Held
in early modern Olympics, tennis competitions were discontinued after 1924
and then only played as demonstration games in 1968
and 1984. Beginning in 1988 and
played only by those 21 years of age, the gamed is played on a rectangular court that measures 36 feet x 78
feet, with either two to four players using
rackets to hit a
fuzzy,
hollow, rubber ball covered with a type of felt fabric and woven of Dacron, nylon,
and wool. The ball, possessing a diameter of more than 2-1/2
inches but less than 2-5/8 inches, must be hit back and fourth by each player.
Rackets are for the most 27 inches tall. There are no rules and
regulations that say how big or how heavy a racket must be. Most rackets
are made of wood, steel, or metal allay. The tightly woven string is made
of catgut or nylon.
The ball is hit over a 3 foot (l m) high net. If a player hits the ball out of bounds or misses, the other player or team receives a point. The format is similar to volleyball with games, sets, and matches. Each game requires a player to achieve 40 points. In order to win, he/she must score again. If both players are tied at 40, it is called a duce and a player must score twice in a row 15-30-40 to win. After the final game of a set, or series of games, the victor is the competitor who has won the majority of the games.
Table Tennis
You
may know table tennis by another name, Ping-Pong.
Table tennis is like a miniature tennis game played inside on a 3-m
(9-foot) long table with a 15.25-cm (6-inch) high net in the middle. The court
measures 5ft by 9ft. The table is usually dark green with a white line around
the border and through the five-foot side of the table to the other side.
Using paddles, players hit a little hollow ball across the table. A coin is
tossed before the game to see who will serve first. The ball is made celluloid.
It measures from 27mm to 38mm in diameter and weighs 2.4 grams to 2.52 grams.
The paddles can be any size, shape, color, or weight. The paddles are covered
with rubber or sponge. The covering material cannot exceed 4mm thick on either
side of the racket.
The players score points when the other player cannot hit the ball back
to the other player without the ball hitting his/her side or off of the other
players 41/2 side of the table. The first player to reach a total of 21 points
wins, although you must win by at least two points. When both players/teams have
20 points they switch serving every serve until one team/player is winning by two
points. To win a match you must win three out of five games or two out of three
games. Like
in tennis there can be two or four players playing table tennis at one time.
When a game is played with two players the game is called singles, when a game
is played with four players it is called doubles.
Badminton
This sport began thousands of years ago in India. The first standard set of rules were established by the Badminton Association of England in 1895. In 1934, the International Badminton Federation was established. Every three years a number of countries compete in the Thomas Cup for men and the Uber Cup for women. Years ago, it was not played the way we know it now. Instead of using paddles, the players would kick the shuttle. Today, it is played with either two or four players. Light-weight rackets are used and a cork ball fitted with stationary feathers called a shuttlecock, otherwise known as a birdie. Most rackets today are made from aluminum, boron, graphite and titanium. Officially, the racket should measure 26.75 inches.
The shuttlecock is served with an underhand motion in to the opponent’s court. The shuttlecock, when being served, must be hit before it reaches the server’s waist. Also, the racket must be used below the serving hand. The serving hand holds the shuttlecock. You get one try to serve, if you do not complete the serve, it is passed to the opponent. This game is similar to tennis, however the shuttlecock cannot hit the ground. Strategic thoughts are used to fake out the opponent on where the shuttlecock will land.
There are four common strokes used in badminton which are called lob, drop, drive and smash. The first two strokes are similar as these strokes are intended to drop behind the opponent or right over the net. A hard stroke hit on a straight line is called a drive. A hard stroke hit in a downward motions is called a smash. You can use your racket in a forehand or backhand stroke as you would in Tennis. You must serve in order to be able to score a point. You can score a point when the shuttlecock drops or when the opponent performs a fault. A fault can be hitting out of the playing area, touching the net or allowing the shuttlecock to touch the frame of the racket.
It takes 15 points to win a match in the best of three games contest. However, women’s singles end at eleven points. Each badminton match is approximately 45 minutes long, but some professional matches last more than two hours.
When playing the game as a tournament, it must be played on a specially marked court. The court is a rectangle divided by a net suspended from post. The court is divided into two equal parts. The court is divided into a number of sections with various lines
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) consists of 140 member nations. Approximately 200,000,000 play the game today. International competition consists of about 1,000 players. There are a number of officials involved. A referee overlooks the tournament organization while umpires officiate each match. There are ten judges who have the task of determining whether your shuttlecock landed inside or outside the court.
For more information visit:
http://www.usatt.org/index.shtml