The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [17]
In Agility Hopscotch, the player must hop back and forth across the center line without touching any lines or losing her balance. She must hop on her left foot in squares marked L and on her right foot in squares marked R. She may rest with both feet down where the L and R are marked opposite each other.
Agility Hopscotch
Tetherball
TETHERBALL requires a fast mind and equally fast hands to send the ball spiraling around the pole for a win. This was our favorite game growing up and we’d love to see more tetherball courts—and maybe someday tetherball as an Olympic event.
At its most basic, tetherball involves a ball—similar to a volleyball but somewhat squishier—tied to the top of a 10-foot pole by a rope. Two players try to hit the ball in one direction so that the rope winds completely around the pole. (But tetherball is also fun to play by yourself—in your backyard when no one’s around. You can practice and make up games for yourself, too. Like trying to duck before the ball hits you in the head.) Actual tetherball courts have a circle drawn on the ground around the pole and are divided in half. A drawn circle isn’t necessary, but you should expect to need about 8-10 feet of space all around the pole, and each player should stay on her own side of the circle.
RULES
The rules of tetherball are deceptively simple: two people stand opposite each other, one person serves by hitting the ball in one direction around the pole, and the other tries to hit the ball in the opposite direction around the pole. The first player to get the rope wrapped completely around the pole is the winner.
Because the server has a big advantage (she gets to hit the ball first), players can decide to play matches instead of single games. The total number of games comprising the entire match is up to the players to decide, but the winner must win by at least two games. Another way to decrease the serving advantage is to have the player who doesn’t serve choose which side of the circle she is on and which direction she is hitting.
FOULS AND VIOLATIONS
How seriously you take fouls is something that needs to be decided before the game. Fouls include:
♦ Stepping across the center line.
♦ Server hitting the ball twice at the beginning before the opponent hits it once.
♦ Hitting the ball twice while it is still on your side of the circle.
♦ Hitting the ball with any part of the body other than the hand or forearm.
♦ Reaching around the pole and hitting the ball.
♦ Catching or holding the ball.
♦ Throwing the ball.
♦ Touching the pole with any part of your body.
♦ Hitting the rope with any part of your body.
If you only have a few players, you can treat these fouls as mere violations and resume the game by stopping the ball and returning it to where it was wrapped when the violation occurred. The non-violating player gets to serve, and then either player can hit the ball. If a player racks up three violations, the opponent automatically wins.
If the two players commit a violation at the same time, they must do a pole drop to start the game again. Both players hold the ball with one hand, lifting it about three feet away from the pole, directly over the line dividing their two halves of the circle, and then let go of the ball at the same time. The ball should hit the pole, and then either player can hit it to continue the game.
No matter how you decide to play, the only absolute game-ender is grabbing the pole. If a player does that, she immediately loses the game.
EQUIPMENT
The Ball
A tetherball is the only piece of equipment that you must purchase specifically for the game and is similar to a volleyball, but softer. It will have either a loop sticking out of the surface or a recessed spot on the surface of the ball to attach the rope.
The Pole
The best pole for the job is a 10 to 12-foot long, 2-inch diameter steel pipe sunk 2 feet into the ground, with an eyebolt run through