Tetherball

Tetherball is a game for two opposing players. The equipment consists of a 10 ft (3 m), stationary metal pole, from which is hung a ball from a rope, or tether. The two players stand on opposite sides of the pole. Each player tries to hit the ball one way; one clockwise, and one counterclockwise. The game ends when one player manages to wind the ball all the way around the pole so that it is stopped by the rope.

Rules

Rules vary from region to region and even from one court to another, and there is no definitive set of rules that everyone follows.

The game begins when one player serves the ball, usually by holding it in one hand and hitting it with the other. The opposing player then attempts to return the serve by hitting it in the opposite direction. The object is to hit the ball in such a way that one's opponent will be unable to alter the ball's direction; this gives the server an advantage since the server has more control over the ball from the beginning. It is generally acceptable to hit the ball with either the fist or the open hand.

A player can commit a violation by stepping onto his opponent's half of the pole, by catching and throwing ("carrying") the ball, by striking the rope instead of the ball, or by hitting the ball twice before it has either circled the pole or been returned by the opponent (or, in some variants, struck the pole). Generally, after a violation occurs, the game pauses and the ball is returned to the position it was in before the violation; the number of wraps around the pole is re-created. The player who did not commit the violation then serves the ball. If, however, the violation appears to be intentional, it may result in loss of game.

The game ends when one player hits the ball around the pole in their own direction as far as it will go, so that the ball hits the pole. In addition, the ball must strike the pole with the final wrap above a line marked on the pole. A five-foot high mark is satisfactory, though a lower mark might be used for younger players. A match can consist of one, three, five, or more games.

Equipment

Tetherball requires only a stationary pole, a rope, and a ball. Originally a volleyball was used, but today many sporting goods manufacturers make tetherballs specifically out of a butyl inside and a rubber cover. The ball is roughly the size and weight of a volleyball, but is somewhat firmer. Tetherballs usually have a bar recessed in the top that the rope is tied to. Some simply have loops that protrude out, but this is less common as striking the loop with the hand can be painful.

The pole must be 10 feet (3 m) high and completely stationary, meaning that it must either be weighed down (often by a concrete-filled tire), or, in more serious tetherball courts, embedded in the ground. The rope is generally slender nylon, and is long enough that the ball hangs 2 ft (0.6 m) above the ground.

Tetherball is played on many surfaces: sand, gravel, lawn, asphalt, or others. Since it requires only a small area to play in, it can also be played indoors.

wingball

An alternate version of the game marketed as Swingball uses a smaller, softer ball that the players strike with racquets. It can be described as "tether tennis", and is more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, in all of which tetherball (both as described above and as a name) is virtually unknown.

Swingball has a shorter pole (usually some 1.5 metres in height), is portable and the ball flies around the pole at a constant distance from the pole (usually also about 1.5 metres) on a helical screw; the game ends when the ball reaches the top or bottom of the screw. Generally the ball used for these games is either a tennis or a softer, sponge-rubber ball. The racquets are usually the size of tennis racquets but constructed of hard plastic. The game is played informally, usually with the pole being driven into a lawn or other grassy area, or as a holiday game on a flat stretch of sandy beach.

Organizations

Tetherball is an informal sport, and has not seen any organization beyond contests within schools, summer camps, or towns. Professional tetherball does not exist.

External links

* [http://www.toteth.com The Total Tetherball website] — A thorough guide to the sport of tetherball, and a major source for this article.
* [http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh/movies.htm#swingball Animation of the Tetherball] and other movies of dynamical toys