running).

The ball must stay within the court; the last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball is out of bounds if touches or crosses over a boundary line, or touches a player who is out of bounds. This is contrast to other sports such as football (soccer), volleyball, and tennis (but not rugby or American football) where the ball (or player) is still considered in if any part of it is touching a boundary line.

The ball-handler may not move both feet without dribbling, known as traveling, nor may he dribble with both hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called double dribbling. A player's hand cannot be under the ball while dribbling; doing so is known as carrying the ball. A team, once having established ball control in the front half of the court, may not return the ball to the backcourt. The ball may not be kicked nor struck with the fist. A violation of these rules results in loss of possession, or, if committed by the defense, a reset of the shot clock.

There are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in international and NBA; 10 seconds in NCAA and high school), before attempting a shot (24 seconds in the NBA, 30 seconds in NCAA women's and Canadian Interuniversity Sport play for both sexes, and 35 seconds in NCAA men's play), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area (the lane, or "key") (3 seconds). These rules are designed to promote more offense.

No player may interfere with the basket or ball on its downward flight to the basket, or while it is on the rim (or, in the NBA, while it is directly above the basket), a violation known as goaltending. If a defensive player goaltends, the attempted shot is considered to have been successful. If a teammate of the shooter goaltends, the basket is cancelled and play continues with the defensive team being given possession.

Fouls The referee signals that a foul has been committed. Main articles: Personal foul and Technical foul

An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through physical contact is illegal and is called a foul. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line 15 feet (4.6 m) from the basket.

The referee may use discretion in calling fouls (for example, by considering whether an unfair advantage was gained), sometimes making fouls controversial calls. The calling of fouls can vary between games, leagues and even between referees.

A player or coach who shows poor sportsmanship, for instance, by arguing with a referee or by fighting with another player, can be charged with a more serious foul called a technical foul. The penalty involves free throws (which unlike a personal foul, the other team can choose any player to shoot the free throws) and varies between leagues. Repeated incidents can result in disqualification. Blatant fouls with excessive contact or that are not an attempt to play the ball are called unsportsmanlike fouls (or flagrant fouls in the NBA) and typically will result in ejection.

If a team exceeds a certain limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for NBA and international games – the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws on all subsequent fouls for that period, the number depending on the league. In the US college game if a team surpasses 7 fouls in the half the opposing team is awarded a one-and-one free throw (a player making the first is given a second). If a team exceeds 10 fouls in the half the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent fouls for the half. A player who, in an international game, commits five fouls (including technical fouls), or in an NBA game, commits six fouls (excluding technical fouls) is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game, and is said to have "fouled out".

After a team has committed a specified number of fouls, it is said to be "in the penalty". On scoreboards, this is usually signified with an indicator light reading "Bonus" or "Penalty" with an illuminated directional arrow indicating that team is to receive free throws when fouled by the opposing team. (Some scoreboards also indicate the number of fouls committed.)

For a player who is fouled while not in the act of attempting a shot, the number of free throws awarded increases with the number of fouls committed. Initially, one shot is awarded, but after a certain number of additional fouls are committed the opposing team may receive (a) one shot with a chance for a second shot if the first shot is made, called shooting "one-and-one", or (b) two shots. If a team misses the first shot (or "front end") of a one-and-one situation, the opposing team may reclaim possession of the ball and continue play. If a team misses the first shot of a two-shot situation, the opposing team must wait for the completion of the second shot before attempting to reclaim possession of the ball and continuing play.

If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is unsuccessful, the player is awarded a number of free throws equal to the value of the attempted shot. A player fouled while attempting a regular two-point shot, then, receives two shots. A player fouled while attempting a three-point shot, on the other hand, receives three shots.

If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is successful, typically the player will be awarded one additional free throw for one point. In combination with a regular shot, this is called a "three-point play" or "four-point play" (or more colloquially, an "and one") because of the basket made at the time of the foul (2 or 3points) and the additional free throw (1 point).

Common techniques and practices

Positions and structures Basketball positions in the offensive zone

Although the rules do not specify any positions whatsoever, they have evolved as part of basketball. During the first five decades of basketball's evolution, one guard, two forwards, and two centers or two guards, two forwards, and one center were used. Since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved, namely:

1. point guard: usually the fastest player on the team, organizes the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time 2. shooting guard: creates a high volume of shots on offense; guards the opponent's best perimeter player on defense 3. small forward: often primarily responsible for scoring points via cuts to the basket and dribble penetration; on defense seeks rebounds and steals, but sometimes plays more actively 4. power forward: plays offensively often with his back to the basket; on defense, plays under the basket (in a zone defense) or against the opposing power forward (in man-to-man defense) 5. center: uses height and size to score (on offense), to protect the basket closely (on defense), or to rebound.

The above descriptions are flexible. On some occasions, teams will choose to use a three guard offense, replacing one of the forwards or the center with a third guard. The most commonly interchanged positions are point guard and shooting guard, especially if both players have good leadership and ball handling skills.

There are two main defensive strategies: zone defense and man-to-man defense. Zone defense involves players in defensive positions guarding whichever opponent is in their zone. In man-to-man defense, each defensive player guards a specific opponent and tries to prevent him from taking action.

Offensive plays are more varied, normally involving planned passes and movement by players without the ball. A quick movement by an offensive player without the ball to gain an advantageous position is a cut. A legal attempt by an offensive player to stop an opponent from guarding a teammate, by standing in the defender's way such that the teammate cuts next to him, is a screen or pick. The two plays are combined in the pick and roll, in which a player sets a pick and then "rolls" away from the pick towards the basket. Screens and cuts are very important in offensive plays; these allow the quick passes and teamwork which can lead to a successful basket. Teams almost always have several offensive plays planned to ensure their movement is not predictable. On court, the point guard is usually responsible for indicating which play will occur.

Defensive and offensive structures, and positions, are more emphasized in higher levels in basketball; it is these that a coach normally requests a time-out to discuss.

Shooting Player releases a short jump shot, while her defender is either knocked down, or trying to "take a charge."

Shooting is the act of attempting to score points by throwing the ball through the basket. While methods can vary with players and situations, the most common technique is outlined as follows:

The player faces the basket with feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight. The player allows the ball to rest on the fingertips of the dominant hand (the shooting arm) slightly above the head, with the other hand supporting the side of the ball. To aim the ball, the player's elbow should be aligned vertically, with the forearm facing in the direction of the basket. The ball is shot by extending the bended knees and straightening the shooting arm; the ball rolls off the finger tips while the wrist completes a full downward flex motion. The shooting arm, fully extended with the wrist fully bent, and the fingers pointing downward, is held stationary for a moment following the release of the ball, this is known as a follow-through, which when properly done, enhances the accuracy of the shot. Generally, the non-shooting arm is used only to guide the shot, not to power it.

Players often try to put a steady backspin on the ball to deaden its impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat arguable, but generally coaches recommends a proper arch. Players may shoot directly into the basket or may use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket.

The two most common shots that use the above described set up are the set shot and the jump shot. The set shot is taken from a standing position, with neither foot leaving the floor, typically used for free throws. The jump shot is taken while in mid-air, when the ball is released near the top of the jump. This provides much greater power and range, and it also allows the player to elevate over the defender. Failure to release the ball before the feet return to the ground is considered a traveling violation.

Another common shot is called the layup. This shot requires the player to be in motion toward the basket, and to "lay" the ball "up" and into the basket, typically off the backboard (the backboard-free, underhand version is called a finger roll). The most crowd-pleasing, and typically highest-percentage accuracy shot is the slam dunk, in which the player jumps very high, and throws the ball downward, straight through the hoop.

Another shot that is becoming common is the "circus shot". The circus shot is a low-percentage shot that is flipped, heaved, scooped, or flung toward the hoop while the shooter is off-balance, airborne, falling down, and/or facing away from the basket.

A shot that misses both the rim and the backboard completely is referred to as an air ball. A particularly bad shot, or one that only hits the backboard, is jocularly called a brick.

Rebounding Main article: Rebound (basketball)

The objective of rebounding is to successfully gain possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw, as it rebounds from the hoop or backboard. This plays a major role in the game, as most possessions end when a team misses a shot. There are two categories of rebounds: offensive rebounds, in which the ball is recovered by the offensive side and does not change possession, and defensive rebounds, in which the defending team gains possession of the loose ball. The majority of rebounds are defensive, as the team on defense tends to be in better position to recover missed shots.

Passing See also: Assist (basketball)

A pass is a method of moving the ball between players. Most passes are accompanied by a step forward to increase power and are followed through with the hands to ensure accuracy.

A staple pass is the chest pass. The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. A proper chest pass involves an outward snap of the thumbs to add velocity and leaves the defence little time to react.

Another type of pass is the bounce pass. Here, the passer bounces the ball crisply about two-thirds of the way from his own chest to the receiver. The ball strikes the court and bounces up toward the receiver. The bounce pass takes longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is also harder for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, players often use the bounce pass in crowded moments, or to pass around a defender.

The overhead pass is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is released while over the passer's head.

The outlet pass occurs after a team gets a defensive rebound. The next pass after the rebound is the outlet pass.

The crucial aspect of any good pass is it being difficult to intercept. Good passers can pass the ball with great accuracy and they know exactly where each of their other teammates prefers to receive the ball. A special way of doing this is passing the ball without looking at the receiving teammate. This is called a no-look pass.

Another advanced style of passing is the behind-the-back pass which, as the description implies, involves throwing the ball behind the passer's back to a teammate. Although some players can perform such a pass effectively, many coaches discourage no-look or behind-the-back passes, believing them to be difficult to control and more likely to result in turnovers or violations.

Dribbling A U.S. Naval Academy ("Navy") player, left, posts up a U.S. Military Academy ("Army") defender Main article: Dribble

Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously with one hand, and is a requirement for a player to take steps with the ball. To dribble, a player pushes the ball down towards the ground with the fingertips rather than patting it; this ensures greater control.

When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand farthest from the opponent, making it more difficult for the defensive player to get to the ball. It is therefore important for a player to be able to dribble competently with both hands.

Good dribblers (or "ball handlers") tend to bounce the ball low to the ground, reducing the distance of travel of the ball from the floor to the hand, making it more difficult for the defender to "steal" the ball. Good ball handlers frequently dribble behind their backs, between their legs, and switch directions suddenly, making a less predictable dribbling pattern that is more difficult to defend against. This is called a crossover, which is the most effective way to go pass defenders while dribbling.

A skilled player can dribble without watching the ball, using the dribbling motion or peripheral vision to keep track of the ball's location. By not having to focus on the ball, a player can look for teammates or scoring opportunities, as well as avoid the danger of having someone steal the ball away from him/her.

Blocking Main article: Block (basketball)

A block is performed when, after a shot is attempted, a defender succeeds in altering the shot by touching the ball. In almost all variants of play, it is illegal to touch the ball after it is in the downward path of its arc; this is known as goaltending. It is also illegal to block a shot after it has touched the backboard, or when any part of the ball is directly above the rim.

To block a shot, a player has to be able to reach a point higher than where the shot is released. Thus, height can be an advantage in blocking. Players who are taller and playing the power forward or center positions generally record more blocks than players who are shorter and playing the guard positions. However, with good timing and a sufficiently high vertical leap, even shorter players can be effective at blocking shots.

Height

At the professional level, most male players are above 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and most women above 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). Guards, for whom physical coordination and ball-handling skills are crucial, tend to be the smallest players. Almost all forwards in the men's pro leagues are 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) or taller. Most centers are over 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) tall. According to a survey given to all NBA teams, the average height of all NBA players is just under 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m), with the average weight being close to 222 pounds (101 kg). The tallest players ever in the NBA were Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureşan, who were both 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m) tall. The tallest current NBA player is Yao Ming, who stands at 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m).

The shortest player ever to play in the NBA is Muggsy Bogues at 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m). Other short players have thrived at the pro level. Anthony "Spud" Webb was just 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 m) tall, but had a 42-inch (1.07 m) vertical leap, giving him significant height when jumping. The shortest player in the NBA as of the 2006-07 season is Earl Boykins at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). While shorter players are often not very good at defending against shooting, their ability to navigate quickly through crowded areas of the court and steal the ball by reaching low are strengths.

Variations and similar games Main article: Variations of basketball

Variations of basketball are activities based on the game of basketball, using common basketball skills and equipment (primarily the ball and basket). Some variations are only superficial rules changes, while others are distinct games with varying degrees of basketball influences. Other variations include children's games, contests or activities meant to help players reinforce skills.

Wheelchair basketball, created by disabled World War II veterans,[23] is played on specially designed wheelchairs for the physically impaired. The world governing body of wheelchair basketball is the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation[24] (IWBF). Water basketball, played in a swimming pool, merges basketball and water polo rules. Beach basketball is played in a circular court with no backboard on the goal, no out-of-bounds rule with the ball movement to be done via passes or 2 1/2 steps, as dribbling is next to impossible on a soft surface.[25]

There are many variations as well played in informal settings without referees or strict rules. Perhaps the single most common variation is the half court game. Only one basket is used, and the ball must be "cleared" - passed or dribbled outside the half-court or three-point line - each time possession of the ball changes from one team to the other. Half-court games require less cardiovascular stamina, since players need not run back and forth a full court. Half-court games also raise the number of players that can use a court, an important benefit when many players want to play. (Interestingly, half court games are also played when there is an insufficient number of players to form full 5-on-5 teams).

A popular version of the half-court game is 21. Two-point shots count as two points and shots from behind the three-point line count three. A player who makes a basket is awarded up to three extra free throws (or unlimited if you are playing "all day"), worth the usual one point. When a shot is missed, if one of the other players tips the ball in with two while it is in the air, the score of the player who missed the shot goes back to zero, or if they have surpassed 13, their score goes back to 13. This is called a "tip". If a missed shot is "tipped" in, but the player who tips it in only uses one hand, then the player who shot it is out of the game and has to catch an air ball to get back in. The first player to reach exactly 21 points wins. If they go over, their score goes back to 13.

Other variations include streetball, Unicycle basketball, knockout, Around the World, and one-on-one, a variation in which two players will use only a small section of the court (often no more than a half of a court) and compete to play the ball into a single hoop. Such games tend to emphasize individual dribbling and ball stealing skills over shooting and team play.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|chhiandin||item.||site-page||cheerleading||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-cheerleading-3.gif||||||All About: Cheerleading||||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms cheerleading||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Cheer > ||||||||Cheerleading History and info||||||In Stock||0||1||0||0||||||Cheerleading History and info||Cheerleading is a sport that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions. Cheerleaders draw attention to the event and encourage audience participation. The athlete involved is called a cheerleader.

Cheerleading originates in the United States, and remains a predominantly American activity, with an estimated 1.5 million participants in all-star cheerleading. The growing presentation of the sport to a global audience has been led by the 1997 start of broadcasts of cheerleading competition by ESPN International and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring it On. Due in part to this recent exposure, there are now an estimated 100,000 participants scattered around the rest of the world in countries including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Contents

History Minnesota Gopher cheerleader Johnny Campbell

Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles introduced the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota. However, it was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering "Rah, Rah, Rah! Sku-u-mar, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”, making Campbell the very first cheerleader and November 2, 1898 the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota organized a "yell leader" squad of 6 male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer today In 1903 the first cheerleading fraternity, Gamma Sigma was founded. Cheerleading started out as an all-male activity, but females began participating in 1923, due to limited availability of female collegiate sports. At this time, gymnastics, tumbling, and megaphones were incorporated into popular cheers, and are still used today. Today it is estimated that 97% of cheerleading participants overall are female, but males still make up 50% of cheering squads at the collegiate level. Cornell University cheerleader on a 1906 postcard

In 1948, Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer, of Dallas, TX and a former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University formed the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) as a way to hold cheerleading clinics. In 1949, The NCA held its first clinic in Huntsville, TX with 52 girls in attendance. "Herkie" contributed many "firsts" to the sport; The founding of Cheerleader & Danz Team uniform supply company, inventing the herkie, (where one leg is bent towards the ground and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in the toe touch position) and creating the "Spirit Stick". By the 1960s, college cheerleaders began hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to eager high school age girls. In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl pom-pon and it was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (now the World Cheerleading Association or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the International Cheerleading Foundation in 1967. In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of Collegiate Cheerleading Championships on CBS.

In the 1960s National Football League (NFL) teams began to organize professional cheerleading teams. The Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts) was the first NFL team to have an organized cheerleading squad. It was the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, which debuted in the 1972-1973 season, but were first seen widely in Super Bowl X (1976). This caused the image of cheerleaders to permanently change, with many other NFL teams emulating them. Most of the professional teams' cheerleading squads would more accurately be described as dance teams by today's standards; as they rarely, if ever, actively encourage crowd noise or perform modern cheerleading moves.

The 1980s saw the onset of modern cheerleading with more difficult stunt sequences and gymnastics being incorporated into routines. ESPN first broadcasted the National High School Cheerleading Competition nationwide in 1983. Cheerleading organizations such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), founded in 1987, started applying universal safety standards to decrease the number of injuries and prevent dangerous stunts, pyramids and tumbling passes from being included in routines. In 2003, the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) was formed to offer safety training for youth, school, all star and college coaches. The NCAA requires college cheer coaches to successfully complete a nationally recognized safety-training program. The NCSSE or AACCA certification programs are both recognized by the NCAA.

Even with its athletic and competitive development, cheerleading at the school level has retained its ties to the spirit leading traditions started back in the 1890s. Cheerleaders are seen as ambassadors for their schools, and leaders among the student body. At the college level, cheerleaders are often invited to help at university fundraisers.

Today, cheerleading is most closely associated with American football and basketball. Sports such as association football (soccer), ice hockey, volleyball, baseball, and wrestling sometimes sponsor cheerleading squads. The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders. The Florida Marlins were the first Major League Baseball team to have cheerleaders. Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads[citation needed].

Types of teams in the world today

School-sponsored Collegiate cheerleaders at a college basketball game.

Most American middle schools, high schools, and colleges have organized cheerleading squads made up solely of students. Several colleges that compete at cheerleading competitions offer cheerleading scholarships. Some military academies use their drill team or Color guard team instead of a cheersquad at athletic events, but some military academies have traditional cheerleading squads. Normally, the main reason for school-sponsored cheerleading is to promote school spirit and motivate the players and fans. A cheerleading team may compete outside of sporting events (local, regional, and national competitions), but their main task is to cheer for sporting events and encourage audience participation. Cheerleading is quickly becoming a year round sport starting with tryouts during the spring of the preceding school year, organized camp as a team, practices, attendance at various sporting events and ending with National competition season typically from winter through spring.

The tryout process sometimes takes place over several days. The cheerleading coach usually arranges for a cheerleading clinic, during which basic materials are taught or reviewed before the final day of tryouts. This gives returning cheerleaders and new cheerleaders an equal chance of becoming familiar with the material. Skills that coaches look for include jumps, tumbling, motions, and dance ability. Tryouts are usually in the spring, so that the coach has the team chosen in time to attend summer camp as a team.

Middle School Cheerleading

Middle school cheerleading evolved shortly after high school squads started. In middle school, the squads serve mostly the same functions as high school squads and follow the same rules and regulations [10]. The cheerleaders cheer at basketball, football, wrestling, and soccer boy's and girl's games. They also perform at pep rallies and compete against other schools from local competitions all the way to nationals [11]. Cheerleading in middle school is a two-season sport, taking place in the fall and winter. High school cheerleaders performing a K Pyramid

High School Cheerleading

In high school, there are usually two squads per school—a Varsity and a Junior Varsity. Some schools also include a freshman level of the sport in order to develop skills as the athletes mature. High School Cheerleading consists of a school spirit aspect and the competition aspect. These squads have become a part of a year round sport, starting with tryouts in the spring, to year round practice, to sporting events to cheer at in the fall and winter, and to cheerleading competitions. Most teams practice at least three days a week for about three hours a day in the summer. Many of the teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year cheerleading is a six days a week sport. During competition season it becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and “pumping up” the crowd at football games, basketball games, even wrestling meets. With this they also make posters, perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to the other students. In May 2009, the National Federation of State High School Associations released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimate that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is 394,694 cheerleaders.[12] The competition aspect makes cheerleading its own sport. There are year-round practices, cheer camps, and competitions through the winter. There are different cheer organizations that put on these competitions, some of the major ones include a state competition and regionals competitions. Many high schools host cheerleading competitions bringing in IHSA judges. The regional competitions are the qualifiers for the national competitions, such as the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) in Orlando, Florida every year[13]. The competition aspect of cheer can be very enduring, styles and rules changing every year make it important and difficult to find the newest and hottest up coming routines[14]. Most teams have a professional choreograph their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking any rules and they will be up to par with the other teams. For a list of rules visit AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators) All high school coaches are required to attend an IHSA rules meeting at the beginning of the season. This ensures their knowledge of rules changes and their compliance with these rules. Routines usually last around 2 minutes and 30 seconds and require cheer, dance, jumps, tumbling, and stunting portions. Not all high school cheerleading squads compete in competitions, but all support their schools. All cheerleaders dress in matching uniforms. They do this to look "together" and like a team when performing.. Collegiate cheerleaders perform a high splits pyramid during a college football game

College Cheerleading

Most colleges and universities have a cheerleading squad. Most squads are coed (consisting of both men and women), but all-girl college squads are growing in rapid numbers in an effort to give female cheerleaders (especially female bases) who have cheered on an all-girl high school or all-star squads an opportunity to cheer at the collegiate level without making the transition to a coed squad. Unlike high school cheerleading, college squads can perform difficult stunts like rewinds, 2 1/2 high pyramids, and flipping and twisting basket tosses. Most college squads don't compete, but a handful of them compete nationally. Top collegiate squads include the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, Morehead State University, Hawai'i Pacific University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama, and Stephen F. Austin State University.

Youth league/ Athletic Association Youth Cheerleaders during a football halftime show. Youth Cheer—high school ages and younger—make up the vast majority of cheerleaders and cheer teams.

Many organizations that sponsor youth league football or basketball sponsor cheerleading squads as well. Pop Warner organizations are an example of this. The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) is also a popular sponsor for youth cheerleading leagues, as well as numerous other sports leagues. All-Star cheerleading

In the early 1980s, cheerleading squads not associated with a schools or sports leagues, whose main objective was competition, began to emerge. The first organization to call themselves all stars and go to competitions were the Q94 Rockers from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1982 by Hilda McDaniel.[16] All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were place into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) decided to address this situation by creating a separate division for these teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the 'All-Star Division' and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As the popularity of these types of teams grew, more and more of them were formed, attending competitions sponsored by many different types of organizations and companies, all using their own set of rules, regulations and divisions. This situation became one of the chief concerns of gym owners. These inconsistencies caused coaches to keep their routines in a constant state of flux, detracting from time that should be utilized to develop skills and provide personal attention to their athletes. More importantly, because the various companies were constantly vying for the competitive edge, safety standards had becoming more and more lax. In some cases, unqualified coaches and inexperienced squads are attempting dangerous stunts as a result of these “expanded” sets of rules. A cheerleading squad performing toe-touches during a routine

The USASF was formed in 2003 by these various competition companies to act as the national governing body for all star cheerleading and to create a standard set of rules and judging standards to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation and ultimately leading to the Cheerleading Worlds. The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on Saturday, April 24, 2004. At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organize themselves for the same rule making purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF to become their rule making body.[16] By late 2006, the USASF was ready to expand its reach even further, by facilitating the creation of the International All-Star Federation (IASF), the first international governing body for the sport of cheerleading. An All Star team during a competition

Currently all-star cheerleading as sanctioned by the USASF involves a squad of 6-36 females and/or males. The squad prepares year-round for many different competition appearances, but they only actually perform for up to 2˝ minutes during their routines. The numbers of competitions a team participates in varies from team to team, but generally, most teams tend to participate in eight-twelve competitions a year. These competitions include locals, which are normally taken place in school gymnasiums, nationals, hosted in big venues all around the U.S. with national champions, and the Cheerleading Worlds, taken place at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed stunting, tumbling, jumping and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so the team members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.

Judges at the competition watch for illegal moves from the group or any individual member. Here, an illegal move is something that is not allowed in that division due to difficulty and safety restrictions. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.

All-star cheerleaders are placed into divisions, which are grouped based upon age, size of the team, gender of participants, and ability level. The age levels vary from under 4 year of age to 18 years and over. The divisions used by the USASF/IASF are currently Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, Junior International, Junior Coed, Senior, Senior coed, Open International and Open. If a team places high enough at selected USASF/IASF sanctioned national competitions, they could be included in the Cheerleading Worlds and compete against teams from all over the world, as well as receive money for placing.

Professional Cheerleading

There are only a few professional cheerleading leagues around the world. In America and Canada, professional cheerleading squads are also called dance teams. In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders also, as teams, do a lot of philanthropy and charity work, modeling, motivational speaking, television performances, and advertising[20]. Although professional cheerleading leagues exist in multiple countries, there are no Olympic Teams.

Professional Cheerleaders cheer for sports such as football, basketball, rugby, soccer, baseball, wrestling, or hockey. Some professional leagues include NBA Cheerleading League, NFL Cheerleading League, and CFL Cheerleading League.

Famous former cheerleaders

Many prominent people in the entertainment, business, and political fields have been cheerleaders. To see the list, go to List of cheerleaders.

Cheerleading in popular culture

Movies and television

Also see List of cheerleaders in fiction

The revamped and provocative Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders of the 1970s—and the many imitators that followed—firmly established the cheerleader as an American icon of wholesome sex appeal. In response, a new subgenre of exploitation films suddenly sprang up with titles such as The Cheerleaders (1972), The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1975), The Pom Pom Girls (1976), Satan's Cheerleaders (1977), and Cheerleaders's Wild Weekend (1979). In addition to R-rated sex comedies and horror films, cheerleaders became a staple of the adult film industry, starting with Debbie Does Dallas (1978) and its four sequels.

On television, the made-for-TV movie The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (which aired January 14, 1979) starring Jane Seymour was a highly-rated success, spawning the 1980 sequel The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II.

The Dallas squad was in high demand during the late '70s with frequent appearances on network specials, awards shows, variety programs, commercials, the game show Family Feud and sitcoms such as The Love Boat. The sci-fi sitcom Mork & Mindy also based a 1979 episode around the Denver Broncos cheerleaders with Mork (Robin Williams) trying out for the squad.

Cheerleading's increasing popularity in recent decades has made it a prominent feature in high-school themed movies and television shows. The 2000 film Bring It On, about a San Diego high school cheerleading squad called "The Toros", starred real-life former cheerleader Kirsten Dunst. Bring It On was a surprise hit and earned nearly $70 million domestically. It spawned three direct-to-video sequels Bring It On Again in 2003, Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006, and Bring It On: In It to Win It in 2007. Bring It On was followed in 2001 by another teen cheerleading comedy, Sugar & Spice. In 1993, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom was an acclaimed TV movie which told the true story of Wanda Holloway, the Texas mother whose obsession with her daughter's cheerleading career made headline news.

In 2006, Hayden Panettiere, star of Bring It On: All or Nothing, took another cheerleading role as Claire Bennet, the cheerleader with an accelerated healing factor on NBC's hit sci-fi TV series Heroes, launching cheerleading back into the limelight of pop culture. Claire was the main focus of the show's first story arc, featuring the popular catchphrase, "Save the cheerleader, save the world." Her prominent, protagonist role in Heroes was supported by a strong fan-base and provided a positive image for high school cheerleading.

In 2006, Cheerleader Nation, was a reality show featured on the channel, Lifetime. Cheerleader Nation is a 60 minute television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to nationals, of which they are the three time champions. This show also explains how cheerleading is a tough sport. This show takes place in Lexington, Kentucky. The team is on a quest to win a third national championship.

In 2007, the series "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team" was started to show the process of getting on the pro squad of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Everything from initial tryouts to workout routines and the difficulties involved was shown. The series was given another year to show the process of getting the 08 Cheerleaders ready.

Video games

Nintendo has released a pair of video games in Japan for the Nintendo DS, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and its sequel Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii that star teams of male cheer squads, or Ouendan that practice a form of cheerleading. Each of the games' most difficult modes replaces the male characters with female cheer squads that dress in western cheerleading uniforms. The games task the cheer squads with assisting people in desperate need of help by cheering them on and giving them the motivation to succeed. There is also a All Star Cheerleader for the Wii in which you do routines at competitions with the Wiimote & Nunchuck. This is also available for Nintendo DS[citation needed]

Sport Debate and Stereotypes.

Because cheerleaders started out as merely a tool for crowd arousal, the stereotype sticks that cheerleaders are no more than girls in short skirts, standing on the sideline, shouting Go Team, Go! Another common stereotype surrounding cheerleaders is that they are popular, pretty, and mean. This stereotype is enforced by TV shows, movies, and other media that portray cheerleaders as ditzy blondes, typically popular, and rude to others. With the addition of adult coaching added to school squads, the image that cheerleading is just a populartity contest is beginning to fade. With the addition of All-Star cheerleading, cheerleaders are ready to drop old stereotypes, and take on the title of athletes. Many schools look for kids who also have the skills that come form participating on All-Star teams. There has been debate on whether or not cheerleading truly is a sport. Supporters consider cheerleading, as a whole, a sport, citing the heavy use of athletic talents [21][22] while critics do not see it as deserving of that status since sport implies a competition among squads and not all squads compete along with subjectivity of competitions.[23][24] With the addition of All-Star cheerleading, the debat has grown of whether cheering is truly a sport. All-Star brings a whole new set of rules to the table, incorporating high level of gymnastics and stunting, and very competitive routines. During the 2008 Cheerleading Worlds, the USASF launched it's "Be an All-Star" campaign and public service announcement, promotimg the positive qualities of All-Star cheerleading and the conception of cheerleading as a sport. In the UK, there is less of a debate[citation needed], as the sports councils recognize cheerleading as a sport, they have however yet to assign a national governing body. There are currently two groups applying for the position: British Cheerleading Association, and British Gymnastics. [25]

On January 27, 2009 in a lawsuit involving an accidental injury sustained during a cheerleading practice, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that cheerleading is a full-contact sport in that state.

Dangers of cheerleading

The risk of cheerleading was highlighted when Kristi Yamaoka, a cheerleader for Southern Illinois University, suffered from a fractured vertebra after she hit her head after falling from a human pyramid. She also suffered from a concussion, and a bruised lung. The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance during a basketball game between Southern Illinois University and Bradley University at the Savvis Center in St. Louis on March 5, 2006. The fall gained "national attention", because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as she was moved away from the game. Yamaoka has since made a full recovery.

The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season. [29] On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by the AACCA rules committee:

The committee unanimously voted for sweeping revisions to cheerleading safety rules, the most major of which restricts specific upper-level skills during basketball games. Basket tosses, 2˝ high pyramids, one-arm stunts, stunts that involve twisting or flipping, and twisting tumbling skills may only be performed during halftime and post-game on a matted surface and are prohibited during game play or time-outs.

However, there have been far worse catastrophes in the world of cheerleading. Last October,[clarification needed] at Los Angeles' John Marshall High School, 17 year-old Patty Phommanyvong became a comatose quadriplegic as the result of a fall to the ground; she later died as a result of the brain injury. Eighteen year-old Jessica Smith suffered a fractured back and neck after hitting the ground during practice at Sacramento City College in California. Most tragically, 20 year-old Lauren Chang died in April 2008 from being kicked in the chest at a cheerleading competition in Worcester, Massachusetts. There was also the 2005 case of Ashley Burns who, at 14 years old, ruptured her spleen. This occurred when she landed stomach down while practicing an airborne spin with her high school cheerleading squad[30]

Out of the nation's 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics. Since the NCAA has yet to recognize cheerleading as an official college sport, there are no solid numbers on college cheerleading, yet when it comes to injuries, 67% of female athlete injuries at the college level are due to cheerleading mishaps.

Cheerleading is now considered one of the most dangerous school activities. The main source of injuries comes from stunting, also known as pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the girl on top), along with one or two bases (the girls or boys on the bottom) and, one or two spotters in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related injuries are: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries (sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, and broken collarbones.

The Pediatrics journal reported that the number of cheerleaders suffering from broken bones, concussions, and sprains has increased by over 100 percent between the years of 1990 and 2002. In 2001 there were 25,000 hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle, head, and neck. [32] Meanwhile, in the USA, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all major sports injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major sports injuries to college students from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.

Notable cheerleaders

* Paula Abdul, Los Angeles Lakers, Van Nuys High School * Christina Aguilera, North Allegheny Intermediate High School * Jill Belland, Calgary Stampeders * Sandra Bullock, Washington-Lee High School * Hilarie Burton, Park View High School * George W. Bush, Phillips Academy * Katie Couric * Cameron Diaz, Long Beach Polytechnic High School * Kirsten Dunst * Dwight D. Eisenhower * Shannon Elizabeth * Jennie Garth, Sunburst Middle School * Brooke Hogan, Clearwater Central Catholic * Arielle Kebbel, Winter Park High School * Stacy Keibler, Baltimore Ravens * Ali Landry * Blake Lively, Burbank High School * Lindsay Lohan * Eva Longoria, Roy Miller High School * Madonna, Rochester Adams High School # * Steve Martin * Karen McDougal, River Valley High School * Mandy Moore, Pop Warner * Kelly Ripa * Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harvard * Molly Shattuck, Baltimore Ravens * Jessica Simpson, Richardson North Junior High School * Aaron Spelling, Southern Methodist University * Reese Witherspoon, Montgomery Bell Academy * Renée Zellweger, Katy High School||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabouthockey||item.||site-page||hockey||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-hockey-3.gif||||||All About: Hockey||newitem166292265||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms hockey||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Hockey > ||||||||All About Hockey||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||All About Hockey||Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick.

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turf, with a small, hard ball. The game is popular among both males and females in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South Africa. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, although they can be mixed-sex.

The governing body is the 116-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Men's Field hockey has been played at each summer Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1912 and 1924), while Women's Field Hockey has been played each summer Olympic Games since 1980.

Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side. While current field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century in England, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. Field hockey is the national sport of India and Pakistan[1].

Ice hockey The Barrie Colts and the Brampton Battalion in an ice hockey game. Main article: Ice hockey

Ice hockey is played on a large flat area of ice, using a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is contested between two teams of skaters. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to varying extent. It is the most popular sport in Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic, and in Sweden.

The governing body is the 64-member International Ice Hockey Federation, (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Women's ice hockey was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. North America's National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in Olympic ice hockey: the periods are 20 minutes long, counting downwards. There are three periods.

Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can curve either way, legally, as to help a left- or right-handed player gain an advantage.

There are early representations and reports of ice hockey-type games being played on ice in the Netherlands, and reports from Canada from the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the modern game was initially organized by students at McGill University, Montreal in 1875 who, by two years later, codified the first set of ice hockey rules and organized the first teams.

Ice hockey is played at a number of levels, by all ages. Further information: minor hockey

Roller hockey (inline) Inline roller hockey Main article: Inline hockey

Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. Inline hockey is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in three 15-minute periods with a variation of the ice hockey off-side rule. Icings are also called, but are usually referred to as illegal clearing. For rink dimensions and an overview of the rules of the game, see IIHF Inline Rules (official rules). Some leagues and competitions do not follow the IIHF regulations, in particular USA Inline and Canada Inline.

Roller hockey (quad) Roller hockey played on quad skates. Main article: Roller hockey (quad)

Roller hockey (quad) is the overarching name for a roller sport that has existed since long before inline skates were invented. Roller hockey has been played in sixty countries worldwide and so has many names worldwide. The sport is also known as quad hockey, hóquei em patins, international style ball hockey, rink hockey and hardball hockey. Roller Hockey was a demonstration roller sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

Street hockey Main article: Street hockey

Another form of popular hockey is Street hockey, sometimes known as road hockey. This is usually played with the same rules as ice hockey, or roller hockey, except it is on the street. Most of the time, a ball is used instead of a puck, because a puck generates too much friction when handled on an asphalt or cement surface and does not slide. Street hockey is played year round.

Other forms of hockey

Other games derived from hockey or its predecessors include the following:

* Air hockey is played indoors with a puck on an air-cushion table. * Ball hockey is played in a gym using sticks and a ball, often a tennis ball with the fuzz removed.

Unicycle hockey

* Unicycle hockey is similar to roller or inline hockey, however, each player must be mounted on their unicycle (with both feet on the pedals) to play at the ball. * Deck hockey is traditionally played by the Royal Navy on the ships' decks, using short wooden 'L' shaped sticks. * Bandy is played with a ball on a football-sized ice arena, typically outdoors. * Box hockey is a school yard game played by two people. The object of the game is to move a hockey puck from the center of the box out through a hole placed at the end of the box (known as the goal). Each player kneels and faces one another on either side of the box, and each attempts to move the puck to the hole on their left. * Broomball is played on an ice hockey rink, but with a ball instead of a puck and a "broom" (actually a stick with a small plastic implement on the end) in place of the ice hockey stick. Instead of using skates, special shoes are used that have very soft rubbery soles to maximize grip while running around. * Floorball, is a form of hockey played in a gymnasium or in sport halls. A whiffle ball is used instead of a plastic ball, and the sticks are made from composite materials. The sticks are only one meter long. * Foot hockey or sock hockey is played using a bald tennis ball or rolled up pair of socks and using only the feet. It is popular at elementary schools in the winter. * Gym hockey is a form of ice hockey played in a gymnasium. It uses sticks with foam ends and a foam ball or a plastic puck. * Hurling and Camogie are Irish games bearing some resemblance to - and notable differences from - hockey. * Indoor field hockey is an indoor variation of field hockey. * Mini hockey In the United States is a form of hockey (also known as "mini-sticks") which is played in basements of houses. Players get down on their knees, using a miniature plastic stick, usually about 15 inches (38 cm) long to maneuver a small ball or a soft, fabric covered mini puck into a miniature goals. In England 'mini hockey' refers to a seven-a-side version of field hockey, played on an area equivalent to half a normal pitch for younger players * Nok Hockey is a table-top version of hockey played with no defense and a small block in front of the goal. * PowerHockey is a form of hockey for persons requiring the use of an electric (power) wheelchair in daily life. PowerHockey is a competitive sports opportunity for the physically disabled. * Ringette is an ice hockey variant that was designed for female players; it uses a straight stick and a rubber ring in place of a puck. Note: Ringette distances itself from hockey as it has its own set of rules and is closely related to a mix of lacrosse and basketball. * Rinkball is a Scandinavian team sport, played in an ice hockey rink with a ball. * Rossall hockey is a variation played at Rossall School on the sea shore in the winter months. Its rules are a mix of field hockey, Rugby and the Eton Wall Game. * Shinny is an informal version of ice hockey. * Shinty is a Scottish game now played primarily in the Highlands * Skater hockey is a variant of inline hockey, played with a ball. * Sledge hockey is a form of ice hockey played by the disabled. The players sit on sleds, and push themselves up and down the ice with picks on the butt end of their shortened hockey sticks. The game is played with many of the same rules as regular ice hockey. * Spongee is a cross between ice hockey and broomball and is most popular in Manitoba, Canada. A stick and puck are used as in hockey (the puck is a softer version called a "sponge puck"), and the same soft-soled shoes used in broomball are worn. The rules are basically the same as ice hockey, but one variation has an extra player on the ice called a "rover". * Table hockey is played indoors with a table-top game. * Underwater hockey is played on the bottom of a swimming pool.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabla||item.||site-page||lacrosse||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-lacrosse-3.gif||||||All About: Lacrosse||newitem166292551||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms lacrosse||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Lacrosse > ||||||||All about Lacrosse||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||All about Lacrosse||Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball. Offensively, the object of the game is to use the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by ultimately hurling the ball into an opponent's goal. Defensively the object is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to dispossess them of the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact or positioning. There are three main versions of the sport; men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and box lacrosse.

Main article: History of lacrosse

Lacrosse originated in the Indian nations of mid-America. In many Native American societies/tribes, the ball sport was often part of religious ritual, played to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, develop strong, virile men and prepare for war. Legend tells of games with more than 100 players from different tribes taking turns to play.It could be played on a field many miles in length and width; sometimes the game could last for days. Early lacrosse balls were made of deerskin, clay, stone, and sometimes wood.

Lacrosse played a significant role in the community and religious life of tribes across the continent for many years. Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement,befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken. Those who took part did so in the role of warriors, with the goal of bringing glory and honor to themselves and their tribes.[3] The game was said to be played "for the Creator" or was referred to as "The Creator's Game".

Lacrosse, one of the oldest team sports in the Americas, may have developed as early as the 12th century,[1][2] but since then has undergone many modifications. In the traditional Native American version, each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field that stretched from about 500 yards to a couple of miles long.[4] These lacrosse games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight. These games were played as part of ceremonial ritual to give thanks to the Creator. The modern Ojibway verb 'to play Lacrosse' is baaga'adowe (Baggataway [sic]).[5]

The French Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, saw Iroquois tribesmen play it in 1637 and was the first European to write about the game.[6] He called it lacrosse. Some say the name originated from the French term for field hockey, le jeu de la crosse.[7] Others suggest that it was named after the crosier, a staff carried by bishops.[8] Richmond Hill "Young Canadians" lacrosse team, 1885.

In 1856, Dr. William George Beers, a Canadian dentist, founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club. In 1867 he codified the game, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to twelve per team.[4] The first game played under Beers' rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867, with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3–1. By the 1900s, high schools, colleges, and universities began playing the game. Lacrosse was contested as a demonstration sport in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. On each occasion, a playoff was held to determine the American representative to the Olympics and on each occasion the playoffs were won by the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.[9]

In the United States, lacrosse had primarily been a regional sport centered in and around Maryland, New England, upstate New York, Long Island, and mid-Atlantic states. In recent years, its popularity has started to spread south to Georgia, Alabama and Florida, as well as west to Colorado, California, Texas, and the Midwest. The sport has gained increasing visibility in the media, with a growth of college, high school, and youth programs throughout the country. The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship has the highest attendance of any NCAA Championship, outdrawing the Final Four of men's basketball.[10] The growth of lacrosse was also facilitated by the introduction of plastic stick heads in the 1970s by Baltimore-based STX. This innovation reduced the weight and cost of the lacrosse stick. It also allowed for faster passes and game play than traditional wooden sticks.

Up until the 1930s, all lacrosse was played on large fields outdoors. The owners of Canadian hockey arenas invented a reduced version of the game, called box lacrosse, as a means to make more profit from their arena investments. In a relatively short period of time, box lacrosse became the dominant form of the sport in Canada, in part due to the severe winter weather that limited outdoor play. More recently, field lacrosse has witnessed a revival in Canada as the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) began operating a collegiate men's league in 1985. It now includes 12 varsity teams. In 1994 Canada declared lacrosse its National Summer Sport with the passage of the National Sports Act (Bill C-212).[11]

In 1987 a professional box lacrosse league was started, called the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. This league changed its name to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, then later to the National Lacrosse League and grew to encompass lacrosse clubs in twelve cities throughout the United States and Canada. In the summer of 2001, a professional field lacrosse league, known as Major League Lacrosse (MLL), was inaugurated. Initially starting with six teams, the MLL has grown to a total of ten clubs located in major metropolitan areas in the United States. On July 4, 2008, Major League Lacrosse set the professional lacrosse attendance record: 20,116 fans attended a game at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. In 2006 a field lacrosse league was developed in Quebec, Canada. Composed of the English colleges, this league came together to become the first official college field lacrosse league in Quebec.

Types of play

Field lacrosse Main article: Field lacrosse

Men's field lacrosse is played with ten players on each team: a goalkeeper; three defenders in the defensive end; three midfielders (often called "middies") free to roam the whole field; and three attackers attempting to score goals in the offensive end. It is the most common version of lacrosse played internationally. The modern game was codified in Canada by Dr. William George Beers in 1856.[12] The game has evolved from that time to include the protective equipment and lacrosse sticks made from synthetic materials. Diagram of a men's college lacrosse field.

Each player carries a lacrosse stick (or crosse). A "short crosse" (sometimes called a "short stick") measures between 30 inches (0.76 m) and 42 inches (1.1 m) long (head and shaft together) is typically used by midfielders and attackmen. A total of four players per team may carry a "long crosse" (sometimes called "long pole", "long stick" or "d-pole") that are 52 inches (1.3 m) to 72 inches (1.8 m) long. The head of the crosse on both long and short crosses must be 6.5 inches (17 cm) or larger at its widest point and 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) inches wide or wider at its narrowest point. The designated goalkeeper is allowed to have a stick from 40 inches (1.0 m) to 72 inches (1.8 m)) long and the head of a goalkeeper's crosse may measure up to 15 inches (38 cm) wide, significantly larger than field players' heads to assist in blocking shots.[13][14][15] A face-off.

The field of play is 110 yards (100 m) long and 60 yards (55 m) wide. The goals are 6 feet (1.8 m) by 6 feet (1.8 m). The goal sits inside a circular "crease", measuring 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter.[13][14][15] Each offensive and defensive area is surrounded by a "restraining box." Each quarter, and after each goal scored, play is restarted with a face-off. During a face-off, two players lay their stick horizontally next to the ball, head of the stick inches from the ball and the butt-end pointing down the midfield line.[14] Face-off-men scrap for the ball, often by “clamping” it under their stick and flicking it out to their teammates. Attackers and defenders cannot cross their “restraining line” until one player from the midfield takes possession of the ball or the ball crosses the restraining line.[14] If a member of one team touches the ball and it travels outside of the playing area, play is restarted by possession being awarded to the opposing team. During play, teams may substitute players in and out freely. Sometimes this is referred to as "on the fly" substitution. Substitution must occur within the designated exchange area in order to be legal.[13][14][15]

For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and his team has to play without him and with one less player for a short amount of time. Most penalties last for 30 to 60 seconds. Occasionally a longer penalty may be assessed for more severe infractions. The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing man down while the other team is on the man up. Teams will use various lacrosse strategies to attack and defend while a player is being penalized. Offsides is penalized by a 30 second penalty. It occurs when there are more than six players (three midfielders/three attackmen or three midfielders/three defensemen) on one half of the field. The zones are separated by the midfield line. Defensemen and attackmen can cross the midfield line, however the team must assure that a midfielder "stays back" in order to avoid an offsides penalty (a midfielder will raise his crosse to signify they are staying back).[13][14][15]

At the highest level it is represented by the professional Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and on the collegiate level by the NCAA Division I in the United States.[16] The first collegiate lacrosse program was established by New York University in 1877,[17] and the 1971 tournament was the first Men's Lacrosse Championship sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[18] It is also played at a high level on the amateur level by the Australian Lacrosse League, the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association, and club lacrosse leagues internationally.[19] 1904 Olympics Gold Medal winning Winnipeg Shamrocks Lacrosse Team

Internationally, there are twenty two total members of the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), only United States, Canada, Australia, and the Iroquois Nationals have finished in the top three places at the World Lacrosse Championships. The World Lacrosse Championship began as a four-team invitational tournament in 1968 sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation. Lacrosse at the Olympics was a medal earning sport in the 1904 Summer Olympics and the 1908 Summer Olympics.[20][21][22] Lacrosse was a demonstration sport in the 1928 Summer Olympics, 1932 Summer Olympics, and the 1948 Summer Olympics.[23][24][25][26]

The professional Major League Lacrosse strayed from the established field lacrosse rules of international, college, and high school programs. With intentions to increase scoring, the league employed a sixty second shot clock, a two–point goal for shots taken outside a designated perimeter, and allowed each team to only field three long–stick defenders as opposed to the traditional four. However, after eight years of play, the league introduced a fourth long stick defender prior to the 2009 MLL season.[27] The MLL has been bolstered by a ten year television contract with ESPN in 2007.[28]

Box lacrosse A National Lacrosse League game. Main article: Box lacrosse

Box lacrosse (or indoor lacrosse) is an indoor version of the game played by teams of six on ice hockey rinks where the ice has been removed or covered by artificial turf. The enclosed playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of the traditional game.[29] This version of the game was introduced in the 1930s to promote business for hockey arenas,[30] and within several years had nearly supplanted field lacrosse in Canada.[31]

Box lacrosse is played at the highest level by the Senior A divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (Western Lacrosse Association of the British Columbia Lacrosse Association and Major Series Lacrosse of the Ontario Lacrosse Association), and the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The National Lacrosse League employs some minor rule changes from the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) rules. Notably, the games are played during the winter,[29], the NLL games consist of four fifteen-minute quarters compared with three periods of twenty minutes each (similar to ice hockey) in CLA games, and that NLL players may use only sticks with hollow shafts, while CLA permits solid wooden sticks.[32][33]

The goals are much smaller than field lacrosse, traditionally 4 feet (1.2 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall in box, and 4.6 feet (1.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall in the NLL. In the National Lacrosse League and Major Series Lacrosse the dimensions are slightly larger at 4 feet 9 inches (1.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall.[32] Also, the goaltender wears much more protective padding,[29] including a massive chest protector and armguard combination known as "uppers", large shin guards known as leg pads (both of which must follow strict measurment guidelines), and ice hockey-style masks or lacrosse helmets such as those made by Cascade.[34] Also, at the professional level, box lacrosse goaltenders often use traditional wooden sticks outside of the NLL, which does not allow wooden sticks.

The style of the game is fast, accelerated by the close confines of the floor and a shot clock. The shot clock requires the attacking team to take a shot on goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession of the ball. In addition, players must advance the ball from their own defensive end to the offensive side of the floor within 10 seconds.[29]

For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and his team has to play without him and with one less player for a short amount of time. Most penalties last for two minutes, unless a five minute major penalty has been assessed. Fighting is illegal in box lacrosse, however what separates box lacrosse (and ice hockey) from other sport is that at the top levels of professional and junior lacrosse, a five-minute major penalty is given and the players are not ejected for participating in a fight.[35]

Internationally, the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships are held every four years, originally sponsored by the International Lacrosse Federation and now sponsored by the Federation of International Lacrosse. Only eight nations have competed in these competitions, and only Canada, Iroquois Nationals and the United States have finished in the most coveted 1st, 2nd and 3rd places at these events.

Women's lacrosse 2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Main article: Women's lacrosse

The rules of women's lacrosse differ significantly from men's lacrosse, most notably by equipment and the degree of allowable physical contact.[36] Women's lacrosse does not promote a lot of physical contact. The only protective equipment worn for this sport is a mouth guard and face guard and sometimes thin gloves. Although women's lacrosse does not allow much physical contact, it does allow stick to stick contact when in the right body position (though limited in younger age groups). Players are able to hit the opponent's stick to try and obtain possession of the ball. This is commonly known as checking. In younger groups lower than 7th grade no checking is permitted. In 7th grade to 8th grade checking is only permitted if the opponent's stick is below the shoulders. Players are able to lightly push the player if their stick is a certain angle on the oppositions body.

The first modern women's lacrosse game was held at St Leonards School in Scotland in 1890. It was introduced by the school's headmistress Louisa Lumsden.[37] The first women's lacrosse team in the United States was established at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland. Men’s and women’s lacrosse were played under virtually the same rules, with no protective equipment, until the mid-1930s.

NCAA women's Lacrosse Division I began play in 1982. The University of Maryland, College Park has traditionally dominated the women's intercollegiate play, producing many head coaches across the country and many U.S. national team players. The Lady Terps won seven consecutive NCAA championships, from 1995 through 2001. Princeton University's women's teams have made it to the final game seven times since 1993 and have won three NCAA titles, in 1993, 2002, and 2003. In recent years, Northwestern University has become a force, winning the national championship from 2005 through 2009.[38]

Internationally, the game is commonly played in British girls' independent schools, and while only a minor sport in Australia, it is played to a very high standard at the elite level, where its national squad won the 2005 Women's Lacrosse World Cup. The next Women's World Cup will be played in 2009 hosted by Prague, Czech Republic.[39]

College lacrosse Main article: College lacrosse

Lacrosse in the United States is played at the collegiate level in both the club and sanctioned team sport. There are currently 59 NCAA sanctioned Division I men's lacrosse teams, 35 Division II men's lacrosse teams, and 131 Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are also currently 88 Division I women's lacrosse teams, 37 Division II women's lacrosse Teams, and 154 Division III women's lacrosse teams. Almost 200 collegiate men's club teams compete at the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association level, including most major universities in the United States. Another 100 schools have club teams in the National College Lacrosse League.

The first U. S. intercollegiate game was played on November 22, 1877 between New York University and Manhattan College. Lacrosse had been introduced in upstate New York in the 1860s. Lacrosse was further introduced to the Baltimore area in the 1890s. These two areas continue to be the hotbeds of college lacrosse in the U.S. The first intercollegiate lacrosse tournament was held in 1881, with Harvard beating Princeton, 3-0, in the championship game.

International lacrosse Further information: List of national lacrosse organizations

Lacrosse has been played for the most part in Canada and the United States, with small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Recently, however, lacrosse has begun to flourish at an international level with the sport establishing itself in many new and far-reaching countries, particularly in Europe and east Asia.

With lacrosse not having been an official Olympic sport since 1908, the pinnacle of international lacrosse competition consists of the quadrennial World Championships. Currently, there are world championships for lacrosse at senior men, senior women, under 19 men and under 19 women level. Until 1986, lacrosse world championships had only been contested by the United States, Canada, England and Australia, with Scotland and Wales also competing in the women's edition. The expansion of the game internationally saw the 2006 Men's World Championship contested by 21 countries, and the 2009 Women's World Cup competed for by 16 nations.

In 2003, the first World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was contested by six nations at four sites in Ontario, Canada. Canada won the championship in a final game against the Iroquois, 21-4. The 2007 WILC was held in Halifax, Canada on from May 14-20, and also won by Canada. Teams from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Iroquois Nationals, Scotland and the United States competed.

The next largest international field lacrosse competition is the European Lacrosse Championships. Held for both men and women, the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) has been running the European Championships since 1995. Before 2001 the Championships were an annual event, but in 2001 the ELF changed the format to every four years between the World Championship. Before 2004, only 7 nations had ever participated, but in 2004 there was a record number of participating countries, with 12 men's and 6 women's, which made it the largest international lacrosse event of 2004. The last European Lacrosse Championships were held in Lahti, Finland in 2008, with 18 competing countries. England placed first with the Netherlands and Germany placing second and third, respectively. A player taking a "dive shot".

The World Lacrosse Championships have been dominated by the United States, particularly in the men's game, where the only world championship game losses at either level was in the 1978 final to Canada and 2006 final to Canada. The USA has won 8 of the 10 senior men's and all six under 19 men's tournaments to date. The next Men's World Lacrosse Championships will be held in Manchester, England, in 2010.

In the women's game, Australia have provided stiffer competition, having won 6 of 14 games against the USA at senior world championships, including one draw. The USA has won 6 of the 8 senior women's and 2 of the 3 under 19 women's tournaments to date, with the other world championships won by Australia.

The Iroquois Nationals are a team consisting of members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The team was admitted to the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) in 1990. It is the only Native American team sanctioned to compete in any sport internationally. The Nationals placed fourth in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Lacrosse Championships. In 2008, the Iroquois were admitted as the Haudenosunee Nation to the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) as one of that governing body's final acts.

One obstacle to the international development of lacrosse had been the existence of separate governing bodies for the men's and women's versions of the sport, with men's lacrosse being governed by ILF and the women's version by IFWLA. In August 2008, after four years of negotiation, the two bodies merged to form a single unified body, the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). All championships previously operated by the ILF and IFWLA will be taken over by the FIL.

See also

* Intercrosse - a version of lacrosse popular in physical education classes is played with sticks made completely out of plastic and hollow balls. * Polocrosse - a version of lacrosse played on horseback.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabsoasfo||item.||site-page||soccer||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-soccer-association-football-3.gif||||||All About: Soccer - Association football||newitem1166293098||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms soccer||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Soccer > ||||||||All About Soccer||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||All About Soccer||Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball. Association football is the most popular football variant worldwide, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world.[1][2][3]

The game is played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.

The modern game was codified in England following the formation of The Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympic Games.

Overview A goalkeeper saving a close range shot from inside the penalty area

Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a single spherical ball, known as the football. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain.

The primary rule is that players (other than goalkeepers) may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.[5] Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though the ball cannot be received in an offside position.

In typical game play, players attempt to create goal scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.[6] A goalkeeper dives to stop the ball from entering his goal

At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005–06 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.48 goals per match.[7] The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper,[8] but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which the player spends most time. For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time.[9] The layout of a team's players is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.[10]

History See also: History of association football Map showing the popularity of association football around the world. Countries where association football is the most popular sport are coloured green, while countries where it is not are coloured red. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants.

Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have been played in many countries throughout history. According to FIFA, the "very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise of precisely this skilful technique dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China (the game of cuju)."[11] Various forms of football were played in medieval Europe, though rules varied greatly by both period and location.

The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at the public schools of England.

The Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857,[12] which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.[13]

These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.[14] The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby football clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, or subsequently left the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original thirteen laws of the game.[14] These rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games.

The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886[15] after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.[16] The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association.[17] The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.

Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams,[18] while billions more watch the game on television.[19] A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.[20] Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity.

In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. ESPN has spread the claim that the Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2005. By contrast, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.[21] The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved into rioting in March 1990.[22]

Laws

There are seventeen laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same Laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors or women are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the International Football Association Board, not FIFA itself.[23] The most complex of the Laws is offside. The offside law limits the ability of attacking players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent's goal line) of the ball, the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper), and the half-way line.[24]

Players, equipment and officials See also: Association football positions, Formation (association football), and Kit (Association football)

Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team; this is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.[8]

The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.[25]

A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.[26]

A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.[27]

Pitch Main article: Association football pitch Standard pitch measurements (See Imperial version)

As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though popular use tends to continue to use traditional units in English-speaking countries with a relatively recent history of metrication, such as Britain.[28]

The length of the pitch for international adult matches is in the range 100–110 m (110–120 yd) and the width is in the range 64–75 m (70–80 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 91–120 m (100–130 yd) length and 45–91 m (50–101 yd) in width, provided that the pitch does not become square. The longer boundary lines are touchlines or sidelines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. A rectangular goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line.[29] The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 7.3 m (8 yd) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2.44 m (8 ft) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.[30]

In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This area is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goalposts and extending 16.5 m (18 yd) into the pitch perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick. Other markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs, goal kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks.[31]

Duration and tie-breaking methods

A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time.

The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time, and is at the sole discretion of the referee. The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, toward the end of the half the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time he intends to add. The fourth official then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee.[32] Added time was introduced because of an incident which happened in 1891 during a match between Stoke and Aston Villa. Trailing 1–0 and with just two minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty. Villa's goalkeeper kicked the ball out of the ground, and by the time the ball had been recovered, the 90 minutes had elapsed and the game was over.[33]

In league competitions, games may end in a draw, but in some knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods count toward the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up part of the final score).

In competitions using two-legged matches, each team competes at home once, with an aggregate score from the two matches deciding which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg played away from home. If the result is still equal, kicks from the penalty mark are usually required, though some competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IFAB experimented with ways of creating a winner without requiring a penalty shootout, which was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the World Cup in 1998 and 2002. The first World Cup game decided by a golden goal was France's victory over Paraguay in 1998. Germany was the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating Czech Republic in the final of Euro 1996. Silver goal was used in Euro 2004. Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.[34]

Ball in and out of play Main article: Ball in and out of play

Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play: A player about to take a free kick.

* Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.[6] * Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.[35] * Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the attacking team; awarded to defending team.[36] * Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the defending team; awarded to attacking team.[37] * Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution or send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an indirect free kick.[38] * Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls.[38] * Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their opponent's penalty area.[39] * Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective. This restart is uncommon in adult games.[6]

Misconduct

Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since.

A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of the Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.[5]

The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked", the referee writing the player's name in his official notebook. A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty area.

If a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought on in their place. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute or substituted player. Non-players such as managers and support staff cannot be shown the yellow or red card, but may be expelled from the technical area if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.[5]

Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.

Governing bodies See also: Association football around the world

The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich.

Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:

* Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) * Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF) * Central/North America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; also known as The Football Confederation) * Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) * Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) * South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)

National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations.

Some of the football associations not recognised by FIFA are affiliated to the Nouvelle Fédération-Board (NF-Board).

International competitions A minute's silence before an international match

The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[40] The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany; in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.[41]

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,[17] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;[42] but that practice ceased in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women’s Olympic tournament. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

After the World Cup, the most important international football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World Cup.[43]

Domestic competitions Main article: Association football around the world Two players trying to win the ball.

The governing bodies in each country operate league systems, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables, placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament. At the end of a season, the top team is declared the champion. The top few teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.

The majority of countries supplement the league system with one or more "cup" competitions. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.

Some countries' top divisions feature highly paid star players; in smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The five top European leagues – Serie A (Italy), La Liga (Spain), the Premier League (England),[44] the Bundesliga (Germany) and Ligue 1 (France) – attract most of the world's best players and each of the leagues has a total wage cost in excess of Ł600 million.[45]

Etymology See also: Names for association football and Football (word)

The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of the word "association",[46] often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[47]

Today the sport is generally known simply as football in countries where it is the most popular football code. In countries where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer, and indeed is referred to as such in the official names of the governing bodies in the United States and Canada. FIFA, the sport's world governing body, defines the sport as association football in its statutes,[48] but the term most commonly used by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee is football.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabso||item.||site-page||softball||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-softball-3.gif||||||All About: Softball||newitem166308068||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms softball||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Softball > ||||||||Softball is a team sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball was invented by George Hancock in Chicago, Illinois. The first softball game was played using a rolled up boxing glove as a ball and a broomstick as a bat.||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||||Softball is a team sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball was invented by George Hancock in Chicago, Illinois. The first softball game was played using a rolled up boxing glove as a ball and a broomstick as a bat.

History First photo of a Softball team, Chicago, 1897 Indoor baseball player, 1907

The first version of softball was invented in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day, 1887 by George Hancock as a winter version of baseball. It was intended to be a way for baseball players to keep in practice during the winter. At the time, the sport was called "Indoor Baseball" [2]

Yale and Harvard alumni had gathered at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago to hear the score of the annual football game. When the score was announced and bets were paid, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a stick and swung at it. Hancock called "Play ball!" and the game began. Hancock took a boxing glove and tied it into a ball. A broom handle was used as a bat.[3] The first softball game ended with a score of 44-40.[4] The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded rather than with gloves like those which had been introduced to baseball in 1882. Hancock developed a ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders. The game, under the name of "Indoor-Outdoor", was moved outside next year, and the first rules were published in 1889.[2]

In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters; this game was known as kitten ball (after the first team to play it), pumpkin ball, or diamond ball.[3] Rober's version of the game used a ball 12 inches (305 mm) in circumference, rather than the 16-inch (406 mm) ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually the Minneapolis ball prevailed, although the dimensions of the Minneapolis diamond were passed over in favor of the dimensions of the Chicago one. Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897.

The name "softball" dates back to 1926. The name was coined by Walter Hakanson of the YMCA[3] at a meeting of the National Recreation Congress.[5] (In addition to "indoor baseball", "kitten ball", and "diamond ball", names for the game included "mush ball", "pumpkin ball,"[3] and "cabbage ball".) The name softball had spread across the United States by 1930.[5] By the 1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played all over the United States and Canada. The formation of the Joint Rules Committee on Softball in 1934 standardized the rules and naming throughout the United States.[2]

Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to as "mush ball" or "super-slow pitch", is a direct descendant of Hancock's original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves; however, a 16-inch softball is actually soft, and can be fielded safely with bare hands. Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago and New Orleans. In New Orleans, sixteen-inch softball is called "Cabbage Ball" and is a popular team sport in area elementary and high schools.

By the 1940's, fast pitching began to dominate the game. Although slow pitch was present at the 1933 World's Fair, the main course of action taken was to lengthen the pitching distance. Slow pitch achieved formal recognition in 1953 when it was added to the program of the Amateur Softball Association, and within a decade had surpassed fast pitch in popularity.[2]

Softball was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1972 when the movie A Touch of Class was being filmed in London.[3] The first British women's softball league was established in 1983.[2]

In 1977, the American Professional Slow Pitch League (APSPL) became the first of three men's professional softball leagues to play between 1977 and 1982. The Detroit Caesars were the first team to win a professional softball World Series.[citation needed]

In 1991, women's fast-pitch softball was selected to debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[3] The 1996 Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in softball; the IOC funded a landmark biomechanical study on pitching during the games.

In 2002, sixteen-inch slow pitch was written out of the ISF official rules, although it is still played extensively in the United States under Amateur Softball Association of America, or ASA rules.

The 117th meeting of the International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.[6]

Other sanctioning bodies of softball are NSA[1], PONY[2], ASA[3], and USSSA[4].

[edit] Overview

Softball is played between 2 teams on a large field, which usually is composed of a dirt and grass infield which contains the diamond and running areas, and a grass outfield. However, the field also can consist of all dirt, grass, artificial turf, or, in areas such as New York City, asphalt. There are 4 bases on the infield (first base, second base, third base,and home plate); the bases are arranged in a square and are typically 45 to 65 feet apart. Near the center of this square is the pitcher's circle, and within the circle is the "rubber", a small flat rectangular area also known as the "pitcher's plate". The object of the game is to score more runs (points) than the other team by batting (hitting) a ball into play and running around the bases, touching each one in succession. The ball is a sphere of light material, covered with leather or synthetic material. It is 10 to 12 inches (or rarely, 16 inches[7]) (28 to 30.5 centimeters) in circumference. The game is officiated by one or more neutral umpires. Players and umpires are generally free to ask for a brief stoppage at any time when the ball is not in play, or immediately following a play once its outcome is clear.

The game is played in a series of innings, usually seven. Youth leagues sometimes have 6 innings. An inning is one series of both teams playing offense and defense. Each inning is divided into a top half and a bottom half indicating which team is playing which role. The offense bats and attempts to score runs, while the defense occupies the field and attempts to record outs in a variety of ways. After the defense records 3 outs, the half inning is over and the teams switch roles.

To start play, the offense sends a batter to home plate. The batting order must be fixed at the start of the game, and players may not bat out of turn. The defense's pitcher stands atop the rubber and throws the ball towards home plate using an underhanded motion. The batter attempts to hit the pitched ball with a bat, a long, round, smooth stick made of wood, metal or composite. A pitch must cross within a small area known as the strike zone, which is determined by the umpire behind home plate, and primarily ranges from the knees to just below the shoulders the ball must cross over the plate, and it must be within a certain height restriction. A pitch which does not cross the strike zone is a ball, and if the batter reaches 4 balls, the batter is awarded first base. A pitch which crosses the strike zone is a strike, and a batter who reaches 3 strikes is out (a strikeout), and the next batter in the order comes to bat. A strike is also recorded on any pitch that the batter swings at and misses entirely, and also on a pitch that is hit foul (out of play), except that a foul ball does not result in a strikeout. However, batters who bunt a foul ball on the third strike are out.

The batter attempts to swing the bat and hit the ball fair (into the field of play). After a successful hit the batter becomes a baserunner (or runner) and must run to first base. The defense attempts to field the ball and may throw the ball freely between players, so one player can field the ball while another moves to a position to put out the runner. The defense can tag the runner, by touching the runner with the ball while the runner is not on a base. The defense can also touch first base while in possession of the ball; in this case it is sufficient to beat the batter to first base and an actual tag of the batter is unnecessary. A runner is said to be thrown out when the play involves two or more defensive players. Runners generally cannot be put out when touching a base, but only one runner may occupy a base at any time and runners may not pass each other. When a ball is batted into play, runners generally must attempt to advance if there are no open bases behind them; for example, a runner on first base must run to second base if the batter puts the ball in play. In such a situation, the defense can throw to the base that the lead runner is attempting to take (a force out), and the defense can then also throw to the previous base. This can result in a multiple-out play: a double play is two outs, while a triple play, a very rare occurrence, is three outs. Runners with an open base behind them are not forced to advance and do so at their own risk; the defense must tag such runners directly to put them out rather than tagging the base.

A ball which is hit in the air and caught before hitting the ground is an immediate out, regardless of whether the ball would have landed fair or foul. A fly ball is a ball hit high and deep, a pop fly is a ball hit high but short, and a line drive is a ball hit close to the horizontal. In any such situation, runners must remain on their bases until the ball is caught or hits the ground. If a runner leaves the base before the catch, the defense can throw the ball to that base, and if the base is tagged before the runner returns, the runner is out as well, resulting in a double play. If the runner remains on the base until the ball is caught, or returns to the base after the catch but before the defense can put him out, he is said to tag up and may attempt to advance to the next base at his own risk. If there are less than two batters out and loaded bases (runners on all bases) and the batter hits a pop fly in the infield, the batter is automatically out to prevent unfair play by the fielders. Unfair play may result from infielders deliberately dropping the ball to try and achieve a double play. This rule is called the infield fly rule. This differs from baseball's Infield Fly Rule which does not require a runner on third base.

Offensive strategy is fairly straight forward, revolving around hitting the ball to let the batter reach base safely and to advance the base runners towards home plate to score runs. Defensive strategy can be more complex, with particular situations calling for different positioning and tactical decision making. For both sides, there can be a trade-off between outs and runs: the offense can sacrifice a batter to advance runners, while the defense may allow a runner to score if the remaining runners can be put out in a double play.

[edit] The field Diagram of a softball diamond. Picture of a softball field

The playing field is divided into fair territory and foul territory. Fair territory is further divided into the infield, and the outfield, and the territory beyond the outfield fence.

The field is defined by foul lines that meet at a right angle at home plate. The minimum length of the baselines varies classification of play (see below for official measurements). A fence running between the baselines defines the limits of the field; this fence is equidistant from home plate at all points.

Behind home plate is a backstop. It must be between 25 and 30 feet (7.62 and 9.14 meters) behind home plate depending on the type of division that is playing.

Home Plate is one corner of a diamond with bases at each corner. The bases other than home plate are 15 in (38 cm) square, of canvas or a similar material, and not more than 5 in (13 cm) thick. The bases are usually securely fastened to the ground. The bases are numbered counter clockwise as first base, second base, and third base. Often, but not always, outside first base (that is, in foul territory) and adjacent and connected to it there is a contrast-colored "double base" or "safety base". It is intended to prevent collisions between the first baseman and the runner. The runner runs for the foul portion of the double base after hitting the ball while the fielding team tries to throw the ball to the regular first base before the runner reaches the safety base. However, not all softball diamonds have these safety bases and they are much more common in women's softball than in men's. The double base is required in ISF championships.

The infield consists of the diamond and the adjacent space in which the infielders (see below) normally play. The outfield is the remaining space between the baselines and between the outfield fence and the infield. The infield is usually "skinned" (dirt), while the outfield has grass in regulation competitions.

Near the center of the diamond is the pitching plate. In fast pitch, a skinned circle 8 feet (2.44 meters) in diameter known as the pitching circle is around the pitching plate.

A field is officially supposed to have a warning track between 15 and 12 feet (5 and 4 meters) from the outfield fence. However, if the game is being played on a field larger than required, no warning track is required before the temporary outfield fencing.

Located in foul territory outside both baselines are two Coach's Boxes. Each box is behind a line 15 feet (5 meters) long located 12 feet (3 meters) from each baseline.

[edit] Official baseline dimensions Fast Pitch Baselines Slow Pitch Baselines Wheelchair Baselines 60 feet (18.29 m) 60 feet (18.29 m) or 65 feet (19.81 m) or more depending on the association and level of play 50 feet (15.24 m)

[edit] Fast pitch pitching distances College and Adult Under 18 Under 15 Female Male Female Male Female Male 43 feet (13.11 m) 46 feet (14.02 m) 40 feet (12.19 m) or 35 feet (10.67 m) 46 feet (14.02 m) 40 feet (12.19 m) or 35 feet (10.67 m) 46 feet (14.02 m)

[edit] Slow pitch pitching distances Adult Under 18 Under 15 Wheelchair Female Male Coed Female Male Female Male Coed 50 feet (15.24 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) 46 feet (14.02 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) 28 feet (8.53 m)

[edit] Equipment

Equipment required in softball includes a ball, a bat, gloves, uniforms and protective gear, including helmets for the offensive team and a helmet, shin guards, and chest protector for the defensive catcher.

[edit] Ball

Despite the sport's name, softballs are not especially soft. The size of the ball varies according to the classification of play; the permitted circumferences in international play are 12±0.125 in (30.5±0.3 cm), weight between 6.25 oz (178 g) and 7.0 oz (198.4 g) in fast pitch; 11±0.125 in (29.7±0.3 cm), weight between 5.875 oz (166.5 g) and 6.125 oz (173.6 g) in slow pitch. A 12-inch circumference ball is generally used in slow pitch. Some balls have a raised seam, and others do not. The ball is most often covered in white or yellow leather in two pieces roughly the shape of a figure-8 and sewn together with red thread, although other coverings are permitted. The core of the ball may be made of long fiber kapok, or a mixture of cork and rubber, or a polyurethane mixture, or another approved material.[8]

In 2002, high-visibility yellow "optic" covering, long-used for restricted flight balls in co-ed recreational leagues, became standard for competitive play. Yellow is the color of official NCAA and NAIA softballs. Yellow softballs are fast becoming the standard for all levels of play for girls' and women's play in particular. White balls are also allowed, but are much more common in slow pitch than in fast pitch.

In Chicago, where softball was invented, it remains traditional to play with a ball 16 inches in circumference. This larger ball is generally softer (sometimes called a mush ball). When using a 16-inch ball, the fielders do not wear gloves or mitts.[9] A 16-inch ball is also used for wheelchair softball.

[edit] Bat

The bat used by the batter is made of metal, wood or composite materials (carbon fiber, etc.). Sizes may vary. In fast pitch softball, wooden bats are not allowed.

[edit] Gloves

All defensive players wear fielding gloves, made of leather or similar material. Gloves have webbing between the thumb and forefinger, known as the "pocket". The first baseman and the catcher may wear mitts; mitts are distinguished from gloves in that they have extra padding, and no fingers. In 2007, ASA and other organizations revised their rules regarding gloves and mitts, allowing any player to use a glove or mitt. No part of the glove is allowed to be the same color as that of the ball, including that of its seams.[8] Gloves used in softball are generally larger than the ones used in baseball.

[edit] Uniform

Each team wears distinctive uniforms. The uniform includes a cap, visor, a shirt, an undershirt, tight sliding undershorts, socks, and shorts or pants; these are the components for which standards are set.[8]

Caps must be alike and are mandatory for male players (this is not true anymore)[citation needed]. Caps, visors, and headbands are optional for female players, and do not have to be the same color. A fielder who chooses to wear a helmet (see below) is not required to wear a cap.[8]

Including for softball players, most players use "sliding shorts" otherwise known as compression shorts for other sports like soccer, football etc. These shorts help to protect the upper thigh when sliding into a base. Other additional sliding equipment used are "sliders". These are somewhat padded shinguards that extend usually from the ankle to the knee of the wearer and wrap all the way around the leg(s). They protect the shin, calf, etc. from getting bruised or damaged while sliding into homeplate and make it easier to slide into the plate.

At the back of the uniform an Arabic numeral from 1–99 must be visible. Numbers such as 02 and 2 are considered identical. Players' names are optional.[8]

Jewelry, excepting medic-alert-style bracelets and necklaces, cannot be worn during a game. Those must be taped to players wearing them.[8]

All players are required to wear shoes. They may have cleats or spikes. The spikes must extend less than 0.75 inch (19 mm) away from the sole. Rounded metal spikes are illegal, as are ones made from hard plastic or other synthetic materials. High school athletes are sometimes permitteded to wear metal cleats.[10]

Many recreational leagues prohibit the use of metal cleats or spikes to reduce the possible severity of injuries when a runner slides feet-first into a fielder. At all youth (under 15) levels, in co-ed (the official terminology for mixed teams) slow pitch, and in modified pitch, metal spikes are not allowed.

[edit] Protective equipment

All batters in fast pitch are required to wear batting helmets. In slow pitch, helmets are optional for adult batters and mandatory for youth batters. Batting helmets must have two ear flaps, one on each side. Helmets and cages that are damaged or altered are forbidden.[8]

In fast pitch, the catcher must wear a protective helmet with a face-mask and throat protector. A female catcher may optionally wear a body protector in slow pitch. In fast pitch shin guards and helmets with face-mask's are required. Shin guards also protect the kneecap.[8]

In slow pitch, the catcher must wear a helmet and mask at youth levels. At adult levels, there is no formal requirement for the catcher to wear a mask, although the official rules recommend it. In slow pitch, there is no formal requirement to wear a helmet.[8]

In any form of softball, any player (other than fast pitch catchers on defense) can wear a protective face mask or face guard. As usual, it must be in proper condition and not damaged, altered, or the like.[8] This is intended to prevent facial injuries.[11]

When people slide into the bases, their legs can get cut up very easily, so the players wear sliding pants under their shorts. This protects the upper part of the leg. Not all players have to wear them, but it is recommended if you slide feet first.

[edit] Umpires

Decisions about plays are made by umpires, similar to a referee in American football. The number of umpires on a given game can range from a minimum of one to a maximum of seven. There is never more than one "plate umpire"; there can be up to three "base umpires", and up to a further three umpires positioned in the outfield. Most fast pitch games use a crew of two umpires (one plate umpire, one base umpire). The plate umpire often uses an indicator (sometimes called a clicker or counter) to keep track of the game

Official umpires are often nicknamed "blue", because of their uniforms – in many jurisdictions, most significantly ISF, NCAA and ASA games, umpires wear navy blue slacks, a light powder blue shirt, and a navy baseball cap. Some umpires wear a variant of the uniform: some umpires in ASA wear heather gray slacks and may also wear a navy blue shirt; umpires from the USSSA wear red shirts with black shorts; NSA umpires generally wear either a cream- or black-colored shirt. Canadian umpires can wear either a light blue or red shirt. Regardless of what uniform is worn, all umpires in the same game are required to have matching clothing.

Decisions are usually indicated by both the use of hand signals, and by vocalizing the call. Safe calls are made by signaling with flat hands facing down moving away from each other, and a verbal call of "safe". Out calls are made by raising the right hand in a clenched fist, with a verbal call of "out". Strikes are called by the plate umpire, who uses the same motion as the out call with a verbal call of "strike". Balls are only called verbally, with no hand gesture. The umpire also has the option of not saying anything on a ball. It is understood that when he stands up, the pitch was not a strike. Foul balls are called by extending both arms up in the air with a verbal call of "foul ball", while fair balls are indicated only by pointing towards fair territory with no verbal call. No signal is given for balls that are obviously foul and for closer calls that aren't borderline; a mere acknowledgement signal is given. All decisions made by the umpire(s) are considered to be final. Only decisions where a rule might have been misinterpreted are considered to be protestable. At some tournaments there might be a rules interpreter or Tournament Chief Umpire (TCU) (also known as the Umpire In Chief, or UIC) available to pass judgment on such protests, but it is usually up to the league or association involved to decide if the protest would be upheld. Protests are never allowed on what are considered "judgment calls" – balls, strikes, safes, fair/foul and outs.

[edit] Gameplay

A softball game can last anywhere from 3 to 9 innings, depending on the league, rules, and type of softball; however 7 innings is the most common. In each inning, each team bats until three batters have been put out (see below). The teams take turns batting. Officially, which team bats first is decided by a coin toss,[8] although a league may decide otherwise at its discretion. The most common rule is that the home team bats second. Batting second is advantageous.

In the event of a tie, extra innings are usually played until the tie is broken except in certain tournaments and championships. If the home team is leading and the road team has just finished its half of the seventh inning, the game ends because it is not necessary for the home team to bat again. In all forms of softball, the defensive team is the fielding team; the offensive team is at bat or batting and is trying to score runs.

[edit] Pitching A still picture of fastpitch player Megan Gibson pitching the ball in the "windmill" motion

Play begins with the umpire saying "Play Ball". After the batter is ready and all fielders (except the catcher) are in fair territory, the pitcher stands at the pitching plate and attempts to throw the ball past the batter to the catcher behind home plate. The throw, or pitch, must be made with an underarm often called "windmill" motion: the ball must be released below the hip when the hand is no farther from the hip than the elbow to got it in the strike zone.

A windmill motion is done by extending the throwing hand around the body backwards and releasing the ball at about hip level at maximum speeds. In girls' fastpitch, 12u pitchers usually throw in the high 30's (mph) to mid 40's, 14u is in the high 40's to low 50's, 16u is when you will see girls throwing 50-60 mph; with the rare being high 60's to 70mph. However, speed is not always the most important factor in fastpitch softball. Pitchers can throw balls that curve (in-Screw, out-curve), rise (straight rise, or rise screw), drop (straight drop or drop curve), as well as a change-up (slow) and fastball. A change of pace (off-speed) is also very important, good pitchers will be able to throw all their pitches at varying speeds and possibly even different pitching motions (submarine or windmill). Pitchers use deception as a primary tactic for getting batters out as the reaction times from 40' (43' for 18U and college) only provides approx .5 sec or less to react to the thrown pitch.

The pitcher tries to throw the ball so that it passes through the "strike zone". However, in advanced play a highly-skilled pitcher may deliberately pitch a ball outside the strike zone if she believes the batter is likely to swing. In other instances, such as when an extremely powerful hitter comes up to bat and they are followed by a weaker hitter, a pitcher may deliberately walk the first batter based on the calculation that the next batter will be an easy out. The strike zone is slightly different in different forms of softball. A pitch that passes through that zone is a "strike". A pitch that the batter swings at is also a strike, as is any hit ball that lands in foul territory.

A pitch which is not a strike and which the batter does not swing at what is a "ball". The number of balls and strikes is called the "count". The number of balls is always given first, as 2 and 1, 2 and 2, and so on. A count of 3 and 2 is a "full count", since the next ball or strike will end the batter's turn at the plate, unless the ball goes foul.

If the ball lands foul, it is a "dead ball" and no plays may be made until the pitcher receives the ball again.

Various illegal acts done by the pitcher, such as "leaping" or "crow-hopping" are called an illegal pitch. "Crow hopping" consists of the pitcher not having her foot on the mound when she releases. When she releases the pitch, one foot must be on the "rubber" or pitcher's mound. The umpire sticks his right arm out straight to the side and clenches his fist. The result in a ball being awarded to the batter, and any runners on base advancing to the next base.

In 16-inch softball, the pitch is lobbed. Umpires often will make calls based on where the ball lands behind the plate. A pitch in "the well" is considered a perfect pitch.

In fast pitch softball, there are various types of pitches. Some are: the fastball, changeup, dropball, riseball, screwball, curveball, and the knuckleball.

Fast pitch pitches may reach high speeds; At the 1996 Summer Olympics one pitch reached 73.3 miles per hour (118 kilometers per hour).[12]

[edit] Batting A batter awaits the pitch

The offensive team sends one "batter" at a time to home plate to use the bat to try to hit the pitch forward into fair territory. The order the players bat in, known as the "batting order", must stay the same throughout the game. Substitutes and replacements must bat in the same position as the player they are replacing. In co-ed, male and female batters must alternate.

The batter stands facing the pitcher inside a "batter's box" (there is one on each side of the plate). The bat is held with both hands, over the shoulder away from the pitcher. The ball is usually hit with a full swinging motion in which the bat may move through more than 360 degrees. The batter usually steps forward with the front foot and swings the bat.

Once the ball is hit into fair territory the runner must try to advance to first base or beyond. While running to first base, the batter is a "batter-runner". When she safely reached first (see below) she becomes a "base-runner" or "runner".

A batted ball hit high in the air is a "fly ball". A fly ball hit upward at an angle greater than 45 degrees is a "pop fly". A batted ball driven in the air through the infield at a height at which an infielder could play it if in the right position is a "line drive". A batted ball which hits the ground within the diamond is a "ground ball". If a batted ball hits a player or a base it is considered to have hit the ground.

[edit] Getting the batter out The Texas Longhorns softball team gets a strikeout against Penn State to end the game, February 15, 2008.

The batter is out if: three strikes are called (a "strikeout"); a ball hit by the batter is caught before touching the ground (a "flyout"); the batter goes to a base that is already tagged ("tagged" or "tag play"); a fielder holding the ball touches a base which is the only base towards which the batter may run before the batter arrives there (a "force out" or "force play"); or in certain special circumstances.

[edit] Advancing around the bases A player rounding second base.

If the player hits the ball and advances to a base without a fielding error or an out being recorded, then that is called a "base hit". The bases must be reached in order counterclockwise, starting with first base. After hitting the ball the batter may advance as many bases as possible. An advance to first base on the one hit is a "single", to second base is a "double", to third base is a "triple", and to home plate is a "home run". Home runs are usually scored by hitting the ball over the outfield fence, but may be scored on a hit which does not go over the fence. A home run includes any ball that bounces off a fielder and goes over the fence in fair-territory or that hits the foul pole. If a batted ball bounces off a fielder and goes over the fence in foul territory, hits the fence, a fielder, and then goes over, or if it goes over the fence at a location that is closer than the official distance, the batter is awarded a double instead.

If a runner becomes entitled to the base where another runner is standing, the latter runner must advance to the next base. For example, if a player hits the ball and there is a runner on first, the runner on first must try to advance to second because the batter-runner is entitled to first base. If the batter reaches first base without being put out, then that player can then be forced to run towards second base the next time a ball is driven into fair territory. That is because the player must vacate first base to allow the next batter to reach it, and consequently can only go to second base, where a force out may be recorded.

Runners may advance at risk to be put out: on a hit by another player; after a fly ball has been caught, provided the player was touching a base at the time the ball was caught or after; or automatically, when a pitch is delivered illegally; or on an error by a fielder.

Runners advance without liability to be put out: when a walk advances another player to the runner's current base; or automatically in certain special circumstances described below.

[edit] Special circumstances

If there is a "wild throw" in which the ball goes out of the designated play area, each runner is awarded the base they were going to, plus one extra base.

In fast pitch, runners may try to get a "stolen base" by running to the next base on the pitch and reaching it before being tagged with the ball. Until recently, stealing was forbidden in slow pitch because a runner would get a huge head start while the slow pitch is making its way to the batter. As a result of rule changes initiated by the Independent Softball Association which later made its way to the Amateur Softball Association and the International Softball Federation in the 21st century, most levels of slow pitch permit stealing bases, provided the runner starts when the ball either touches the ground or crosses the plate. This rule encourages pitchers to be more responsible with the pitch and catchers to play defense, as balls which miss the catcher are now grounds to have stolen bases.

No matter what level of play, all baserunners must keep one foot on a base until the pitcher throws the ball.

In fast pitch, if the catcher drops strike three (a "passed ball") with less than two outs, the batter can attempt to run to first base if first base is unoccupied. The catcher must then attempt to throw the ball to first base ahead of the runner. If he or she cannot, the runner is safe. With two outs, the batter can attempt to run to first whether or not it is already occupied.

Depending on the league in slow pitch only a foul ball with two strikes on the batter means the batter is out. In some leagues they allow 1 foul ball even when the batter has 2 strikes.

Stealing in 16-inch softball is severely restricted, as a runner may only steal the base in front of them if it is open, and if they are thrown at, "ŕ la" pickoff move or snap throw. This results in many inexperienced players being thrown or doubled off when they attempt to advance on a wild pickoff at another baserunner.

[edit] Scoring runs

A "run" is scored when a player has touched all four bases in order, proceeding counterclockwise around them. They need not be touched on the same play; a batter may remain safely on a base while play proceeds and attempt to advance on a later play.

A run is not scored if the last out occurs during the same play that the runner crosses home plate. For instance, if a runner is on third base prior to a hit, and he crosses home plate before or after an out is made, either on the batter or another runner, the run is not counted.

[edit] Ending the game

The team with the most runs after seven innings wins the game. The last (bottom) half of the seventh inning or any remaining part of the seventh inning is not played if the team batting second is leading.

If the game is tied, play usually continues until a decision is reached, by using the international tie-breaker rule. Starting in the top of the eighth inning, the batting team starts with a base-runner on second base, which is the player who made the third out in the previous inning.

In games where one team leads by a large margin, the run ahead rule may come into play in order to avoid embarrassing weaker teams. In fast pitch and modified pitch, a margin of 20 runs after three innings, 15 after four, or 10 after five is sufficient for a win to be declared for the leading team. In slow pitch, the margin is 20 runs after four innings or 15 after five innings.[8] In the NCAA, the required margin after 5 innings is 8 runs. The mercy rule takes effect at the end of an inning. Thus, if the team batting first is ahead by enough runs for the rule to come into effect, the team batting second is given their half of the inning to try and narrow the margin.

A game may be lost due to a "forfeit". A score of 7-0 for the team not at fault is recorded (generally one run is awarded for each inning that would have been played). A forfeit may be called due to any of these circumstances: if a team does not show up to play; if one side refuses to continue play; if a team fails to resume play after a suspension of play ends; if a team uses tactics intended to unfairly delay or hasten the game; if a player removed from the game does not leave within one minute of being instructed to do so; if a player that cannot play enters the game and one pitch has been thrown; if a team does not have, for whatever reason, enough players to continue; or if after warning by the umpire, a player continues to intentionally break the rules of the game. This last rule is rarely enforced as players who break rules after being warned are usually removed.

The plate umpire may suspend play because of darkness or anything that puts players or spectators in danger. If five innings have been played, the game is recorded as it stands. This includes ties. If fewer than four innings have been played, the game is not considered a "regulation" game.

Games that are not regulation or are regulation ties are resumed from the point of suspension. If it is a championship game, it is replayed from the beginning. Team rosters may be changed.

[edit] Positions

There are nine players out on the field at one time. Although the pitcher and catcher have the ball the most, each person has a specific job. In the infield there is the pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman. In the outfield there is left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. In slow pitch softball there is an extra fielder, who is specified as a rover. Normally, the defensive team will play with four outfielders, meaning there is a left fielder, left-center fielder, right-center fielder, and right fielder.

[edit] Modification of rules

One reason for the popularity of softball is the ease of modification of the rules, thereby allowing the game to be adapted to a variety of skill levels. For example, in some slow pitch softball leagues a batter starts at bat with a count of one ball one strike. In some leagues, the number of home runs that can be hit by a team are limited. In other leagues, stealing of bases is prohibited. Some groups allow for a more defensive game by making home plate a force out for first base. This reduces scoring evenly on both sides, and allows for some margin of error.

Some leagues require teams to use limited flight softballs. These softballs, when hit, will not go as far as regular softballs. Other leagues limit the number of runs which can be scored in an inning. Five is a common limit.

By allowing these and other modifications, softball can be enjoyed by children, teenagers, and adults. Senior leagues with players over the age of 60 are not uncommon.

An example of a rule modification is the "offensive pitcher" (or "self pitch") often found in informal games where the emphasis is on the social rather than the competitive aspects of the game. The pitcher aids the batter by attempting to give the easiest pitch to hit. There are no walks, and a batter is normally given a fixed number of pitches to attempt to hit (usually 3 or 4). The batter is considered to strike out if she fails to hit the ball into fair territory after the given number of pitches. The pitcher does not act as a fielder, and a rule is often made that if a batted ball touches the pitcher, the batter is out.

In some leagues the number of pitches to walk or strikeout can be reduced. For instance, one strike is an out, and two balls is a walk. This is common in leagues where doubleheaders are played, or in late season leagues when reduced daylight is an issue. It results in shorter games, as players are more apt to swing, even at marginal pitches, rather than risk striking out on one pitch.

Many leagues also include a second first base immediately adjacent to the main one. This is usually orange and the batter running through first base is supposed to run straight through it. This minimizes the chances of a collision. By the same token some leagues have an alternate home plate and rule that plays at home are always force plays. In these cases there is typically a white line drawn approximately 1/3 of the way down the baseline that is considered a point of no return. This is designed to reduce the "Pickle" which can put a great strain on the ankles and knees of older baserunners.

[edit] Indoor play

Despite the fact that it was originally intended to be played indoors, softball is usually played outdoors. The indoor form is sometimes called Arena Softball. It is most similar to slow pitch. There are no "official" rules for the indoor form, but some general conventions are given below.

Only the wall behind the batter is considered foul territory. The other walls are considered fair. If a ball hits a wall and is caught before it lands, the batter flies out. Usually, there is a small area on one of the walls that results in a home run being awarded if the batted ball hits it.

Pitching is generally a little slower because of the indoor turf, or pitched through a pitching machine.

The placement of the fielders is different. The pitcher also acts as the second baseman. There is sometimes a catcher.

There is no limit to the number of batters a team may have available, although only so many can bat in one inning.

[edit] International competition

The International Softball Federation holds world championships, held every four years, in several categories. The ISF is the international governing body. The Amateur Softball Association is the National Governing Body of Softball for the United States pursuant to the 1976 Amateur Sports Act. Due to the popularity of the sport, there are a multitude of governing bodies such as the United States Specialty Sports Association and the National Softball Association.

The ISF holds world championship tournaments in several categories. The tournament in each category is held every four years. The most recent tournament was XI Women's World Championship in late August and early September, 2006. All World Championships use a Page playoff system[13] and are in fastpitch. There are also several World Cups held at 4 year intervals in different categories.[14][15]

New Zealand is the current Men's World Champions, having won the last three tournaments.[16] The current Junior Men's World Champion is Australia, which has won the last three championships.[17] In the Women's World Championships the United States is the most dominant team, having won three of the past four Olympic tournaments and the past six World Championships.[18][19] The current Junior Women's World Champion is the United States.[20]

Women's softball made its first Olympic appearance in 1996 and made its final Olympic appearance in the 2008 games[21].

[edit] Popularity and participation

Softball is the most popular participant sport in the United States,[2] as it is estimated that 40 million Americans will play at least one game of softball during a year. It is played by men and women both recreationally and competitively.

Softball is played, at some level, in over a hundred countries around the world.[22]. The ISF has 113 member countries, (excluding dependent territories).[23]

In many US cities, adult softball teams are organized by bars and clubs, hence the popular term "beer-league softball". The teams can be men's, women's or co-ed, and skill levels can range from novice to elite, with league composition reflecting that. These leagues are almost exclusively slow-pitch.

Competitive fastpitch softball for girls is growing increasingly popular. All over the USA there are thousands of teams that compete year round at tournaments. During most of these tournaments the biggest thing is not winning the tournament, but attempting to get as many college coaches to look at a player(s). Competitive teams are now beginning around eight years old, if not younger. Depending on the team they can travel all over the USA or even out of the country such as to Canada, the summer and fall for many weeks and days at a time.

There are many different sanctioning bodies of softball, USSSA, ASA, ISA, NSA, WSL, just to name a few. One of the biggest is the Amateur Softball Association, also known as ASA. It is known as the National Governing Body of Softball, was established in 1933 and has over 240,000 teams. The USSSA, founded in 1968 as the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association, but renamed in 1997 to the United States Specialty Sports Association, is the only association that still has a men's major slowpitch program alive.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabspreof||item.||site-page||officials||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-sports-referee-s-officials-3.gif||||||All About: Sports Referee's Officials||newitem1||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms officials||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Officials > ||||||||All About Sports Referee's Officials||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||All About Sports Referee's Officials||A referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many sports. Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles, including: referee, umpire, judge, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper or touch judge.

Origin

The term referee originated in association football (soccer).[citation needed] Originally the team captains would consult with each other in order to resolve any dispute on the pitch. Eventually this role was delegated to an umpire. Each team would bring their own partisan umpire allowing the team captains to concentrate on the game. Later, the referee, a third "neutral" official was added, this referee would be "referred to" if the umpires could not resolve a dispute. The referee did not take his place on the pitch until 1891, when the umpires became linesmen (now assistant referees). Today, in many amateur football matches, each side will still supply their own partisan assistant referees (still commonly called club linesmen) to assist the neutral referee appointed by the governing football association.

Examples

Australian rules football Main article: Umpire (Australian rules football)

An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football. Games are overseen by one to three field umpires, two boundary umpires, and two goal umpires.

Baseball and softball Main article: Umpire (baseball)

In baseball and softball, the umpire is the person(s) charged with officiating the game. Multiple umpires-usually two, three or four, but sometimes six for championship games-are typically assigned to a game.

Basketball Main article: Official (basketball)

In international basketball and in college basketball, the referee is the lead official in a game, and is assisted by either one or two umpires. In the National Basketball Association, the lead official is referred to by the term crew chief and the two other officials are referees. All of the officials in a basketball game are generally accepted to have the same authority as the lead official and therefore they are collectively known as the officials or sometimes, misleadingly, the referees.

Boxing Main article: Referee (boxing)

Cricket Main articles: Match referee and Umpire (cricket)

In cricket, the match referee is an off-field official who makes judgements concerning the reputable conduct of the game and hands out penalties for breaches of the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct. On-field decisions relevant to the play and outcome of the game itself are handled by two on-field umpires, although an off-field third umpire may help with certain decisions.

Cue sports Main article: Cue sports

In Cue sports such as billiards and snooker matches are presided over by a referee. The referee will determine all matters of fact relating to the rules, maintain fair playing conditions, call fouls, and take other action as required by these rules. (Source: World Pool-Billiard Association)

Cycling Main article: Commissaire (cycling)

A commissaire is an official in competitive cycling.

Fencing Main article: Fencing (sport)

A fencing match is presided over by a referee.

Field hockey Main article: Umpire (field hockey)

An umpire in field hockey is a person with the authority to make decisions on a hockey field in accordance with the laws of the game. Each match is controlled by two such umpires.

Football (American and Canadian) Main articles: Official (American football) and Official (Canadian football)

An American football (or Canadian football) referee is responsible for the general supervision of the game and has the final authority on all rulings. He is assisted by up to six other officials on the field. These officials are commonly referred to as "referees" but each has a title based on position and responsibilities during the game: referee, head linesman, line judge, umpire, back judge, side judge, and field judge.

Football (association) Main articles: Referee (football), Assistant referee, and Fourth official

An association football match is presided over by a referee, whom the Laws of the Game give "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5). The referee is assisted by two assistant referees, and sometimes by a fourth official.

Handball

According to the International Handball Association, team handball games are officiated by two referees with equal authority who are in charge of each match. They are assisted by a timekeeper and a scorekeeper. (Source: International Handball Association, Rules of the Game, 1 August 2005)

Ice hockey Main article: Official (ice hockey)

Games of ice hockey are presided over by on-ice referees, who are generally assisted by on-ice linesmen. The combination of referees and linesman varies from league to league. A few leagues, including the NCAA, are starting to refer to linesmen as assistant referees.

Korfball

In korfball, it is the referee's responsibility to control the game and its environment, to enforce the rules and to take action against misbehaviour. He is assisted by an assistant referee, who alerts the referee to out balls and fouls and may have other tasks determined by the referee, and where possible by a timekeeper and scorer.

Lacrosse

A lacrosse match is presided over by an onfield head referee, two onfield referees, a chief bench official (CBO), and a bench manager. Many leagues use a two or three referee system and omit the bench officials.

Lawn bowls

A lawn bowls match is presided over by a bowls umpire or technical official. In games where single players compete, a marker is required to direct play and assist players with questions relating to the position of their bowls.

Mixed martial arts

Rules in mixed martial arts bouts are enforced by a referee who can give warnings and disqualifications should the rules be broken. The referee is also in charge of stopping fights when a fighter "cannot intelligently defend himself" in order to prevent him from incurring further damage, as well as making sure that submissions are released following a tapout and to pull fighters off an unconscious opponent. The referee is advised by a doctor and assistant referee who sit ringside.

Roller derby

The game of roller derby is governed by a team of up to seven referees, several of whom are also on skates. Under the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) rules, there may also be off-skate derby referees. The team is composed of a head referee, who oversees the running of the entire game and has final say in any disputes; two jammer referees who follow the two point-scoring players known as jammers, alternating the team they are scoring each period; and up to four pack referees who follow the main pack of skaters and issue and enforce penalties for fouls or infringements of the rules. Only the team captains may engage in discussions with the referees over calls made. Referees are also responsible for ensuring the skaters are correctly wearing all regulation safety equipment.

Rowing

In a regatta an umpire is the on-the-water official appointed to enforce the rules of racing and to ensure safety. The umpire starts the race from a launch and follows it to its end, ensuring that crews follow their proper course. If no infringements occur, the result is decided by a judge or judges on the waterside who determine the finish order of the crews.

Rugby

Both codes of rugby football are controlled by an onfield referee assisted by two touch judges, and often a video referee during televised games. With non-televised games in rugby league, the referee has 2 touch judges and 2 in-goal judges to assist. The referee and the touch judges cannot be contradicted by any player, but captains may discuss calls with them. In some rugby league competitions, most notably Australia's National Rugby League, public criticism of officials by players or coaching staff can result in fines being levied against the offending club.

The National Rugby League is also experimenting with a two-referee system: the control referee is primarily in charge of the play and calling penalties, and the assist referee, who communicates with the control referee but should not blow the whistle. The two referees exchange roles on changes of possession.

Touch football

Touch football/touch rugby (commonly known as "touch") has a unique refereeing concept. As in most team sports, there is an on-field referee and referees on each of the two sideline. However, in touch football, the referees may interchange, similar to players, at appropriate times. Appropriate times may include when the play has moved close enough to the sideline for the referees to swap without the interrupting the play. This may occur during a set of six or during a change of possession. Other times that referees may interchange include after the awarding of touchdowns and penalties.

Touch is also one of the few remaining sports where referees wear metal badges on their chests to represent their official level within their governing organisation. In Australia, the highest referee level is 6, the lowest being 1. In New Zealand, the highest level is 4, the lowest being 1. Prior to level 1, there is an elementary level beginners. In Europe, the highest level is 5, the lowest being 1.

Sailing

In a match race and team race, an umpire is the on-the-water official appointed to directly enforce the racing rules of sailing (as opposed to fleet racing, where an off-the-water protest committee hears complaints from competitors).

Sumo Main articles: Gyoji and Shimpan

A sumo match is overseen by a referee (gyoji) in the ring and five umpires (shimpan) seated around the ring. All dress in traditional Japanese clothing, with higher-ranked referees wearing elaborate silk outfits. The referee oversees the pre-match rituals and the bout itself, including ruling on the winner of the bout and the winning technique used. If one of the umpires disagrees, then all the umpires confer to determine the winner of the bout.

Tradition holds that if one of the two top ranked gyoji has his decision overturned, he is expected to tender his resignation, although the Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association usually rejects the resignation.

Tennis Main article: Official (tennis)

In tennis an umpire is an on-court official, while a referee is an off-court official.

Underwater hockey

An Octopush or underwater hockey match is presided over by two or three water referees in the pool, a chief referee on deck, and at least one timekeeper and one scorekeeper. Additional timekeepers can be used to track penalty times in highly contested matches. A tournament referee will arbitrate for chief referees, whilst protests will be adjudicated by at least three independent referees.

Volleyball

A volleyball match is presided over by a first referee, who observes action from a stand, providing a clear view of action above the net and looking down into the court. The second referee, who assists the first referee, is at floor level on the opposite side of the net-and in front of the scorers' table.

Amateur wrestling

The international styles of amateur wrestling use a three-official system in which a referee conducts the action in the center of the mat while a judge and a mat chairman remain seated and evaluate the action from their stationary vantage points.

Collegiate wrestling uses a single referee in the center of the mat, or a head referee and an assistant.

Professional wrestling Main article: Referee (professional wrestling)

Professional wrestling referees render decisions like tap outs and pinfalls. They also communicate with wrestlers about the progress of the matches.

Attire

Referees typically wear clothing to distinguish themselves from the players. Such uniforms may be distinctive, and some traditional uniforms have come to be symbolically associated with the position (even if newer, alternative uniforms are increasingly used). Notable examples include the traditional black uniform worn by association football referees, or the vertical black and white stripes worn by referees in many North American sports. It is not uncommon for referees to wear bright reflective yellow/green/orange shirts.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabtrandfi||item.||site-page||track||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-track-and-field-3.gif||||||All About: Track and field||||track||Track > ||||||||All About: Track and field||||||In Stock||0||1||0||0||||||||Track and field athletics, commonly known as athletics or track and field, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping. The name "athletics" is derived from the Greek word "athlos", meaning "contest".

History

The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was a stadium-length foot race or "stade", run on a track.

There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era:

* Panhellenic Games: o The Pythian Games (founded 527 BC) held in Delphi every four years o The Nemean Games (founded 516 BC) held in Argolid every two years o The Isthmian Games (founded 523 BC) held on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years * The Roman Games - Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took center stage. * The Tailteann Games (claimed foundation 1829 BC) - held near modern Telltown in Ireland, this thirty-day meeting included foot races and stone-throwing events

Other peoples, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who succeeded the Romans, enjoyed athletic contests. However, these were often related to combat training. In the Middle Ages the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds.

Annually, from 1796-1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern summer Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a footrace, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade also marks the introduction of the metric system into sport.

In the 19th century the formal organization of the modern events accelerated - in France, Germany, and Great Britain in particular. This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into school regimes. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825, but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by C.T. Robinson, who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held an organised competition in 1849, but the first regular series of meetings was held by Exeter College, Oxford from 1850.[1]

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre running track on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place on the infield, inside the track.

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has formed their backbone ever since. Women were first allowed to participate in track and field events in the 1928 Olympics.

An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it adopted its current name, the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 2001. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. There are a number of regional games as well, such as the European Championships, the Pan-American Games, and the Commonwealth Games. In addition there is a professional Golden League circuit, cumulating in the IAAF World Athletics Final, and indoor championships such as the World Indoor Championships. The sport has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular.

The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed. It was later renamed USA Track & Field (USATF or USA T&F). An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), also exists in the United States to promote road racing.

In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.

Indoor athletics Typical "oval" track consisting of two semicircles joined by straight segments.

There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring. Most indoor tracks are 200 metres and consist of four to 8 lanes. There are also some 150 metre indoor tracks, and others as small as 120 metres have been used. Some "oversize tracks" (larger than 200 metres) are popular for American collegiate athletics despite the fact that they are not considered valid for setting indoor records. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight radius of the turns. The banking can help prevent injuries to the athlete, while also promoting higher speeds.[citation needed]

In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same track events as at an outdoor meet, with the exception of the 100 m and 110 m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 55 or 60 m sprint and 55 or 60 m hurdles at most levels, or the 55 m sprint and hurdles at the high school level), the 10,000 m run, 3,000 m steeplechase, 400 m hurdles. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run normally at both the collegiate and elite level, instead of the 10,000 m. The 5,000 m is the longest event commonly run indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have been raced. In the mid 20th century, there was a series of "duel" races on Madison Square Garden's indoor track, some of which featured two men racing a marathon (42.2 km). However, this is an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some occasions, there may also be a 500 m race instead of the open 400 m normally found outdoors, and in many college championship races indoors both are contested.

In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put (weight throw). Due to space limitations, these events take place on the infield, within the circumferential track. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.

Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in North America) are the 300 m, 600m, 1000 m, and 35 lb (16 kg) weight throw. In some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing high jump are also contested, even in the National Championships.

For multi-event athletes there is the Pentathlon for women (consisting of 60 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 m) and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 m) indoors.

Outdoor athletics

The outdoor track and field season usually begins in the spring and lasts through the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400 metres in circumference. Modern "tartan tracks" or more recently "mondo tracks" are made with a rubberized surface; older tracks were cinder-covered. Tracks normally consist of 6-10 lanes (up to 12 lanes on the 'front' straight) and many include a steeplechase lane with a water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can be placed either inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks will surround a playing field used for American football, association football (soccer), or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield and has a surface of either grass or artificial turf.

All field events can be contested on the infield. However the javelin, hammer and discus throws are sometimes contested on fields outside of the track stadium because they take up a large amount of space, the implements may damage the infield, and the implements could end up landing on the track. However, some infields are used specifically for these events, and for the javelin, an athlete may have a longer run-up by starting it on the other side of the track, and crossing when there are no athletes passing.

Events

There are other variations besides the ones listed below, but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. The unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200 m indoor track. With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile (402.3 m) to 400 m; almost all record keeping for imperial distances has been discontinued. However, the IAAF record book still includes the mile world record (currently held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco for men and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.

Men and women do not compete against each other, although they may sometimes run in the same races due to time constraints at high school meets. Women generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.

All Comers Track Meets Main article: All Comers Track Meet

Track and Field is the most accessible sport for anybody to participate in. It only takes two people to have a race, or one can simply race a stopwatch. In events called All Comers Track Meets, anybody who wishes to participate is welcome. They are pretty low-key and are merely intended for gaining experience or just practicing for races. There is no exclusion because participants have no teams or even equipment. Most such meets are low cost or free. While races are usually seeded based on the entrant's expected level of ability, the most elite of athletes can and do use these meets as training grounds.

Running and racewalking events

Running events conducted on a track (generally 400 metres, except indoors):

Sprints are events up to and including the 400 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 50 metres (indoors only) * 55 metres (indoors only) * 60 metres (indoors only) * 100 metres * 200 metres * 400 metres

Middle Distance Events are events longer than sprints and up to 3000 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 600 metres (uncommon) * 800 metres * 1000 metres (uncommon) * 1500 metres * One mile[2] * 2000 metres (uncommon) * 3000 metres * 3000 metres steeplechase

Long Distance Events are events over 3000 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 5000 metres * 10000 metres

Hurdles events require the runner to run over evenly spaced barriers during the race. Events commonly contested are:

* 60 metres hurdles (indoors only) * 100 metres hurdles (women) * 110 metres hurdles (men) * 400 metres hurdles

Relay races are events in which four athletes participate as a team, passing a metal baton in between. Events commonly contested are:

* 4 x 100 metres relay * 4 x 200 metres relay (high school & collegiate) * 4 x 400 metres relay * 4 x 800 metres relay

Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large relay carnivals. Typical medley relays include:

* Sprint Medley Relay (SMR): the four legs are two 200 metre legs, 400 metres, 800 metres; or alternately two 100 metre legs, 200 metres, 400 metres * Distance Medley Relay (DMR): the four legs are 1200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 1600 metres

Road Races are events conducted on open roads, sometimes finishing on a track. Events commonly contested are:

* 10 km * 20 km * Half marathon(21.0975 km) * Marathon (42.195 km). The marathon is the only common road-racing distance run in major international athletics championships, such as the Olympics.

Racewalking may be contested on either the track or on open roads. Events commonly contested are:

* 10 km * 20 km * 50 km

Field events

Throwing events

* Discus Throw * Hammer Throw * Javelin Throw * Shot Put

Jumping events

* High Jump * Pole Vault * Long Jump * Triple Jump

The following events also take place, but are uncommon:

* Standing high jump * Standing long jump * Standing triple jump

Multiple-event competitions

Multiple event competitions include events from both the track (running) and field events.

Pentathlon: the outdoor Pentathlon includes the following five events:

* Long Jump * Javelin * 200 metres * Discus * 1500 metres

The outdoor Pentathlon was a national championship event in the United States until 1978. It is still contested in many places throughout the world, but rarely as a championship event. The Pentathon was also contested in several of the early Olympic Games, notably in the 1912 Olympics which was won by Jim Thorpe, who also won the Decathlon. The event was modeled after the original Greek Olympic Games, in which the Pentathlon was the foremost contest. It consisted of a Long Jump, Javelin, a statia run of approximately 180 metres, Discus, and Greco-Roman style wrestling.

Pentathlon: the indoor Pentathlon includes the following five events:

* High Hurdles (110 metres for men, 100 metres for women) * Shot Put * Long Jump * High Jump * Middle distance (1500 metres for men, 800 metres for women)

Heptathlon: the Heptathlon includes the following seven events:

Outdoors (usually only women):

* 100 metre high hurdles * High Jump * Shot Put * 200 metres * Long Jump * Javelin Throw * 800 metres

Indoors (usually only men):

* 60 metres * Long Jump * Shot Put * High Jump * 60 metres hurdles * Pole Vault * 1000 metres

Decathlon: the Decathlon includes the following ten events:

* 100 metres * Long Jump * Shot Put * High Jump * 400 metres * 110 metre high hurdles * Discus * Pole Vault * Javelin * 1500 metres

Rules

Track events

The rules of track athletics or of track events in athletics as observed in most international athletics competitions are set by the Competition Rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The most recent complete set of rules is the 2009 rules that relate only to competitions in 2009.[3] Key rules of track events are those regarding starting, running and finishing.

Starting

The start of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide. In all races that are not run in lanes the start line must be curved, so that all the athletes start the same distance from the finish.[4] Starting blocks may be used for all races up to and including 400 m (including the first leg of the 4 x 200 m and 4 x 400 m) and may not be used for any other race. No part of the starting block may overlap the start line or extend into another lane.[5] All races must be started by the report of the starter's gun or approved starting apparatus fired upwards after he or she has ascertained that athletes are steady and in the correct starting position.[6] An athlete may not touch either the start line or the ground in front of it with his hands or his feet when on his marks.[7] At most international competitions the commands of the starter in his own language, in English or in French, shall, in races up to and including 400 m, be "On your marks" and "Set". When all athletes are "set", the gun must be fired, or an approved starting apparatus must be activated.[7] However, if the starter is not satisfied that all is ready to proceed, the athletes may be called out of the blocks and the process started over.

False start: An athlete, after assuming a final set position, may not commence his starting motion until after receiving the report of the gun, or approved starting apparatus. If, in the judgment of the starter or recallers, he does so any earlier, it is considered a false start. It is deemed a false start if, in the judgment of the starter an athlete fails to comply with the commands "on your marks" or "set" as appropriate after a reasonable time; or an athlete after the command "on your marks" disturbs other athletes in the race through sound or otherwise.[8] Any athlete making a false start must be warned.[9]

Running the race

In all races run in lanes, each athlete must keep within his allocated lane from start to finish. This also applies to any portion of a race run in lanes. If an athlete leaves the track or steps on the line demarking the track, he/she should be disqualified.[10] Also, any athlete who jostles or obstructs another athlete, in a way that impedes his progress, should be disqualified from that event.[11] However, if an athlete is pushed or forced by another person to run outside his lane, and if no material advantage is gained, the athlete should not be disqualified.

The finish

The finish of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide.[12] The athletes must be placed in the order in which any part of their torso ( as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line.[13]

Ties between different athletes are resolved as follows: In determining whether there has been a tie in any round for a qualifying position for the next round based on time, a judge (called the chief photo finish judge) must consider the actual time recorded by the athletes to 1/1000th of a second. If the judge decides that there has been a tie, the tying athletes must be placed in the next round or, if that is not practicable, lots must be drawn to determine who must be placed in the next round. In the case of a tie for first place in any final, the referee decides whether it is practicable to arrange for the athletes so tying to compete again. If he decides it is not, the result will stand. Ties in other placings remain.

Track and field on coinage Running commemorative coin

Track and field events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the ?10 Greek Running commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the coin, a modern athlete figure appears in the foreground, shown in the starting position, while in the background two ancient runners are carved in a manner that gives the appearance of a coin that is "worn" by time. This scene originally appeared on a black-figure vase of the 6th century BC.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|allabvo||item.||site-page||volleyball||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/all-about-volleyball-3.gif||||||All About: Volleyball||newitem1166293698||teamworkteamuniforms free-shipping-team-uniforms teamworksportuniforms volleyball||Team Work Team Uniforms > Fast Shipping Details > Team Work Sport Uniforms > Volleyball > ||||||||All About: Volleyball||||||In Stock||0||1||1||0||||||All About: Volleyball||Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.[1] This article focuses on competitive indoor volleyball; numerous other variations of volleyball have developed, most notably the Olympic spin-off sport beach volleyball.

Play proceeds as follows: a player on one of the teams begins a rally by attempting to serve the ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball touch their court; they may touch the ball as many as three times, typically using the first two touches to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from touching their court. The rally continues in the same manner, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either (1): a team makes a kill, grounding the ball on the opponent's court, thus winning the rally; or (2): a team commits a fault, thus losing the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the ball to start the next rally. The complete rules are extensive; a few of the most common faults include:

* causing the ball to touch the ground outside the opponents' court or without first passing over the net; * catching and throwing the ball; * double hit: two consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same player; * four consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same team.

The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short contact) the ball with any part of the body.

A number of consistent techniques have evolved in volleyball, including spiking and blocking (because these plays are made above the top of the net the vertical jump is an athletic skill emphasized in the sport) as well as passing, setting, and specialized player positions and offensive and defensive structures.

History

Origin of volleyball

On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts (USA), William G Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called Mintonette as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles (sixteen kilometers) away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, only four years before. Mintonette was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort.

The first rules, written down by William G Morgan, called for a net 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) high, a 25×50 ft (7.6×15.2 m) court, and any number of players. A match was composed of nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning, and no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. In case of a serving error, a second try was allowed. Hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)—except in the case of the first-try serve.

After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball"). Volleyball rules were slightly modified by the International YMCA Training School and the game spread around the country to various YMCAs.[2][3]

Refinements and later developments

The first official ball used in volleyball is disputed; some sources say that Spalding created the first official ball in 1896, while others claim it was created in 1900.[4][5][6] The rules have evolved over time; In Philippines by 1916, the skill and power of the set and spike had been introduced, and four years later a "three hits" rule and a rule against hitting from the back row were established. In 1917, the game was changed from 21 to 15 points. In 1919, about 16,000 volleyballs were distributed by the American Expeditionary Forces to their troops and allies, which sparked the growth of volleyball in new countries.[4]

The first country outside the United States to adopt volleyball was Canada in 1900.[4] An international federation, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was founded in 1947, and the first World Championships were held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women.[7] The sport is now popular in Brazil, in Europe (where especially Italy, the Netherlands, and countries from Eastern Europe have been major forces since the late 1980s), in Russia, and in other countries including China and the rest of Asia, as well in as the United States.[2][3][7]

Beach volleyball, a variation of the game played on sand and with only two players per team, became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1987 and was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[4][7]

Volleyball in the Olympics Main article: Volleyball at the Summer Olympics

The history of Olympic volleyball can be traced back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where volleyball was played as part of an American sports demonstration event.[8] After the foundation of FIVB and some continental confederations, it began to be considered for official inclusion. In 1957, a special tournament was held at the 53rd IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria to support such request. The competition was a success, and the sport was officially included in the program for the 1964 Summer Olympics.[4]

The Olympic volleyball tournament was originally a simple competition, whose format paralleled the one still employed in the World Cup: all teams played against each other team and then were ranked by wins, set average, and point average. One disadvantage of this round-robin system is that medal winners could be determined before the end of the games, making the audience lose interest in the outcome of the remaining matches. To cope with this situation, the competition was split into two phases with the addition of a "final round" elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals matches in 1972. The number of teams involved in the Olympic tournament has grown steadily since 1964. Since 1996, both men's and women's events count twelve participant nations. Each of the five continental volleyball confederations has at least one affiliated national federation involved in the Olympic Games.

The U.S.S.R. won men's gold in both 1964 and 1968. After taking bronze in 1964 and silver in 1968, Japan finally won the gold for men's volleyball in 1972. Women's gold went to Japan in 1964 and again in 1976. That year, the introduction of a new offensive skill, the backrow attack, allowed Poland to win the men's competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-set match. Since the strongest teams in men's volleyball at the time belonged to the Eastern Bloc, the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics did not have as great an effect on these events as it had on the women's. The U.S.S.R. collected their third Olympic Gold Medal in men's volleyball with a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria (the Soviet women won that year as well, their third gold as well). With the U.S.S.R. boycotting the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the U.S. was able to sweep Brazil in the finals to win the men's gold medal. Italy won its first medal (bronze in the men's competition) in 1984, foreshadowing a rise in prominence for their volleyball teams.

At the 1988 Games, Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons led the U.S. men's team to a second straight gold medal. In 1992, underrated Brazil upset favourites C.I.S., Netherlands, and Italy in the men's competition for the country's first Olympic gold medal. Runner-up Netherlands, men's silver medalist in 1992, came back under team leaders Ron Zwerver and Olof van der Meulen in the 1996 Games for a five-set win over Italy. A men's bronze medalist in 1996, Serbia and Montenegro (playing in 1996 and 2000 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) beat Russia in the gold medal match in 2000, winning their first gold medal ever. In 2004, Brazil won its second men's volleyball gold medal beating Italy in the finals. In the 2008 Games, the USA beat Brazil in the men's volleyball final. See also: Volleyball in the United States and Volleyball in Canada

Rules of the game Volleyball court

The court

The game is played on a volleyball court 18 meters (59 feet) long and 9 meters (29.5 feet) wide, divided into two 9 m × 9 m halves by a one-meter (40-inch) wide net placed so that the top of the net is 2.43 meters (7 feet 11 5/8 inches) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) for women's competition (these heights are varied for veterans and junior competitions).

There is a line 3 meters from and parallel to the net in each team court which is considered the "attack line". This "3 meter" (or 10 foot) line divides the court into "back row" and "front row" areas (also back court and front court). These are in turn divided into 3 areas each: these are numbered as follows, starting from area "1", which is the position of the serving player:

After a team gains the serve (also known as siding out), its members must rotate in a clockwise direction, with the player previously in area "2" moving to area "1" and so on, with the player from area "1" moving to area "6".

The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone which is a minimum of 3 meters wide and which the players may enter and play within after the service of the ball.[9] All lines denoting the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area and are therefore a part of the court or zone. If a ball comes in contact with the line, the ball is considered to be "in". An antenna is placed on each side of the net perpendicular to the sideline and is a vertical extension of the side boundary of the court. A ball passing over the net must pass completely between the antennae (or their theoretical extensions to the ceiling) without contacting them.

The ball Main article: Volleyball (ball)

FIVB regulations state that the ball must be spherical, made of leather or synthetic leather, have a circumference of 65–67 cm, a weight of 260–280 g and an inside pressure of 0.30–0.325 kg/cm2.[10] Other governing bodies have similar regulations.

Game play

Each team consists of six players. To get play started, a team is chosen to serve by coin toss. A player from the serving team throws the ball into the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court (the serve). The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the volleyball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net. These contacts usually consist first of the bump or pass so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the setter; second of the set (usually an over-hand pass using wrists to push finger-tips at the ball) by the setter so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards a spot where one of the players designated as an attacker can hit it, and third by the attacker who spikes (jumping, raising one arm above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court) to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on offense.

The team on defense attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court: players at the net jump and reach above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net in order to block the attacked ball. If the ball is hit around, above, or through the block, the defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a dig (usually a fore-arm pass of a hard-driven ball). After a successful dig, the team transitions to offense.

The game continues in this manner, rallying back and forth, until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until an error is made. The most frequent errors that are made are either to fail to return the ball over the net within the allowed three touches, or to cause the ball to land outside the court. A ball is "in" if any part of it touches a sideline or end-line, and a strong spike may compress the ball enough when it lands that a ball which at first appears to be going out may actually be in. Players may travel well outside the court to play a ball that has gone over a sideline or end-line in the air.

Other common errors include a player touching the ball twice in succession, a player "catching" the ball, a player touching the net while attempting to play the ball, or a player penetrating under the net into the opponent's court. There are a large number of other errors specified in the rules, although most of them are infrequent occurrences. These errors include back-row or libero players spiking the ball or blocking (back-row players may spike the ball if they jump from behind the attack line), players not being in the correct position when the ball is served, attacking the serve in the front court and above the height of the net, using another player as a source of support to reach the ball, stepping over the back boundary line when serving, taking more than 8 seconds to serve,[11] or playing the ball when it is above the opponent's court.

Scoring

When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a point, whether they served the ball or not. The team that won the point serves for the next point. If the team that won the point served in the previous point, the same player serves again. If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point, the players of the team rotate their position on the court in a clockwise manner. The game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are best-of-five sets and the fifth set (if necessary) is usually played to 15 points. (Scoring differs between leagues, tournaments, and levels; high schools sometimes play best-of-three to 25; in the NCAA games are played best-of-five to 25 as of the 2008 season.)[12]

Before 1999, points could be scored only when a team had the serve (side-out scoring) and all sets went up to only 15 points. The FIVB changed the rules in 1999 (with the changes being compulsory in 2000) to use the current scoring system (formerly known as rally point system), primarily to make the length of the match more predictable and to make the game more spectator- and television-friendly.

Libero

In 1998 the libero player was introduced internationally, the term meaning free in Italian is pronounced LEE-beh-ro (although many players and coaches pronounce it lih-BEAR-oh). The NCAA introduced the libero in 2002.[13] The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills: the libero must wear a contrasting jersey color from his or her teammates and cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any back-row player, without prior notice to the officials. This replacement does not count against the substitution limit each team is allowed per set, although the libero may be replaced only by the player whom they replaced. The libero may function as a setter only under certain restrictions. If she/he makes an overhand set, she/he must be standing behind (and not stepping on) the 3-meter line; otherwise, the ball cannot be attacked above the net in front of the 3-meter line. An underhand pass is allowed from any part of the court.

The libero is, generally, the most skilled defensive player on the team. There is also a libero tracking sheet, where the referees or officiating team must keep track of who the libero subs in and out for. There may only be one libero per set (game), although there may be a different libero in the beginning of any new set (game).

Furthermore, a libero is not allowed to serve, according to international rules, with the exception of the NCAA women's volleyball games, where a 2004 rule change allows the libero to serve, but only in a specific rotation. That is, the libero can only serve for one person, not for all of the people for whom she goes in. That rule change was also applied to high school and junior high play soon after.

Recent rule changes

Other rule changes enacted in 2000 include allowing serves in which the ball touches the net, as long as it goes over the net into the opponents' court. Also, the service area was expanded to allow players to serve from anywhere behind the end line but still within the theoretical extension of the sidelines. Other changes were made to lighten up calls on faults for carries and double-touches, such as allowing multiple contacts by a single player ("double-hits") on a team's first contact provided that they are a part of a single play on the ball.

In 2008, the NCAA changed the minimum number of points needed to win any of the first four sets from 30 to 25 for women's volleyball (men's volleyball remained at 30.) If a fifth (deciding) set is reached, the minimum required score remains at 15. In addition, the word "game" is now referred to as "set".[12]

Skills

Competitive teams master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, attack, block and dig. Each of these skills comprises a number of specific techniques that have been introduced over the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball.

Serve Setting up for an overhand serve. A man making a jump serve.

A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His or her main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside the court after being touched by an opponent.

In contemporary volleyball, many types of serves are employed:

* Underhand and Overhand Serve: refers to whether the player strikes the ball from below, at waist level, or first tosses the ball in the air and then hits it above shoulder level. Underhand serve is considered very easy to receive and is rarely employed in high-level competitions. * Sky Ball Serve: a specific type of underhand serve occasionally used in beach volleyball, where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line. This serve was invented and employed almost exclusively by the Brazilian team in the early 1980s and is now considered outdated. In Brazil, this serve is called Jornada nas Estrelas (Star Trek). * Line and Cross-Court Serve: refers to whether the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. * Top Spin: an overhand serve where the ball gains topspin through wrist snapping. This spin causes the ball to drop faster than it appears to a passer receiving it. * Floater: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable. This type of serve can be administered while jumping or standing. This is akin to a knuckleball in baseball. * Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then the player makes a timed approach and jumps to make contact with the ball. There is usually much topspin imparted on the ball. This is the most popular serve amongst college and professional teams. * Jump Float: This is a serve like the jump serve and the floater. The ball is tossed lower than a topspin jump serve, but contact is still made while in the air. This serve is becoming more popular amongst college and professional players because it has a certain unpredictability in its flight pattern. * Round-House Serve: the player stands with one shoulder facing the net, tosses the ball high and hits it with a fast circular movement of the arm. The ball is hit with the palm of the hand, creating a lot of topspin. * Hybrid Serve: An overhand serve delivered similarly to a top spin serve; however, it has more pace than a floater, but has a similar unpredictable path.

Pass A woman making a forearm pass or bump.

Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve, or any form of attack. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.

The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms or platform, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips, like a set, above the head. Either form (joined forearm or overhand pass) are acceptable in professional and beach volleyball, however there are much tighter regulations on the overhand pass in beach volleyball.

Set

The set is usually the second contact that a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team, and is the player who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball.

As with passing, one may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set. Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball, the bump is used only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips, or in beach volleyball where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent. In the case of a set, one also speaks of a front or back set, meaning whether the ball is passed in the direction the setter is facing or behind the setter. There is also a jump set that is used when the ball is too close to the net. In this case the setter usually jumps off his or her right foot straight up to avoid going into the net. The setter usually stands about ⅔ of the way from the left to the right of the net and faces the left (the larger portion of net that he or she can see).

Sometimes a setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform an attack and tries to play it directly onto the opponent's court. This movement is called a "dump".[14] The most common dumps are to 'throw' the ball behind the setter or in front of the setter to zones 2 and 4. More experienced setters toss the ball into the deep corners or spike the ball on the second hit.

Attack

The attack (or spike, the slang term) is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of attacking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended. A player makes a series of steps (the "approach"), jumps, and swings at the ball.

Ideally the contact with the ball is made at the apex of the hitter's jump. At the moment of contact, the hitter's arm is fully extended above his or her head and slightly forward, making the highest possible contact while maintaining the ability to deliver a powerful hit. The hitter uses arm swing, wrist snap, and a rapid forward contraction of the entire body to drive the ball. A 'bounce' is a slang term for a very hard/loud spike that follows an almost straight trajectory steeply downward into the opponent's court and bounces very high into the air. A "kill" is the slang term for an attack that is not returned by the other team thus resulting in a point.

Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques:

* Backcourt (or backrow)/pipe attack: an attack performed by a back row player. The player must jump from behind the 3-meter line before making contact with the ball, but may land in front of the 3-meter line. * Line and Cross-court Shot: refers to whether the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. A cross-court shot with a very pronounced angle, resulting in the ball landing near the 3-meter line, is called a cut shot. * Dip/Dink/Tip/Cheat: the player does not try to make a hit, but touches the ball lightly, so that it lands on an area of the opponent's court that is not being covered by the defense. * Tool/Wipe/Block-abuse: the player does not try to make a hard spike, but hits the ball so that it touches the opponent's block and then bounces off-court. * Off-speed hit: the player does not hit the ball hard, reducing its speed and thus confusing the opponent's defense. * Quick hit/"One": an attack (usually by the middle blocker) where the approach and jump begin before the setter contacts the ball. The set (called a "quick set") is placed only slightly above the net and the ball is struck by the hitter almost immediately after leaving the setter's hands. Quick attacks are often effective because they isolate the middle blocker to be the only blocker on the hit. * Slide: a variation of the quick hit that uses a low back set. The middle hitter steps around the setter and hits from behind him or her. * Double quick hit/"Stack"/"Tandem": a variation of quick hit where two hitters, one in front and one behind the setter or both in front of the setter, jump to perform a quick hit at the same time. It can be used to deceive opposite blockers and free a fourth hitter attacking from backcourt, maybe without block at all.

Block 3 players performing a block

Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack.

A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive. A well-executed offensive block is performed by jumping and reaching to penetrate with one's arms and hands over the net and into the opponent's area. It requires anticipating the direction the ball will go once the attack takes place. It may also require calculating the best foot work to executing the "perfect" block.

The jump should be timed so as to intercept the ball's trajectory prior to it crossing over the net. Palms are held deflected downward about 45-60 degrees toward the interior of the opponents court. A "roof" is a spectacular offensive block that redirects the power and speed of the attack straight down to the attacker's floor, as if the attacker hit the ball into the underside of a peaked house roof.

By contrast, it is called a defensive, or "soft" block if the goal is to control and deflect the hard-driven ball up so that it slows down and becomes more easy to be defended. A well-executed soft-block is performed by jumping and placing one's hands above the net with no penetration into the opponent's court and with the palms up and fingers pointing backward.

Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved. Thus, one may speak of single (or solo), double, or triple block.

Successful blocking does not always result in a "roof" and many times does not even touch the ball. While it’s obvious that a block was a success when the attacker is roofed, a block that consistently forces the attacker away from his or her 'power' or preferred attack into a more easily controlled shot by the defense is also a highly successful block.

At the same time, the block position influences the positions where other defenders place themselves while opponent hitters are spiking.

Dig Woman going for a dig.

Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing, or bumping: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms.

Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing. A player may sometimes perform a "dive", i.e., throw his or her body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball, and land on his or her chest. When the player also slides his or her hand under a ball that is almost touching the court, this is called a "pancake". The pancake is frequently used in indoor volleyball.

Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop his or her body quickly to the floor in order to save the ball. In this situation, the player makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize the chances of injuries.

Coaching

Basic

Coaching for volleyball can be classified under two main categories: match coaching and developmental coaching. The objective of match coaching is to win a match by managing a team's strategy. Developmental coaching emphasizes player development through the reinforcement of basic skills during exercises known as "drills." Drills promote repetition and refinement of volleyball movements, particularly in footwork patterns, body positioning relative to others, and ball contact. A coach will construct drills that simulate match situations thereby encouraging speed of movement, anticipation, timing, communication, and team-work. At the various stages of a player's career, a coach will tailor drills to meet the strategic requirements of the team. The American Volleyball Coaches Association is the largest organization in the world dedicated exclusively to volleyball coaching.

Strategy An image from an international match between Italy and Russia in 2005. A Russian player on the left has just served, with three men of his team next to the net moving to their assigned block positions from the starting ones. Two others, in the back-row positions, are preparing for defense. Italy, on the right, has three men in a line, each preparing to pass if the ball reaches him. The setter is waiting for their pass while the middle hitter with no. 10 will jump for a quick hit if the pass is good enough. Alessandro Fei (no. 14) has no passing duties and is preparing for a back-row hit on the right side of the field. Note the two liberos with different color dress. Middle hitters/blockers are commonly substituted by liberos in their back-row positions.

Player specialization

There are 5 positions filled on every volleyball team at the elite level. Setter, Outside Hitter/Left Side Hitter, Middle Hitter, Opposite Hitter/Right Side Hitter and Libero/Defensive Specialist. Each of these positions plays a specific, key role in winning a volleyball match.

* Setters have the task for orchestrating the offense of the team. They aim for second touch and their main responsibility is to place the ball in the air where the attackers can place the ball into the opponents' court for a point. They have to be able to operate with the hitters, manage the tempo of their side of the court and choose the right attackers to set. Setters need to have swift and skillful appraisal and tactical accuracy, and must be quick at moving around the court.

* Liberos are defensive players who are responsible for receiving the attack or serve. They are usually the players on the court with the quickest reaction time and best passing skills. Libero means 'free' as they have the ability to substitute for any other player on the court during each play. They do not necessarily need to be tall, as they never play at the net, which allows shorter players with strong passing and defensive skills to excel in the position and play an important role in the team's success. A player designated as a libero for a match may not play other roles during that match. Liberos wear a different color jersey than their teammates.

* Middle blockers or Middle hitters are players that can perform very fast attacks that usually take place near the setter. They are specialized in blocking, since they must attempt to stop equally fast plays from their opponents and then quickly set up a double block at the sides of the court. In non-beginners play, every team will have two middle hitters.

* Outside hitters or Left side hitters attack from near the left antenna. The outside hitter is usually the most consistent hitter on the team and gets the most sets. In accurate first passes usually result in a set to the outside hitter rather than middle or opposite. Since most sets to the outside are high, the outside hitter may take a longer approach, always starting from outside the court sideline. In non-beginners play, there are again two outside hitters on every team in every match.

* Opposite hitters or Right side hitters carry the defensive workload for a volleyball team in the front row. Their primary responsibilities are to put up a well formed block against the opponents Outside Hitters and serve as a backup setter. Sets to the opposite usually go to the right side of the antennae.

Formations

The three standard volleyball formations are known as "4-2", "6-2" and "5-1", which refers to the number of hitters and setters respectively. 4-2 is a basic formation used only in beginners' play, while 5-1 is by far the most common formation in high-level play.

4-2

The 4-2 formation has four hitters and two setters. The setters usually set from the middle front or right front position. The team will therefore have two front-row attackers at all times. In the international 4-2, the setters set from the right front position. The international 4-2 translates more easily into other forms of offense.

The setters line up opposite each other in the rotation. The typical lineup has two outside hitters. By aligning like positions opposite themselves in the rotation, there will always be one of each position in the front and back rows. After service, the players in the front row move into their assigned positions, so that the setter is always in middle front. Alternatively, the setter moves into the right front and has both a middle and an outside attacker; the disadvantage here lies in the lack of an offside hitter, allowing one of the other team's blockers to "cheat in" on a middle block.

The clear disadvantage to this offensive formation is that there are only two attackers, leaving a team with fewer offensive weapons.

Another aspect is to see the setter as an attacking force, albeit a weakened force, because when the setter is in the front court they are able to 'tip' or 'dump', so when the ball is close to the net on the second touch, the setter may opt to hit the ball over with one hand. This means that the blocker who would otherwise not have to block the setter is engaged and may allow one of the hitters to have an easier attack.

6-2

In the 6-2 formation, a player always comes forward from the back row to set. The three front row players are all in attacking positions. Thus, all six players act as hitters at one time or another, while two can act as setters. So the 6-2 formation is actually a 4-2 system, but the back-row setter penetrates to set.

The 6-2 lineup thus requires two setters, who line up opposite to each other in the rotation. In addition to the setters, a typical lineup will have two middle hitters and two outside hitters. By aligning like positions opposite themselves in the rotation, there will always be one of each position in the front and back rows. After service, the players in the front row move into their assigned positions.

The advantage of the 6-2 is that there are always three front-row hitters available, maximizing the offensive possibilities. However, not only does the 6-2 require a team to possess two people capable of performing the highly specialized role of setter, it also requires both of those players to be effective offensive hitters when not in the setter position. At the international level, only the Cuban National Women's Team employs this kind of formation. It is also used in Women's NCAA play, partially due to the variant rules used which allow 12[15] substitutions per set (as opposed to the 6 allowed in the standard rules).

5-1

The 5-1 formation has only one player who assumes setting responsibilities regardless of his or her position in the rotation. The team will therefore have three front-row attackers when the setter is in the back row, and only two when the setter is in the front row, for a total of five possible attackers.

The player opposite the setter in a 5-1 rotation is called the opposite hitter. In general, opposite hitters do not pass; they stand behind their teammates when the opponent is serving. The opposite hitter may be used as a third attack option (back-row attack) when the setter is in the front row: this is the normal option used to increase the attack capabilities of modern volleyball teams. Normally the opposite hitter is the most technical skilled hitter of the team. Back-row attacks generally come from the back-right position (position 1), but are increasingly performed from back-center in high-level play.

The big advantage of this system is that the setter always has 3 hitters to vary sets with. If the setter does this well, the opponent's middle blocker may not have enough time to block with the outside hitter, increasing the chance for the attacking team to make a point.

There is another advantage: when the setter is a front-row player, he or she is allowed to jump and "dump" the ball onto the opponent's side. This too can confuse the opponent's blocking players: the setter can jump and dump or can set to one of the hitters. A good setter knows this and thus won't only jump to dump or to set for a quick hit, but as well to confuse the opponent.

The 5-1 offense is actually a mix of 6-2 and 4-2: when the setter is in the front row, the offense looks like a 4-2; when the setter is in the back row, the offense looks like a 6-2.

Variations and related games Main article: Volleyball variations

There are many variations on the basic rules of volleyball. By far the most popular of these is beach volleyball, which is played on sand with two people per team, and rivals the main sport in popularity.

Some games related to volleyball include:

* Newcomb ball (or sometimes spelled "Nuke 'Em") - where the ball is caught and thrown instead of hit, and which rivalled volleyball in popularity until the 1920s * Prisoner Ball - also played with volleyball court and a volleyball. People can be called out, back in. * Footvolley - a sport from Brazil in which the hands and arms are not used but most else is like beach volleyball.||||||||http://www.teamuniform.com/||||new||||1||||||||||New||||||||||||||0||~~minimum-quantity~~1~~|^^|302206||item.||custom-page||||https://s.turbifycdn.com/aah/yhst-16243122201164/ankle-length-pro-style-adult-baseball-pants-3226-3.gif||||||Ankle Length Pro Style Adult Baseball Pants - 3226||302206||||||35.960||39.950 ||35.960 ||Ankle Length Pro Style Adult Baseball Pants - 3226||||2.000 ||In Stock||1||1||0||0||||||Ankle Length Pro Style Adult Baseball Pants - 3226||These Ankle Length Pro Adult Baseball Pants are made of pro weight double-knit polyester. They feature a wide anti-roll waistband, pro style tunnel belt loops, brass zipper and dual snap closure. They also have two reinforced set-in rear pockets, extra large double knee to bottom of pant and the pro series logo.