polo, game played on horseback between two teams of four players each who use mallets with long, flexible handles to drive a wooden ball down a grass field and between two goal posts. It is the oldest of equestrian sports.
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History.
A game of Central Asian origin, polo was first played in Persia (Iran) at dates given from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD. Polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, usually the king’s guard or other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100 to a side, it was a miniature battle.
In time polo became a Persian national sport played extensively by the nobility. Women as well as men played the game, as indicated by references to the queen and her ladies engaging King Khosrow II Parvīz and his courtiers in the 6th century AD.
From Persia the game spread to Arabia, then to Tibet (the English word polo is the Balti word meaning “ball”), to China, and to Japan. In China (910) the death of a favoured relative in a game prompted Emperor A-pao-chi to order the beheading of all surviving players.
Polo was introduced into India by the Muslim conquerors in the 13th century; but, although the game had been described in Sir Anthony Sherley’s Travels to Persia (1613), the first Europeans to play the game were British tea planters in Assam, who formed the first European polo club in 1859 at Silchar. The Calcutta Polo Club was formed in the early 1860s. Polo spread rapidly after a captain in the 10th Hussars stationed in India saw a match early in 1866 and immediately formed a team from among his fellow officers. Before the year ended, informal matches were held between British cavalry units stationed in India. In 1869 a challenge round was held between the 10th Hussars and the 9th Lancers in England. At this time there were eight men to a side and almost no rules. Polo grew rapidly in England, with matches at Richmond Park and Hurlingham attracting more than 10,000 spectators by 1875. After it had been introduced by the military, the sport of polo remained popular with them but also spread to the universities and was popular with the nobility and royalty.
In 1876, the sportsman and newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett saw his first polo game and introduced it in the United States. Later that year informal games were being played in New York City and by 1877 at Jerome Park racetrack in Westchester County, N.Y., where the Westchester Polo Club was founded in this latter year. In 1881 the Meadow Brook Club was formed in Long Island, N.Y., by such early outstanding players as Thomas Hitchcock, Sr., August Belmont, and Benjamin Nicoll. The size of the team was reduced to five and then, in 1881 in the United States and in 1883 in England, to four, the present number. Though the rules of the Hurlingham Club of England (which was founded in 1886) were at first used in the United States, in 1888 a system of handicapping players was devised to equalize tournament play. The Polo Association (later the United States Polo Association) was founded in 1890 and standardized the rules. Polo spread throughout the country, although the game long remained one for the rich because of the expense of acquiring and maintaining a stable of polo ponies. Outside the United States, the game’s governing body is the Hurlingham Polo Association, which maintains relations with many national bodies.
International competition.
The first international competition took place in 1886 when the United States unsuccessfully challenged the English, then the undisputed world leaders in polo, for the Westchester Cup. England defended the Cup successfully in 1902, but the United States won in 1909. The Cup was contested nine additional times (the last in 1939), with the Americans winning each time except in 1914. The next international meeting was in 1971, when the United States defeated England for the Coronation Cup, a single-game rather than a three-game match, thereafter held annually.
After 1909 the style of the game changed from the relatively slow English form of play characterized by short, controlled hitting. American polo players used a long-hitting, fast-moving, wide-open style that revolutionized the sport. The rules of the two countries were eventually assimilated, the United States adopting the English rule permitting a player to hook an opponent’s stick with his mallet, while the English abandoned their offside rule that forbade players preceding the ball.
From 1909 to 1950 the United States was supreme in polo. Through the 1920s and ’30s polo became increasingly popular in Argentina, and in 1928 the first Copa de las Americas (Cup of the Americas) was contested between the United States and Argentina. Since then Argentina has become the uncontested master of international polo. Polo became the Argentine national game, and crowds exceeded 60,000. International matches commercially sponsored (mainly at Boca Raton, Fla.) were held in the 1970s, and European championships were inaugurated in 1980.
Although in the 20th century it is far from common, British and American women also play polo. In the United States, women compete against women on the collegiate level, and there is a women’s National Handicap competition. Occasionally a woman also acts as the fourth member of an otherwise all-male team.
The game.
Polo is played on an outdoor grass field 300 yards (274.3 m) long by 160 yards wide. Centred at each end are lightweight goalposts 8 yards apart. A score is made by hitting the ball between the goalposts. Play begins with the two teams of four lined up facing each other in the centre of the field. One of the umpires (there are two mounted umpires on the field and a referee on the sidelines) bowls the ball between the teams. Then, with passes to teammates, speed, and maneuvering, each team tries to score as the opponents try to prevent a score. A game consists of six periods of 7 1/2 minutes each, called chukkers, chukkars, or chukkas. Eight chukkers are played in Argentina, and four is a common number in England and on the European continent.
The players.
Each player is assigned a position with certain responsibilities, but the positions are numbered, not named. The basic duties of the players are as follows: Number One is usually the novice or weakest player on the team, though the position is one of the most difficult to play. Number One needs anticipation, determination, and self-control, being theoretically responsible for scoring goals and neutralizing the opposing Number Four (defensive player). Number Two is the “hustler” or “scrambler,” always scrapping for the ball. He needs extremely maneuverable, fast ponies, a keen eye, and an optimistic, aggressive nature. Number Three, who plays quarterback, is a kind of pivot man. He must be a long, powerful hitter and is the tactical leader. He must feed balls up to Number One and Number Two, but he must also help maintain a solid defense. Number Three is usually the best player on the team. Number Four is primarily a defensive player, who, though he may move anywhere on the field, mainly functions to prevent scoring.
Polo ponies.
Restrictions on size were removed after World War I, and the term pony is purely traditional. The mount is a full-sized horse and should have docility, speed, endurance, and intelligence. The pony is judged to be 60 to 75 percent of a player’s ability. At first only Thoroughbreds were used, but horses of mixed breeding are now common. Most of the best ponies are bred in Argentina or in the Southwestern or Rocky Mountain regions of the United States, where they are broken early and are worked as cow ponies. A training period beginning at about age five lasts from six months to two years. Ponies reach their peak at about age 9 or 10 but, barring accidents, may play until age 18 or 20.
Handicaps.
Each player is rated from 0 to 10 according to his ability in competition. Minus ratings such as -1 and -2 are also used. Rating is based on horsemanship, hitting ability, knowledge of the game, quality of horses, and sportsmanship. The number of 10-goal players has not increased, though the total number of players has. Argentine dominance is reflected in a virtual monopoly of active 10-goal players.
Equipment.
Each player wears a protective helmet, riding boots to just below the knees, and a coloured shirt bearing the number of his position. He may also wear knee pads and spurs (not sharp) and carry a whip. The ball for outdoor polo is made of bamboo or willow root about 3 1/4 inches (8.3 cm) in diameter and weighing about 4 ounces (113.4 g). The mallet has a rubber-wrapped grip with a webbed thong for wrapping around the hand and a flexible bamboo-cane shaft with a bamboo head 9 1/2 inches in length, the whole weighing about 7 ounces and varying from 48 to 53 inches, depending on pony size and length of a player’s arm. The ball is struck with the side of the mallet, not the end.
Saddles are English-style with deep seats like jumping saddles. The pony’s front legs are bandaged from just below the knee to the ankle to prevent injury, and the pony’s mane is clipped and its tail braided to prevent interference with the mallet swing.
Indoor, or arena, polo.
The indoor game was introduced in the United States and is played predominantly there, thus allowing polo in winter. The field is 100 yards long and 50 yards wide, with wooden boards 4–4 1/2 feet (1.2–1.4 m) high to keep the ball in play. The ball is inflatable leather, 4 1/2 inches in diameter and weighing at least 6 ounces. A team has three players instead of four as in the outdoor game. Except for some minor rule changes, the indoor game is basically the same as the outdoor.
Thomas Hitchcock, Jr.
- Born:
- February 11, 1900 Aiken South Carolina
Thomas Hitchcock, Jr., byname Tommy Hitchcock, (born February 11, 1900, Aiken, South Carolina, U.S.—died April 19, 1944, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England), American polo player, generally considered the greatest in the history of the sport.
The son of an outstanding player, Hitchcock achieved a 10-goal rating (the highest awarded) in 18 of the 19 seasons from 1922 through 1940. He was a member of four U.S. National Open championship teams (1923, 1927, 1935, 1936) and of five U.S. teams that won Westchester Cup competitions with Great Britain (1921, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1939).
In World War I Hitchcock was a combat aviator with the Lafayette Escadrille, a French unit composed of volunteers from the United States. A fighter group commander in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he was killed in an air crash.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
dog racing
- Related Topics:
- dog dogsled racing coursing greyhound racing
dog racing, also called greyhound racing, the racing of greyhounds around an enclosed track in pursuit of an electrically controlled and propelled mechanical hare (rabbit). Dog racing is a 20th-century outgrowth of the older sport of coursing, in which dogs hunted by sight rather than scent.
© Himage/stock.adobe.com
O.P. Smith demonstrated dog racing in 1919 at Emeryville, California, and the first track opened there that year. The sport was introduced in England in 1926 and became more popular there than in the United States. Dog racing later spread to such other countries as Ireland, Belgium, Australia, and Mexico.
In England there are normally eight races to a meeting. The National Greyhound Racing Club (founded 1928), the governing body, established race distances for flat and hurdle races from 230 to 1,200 yards (210 to 1,100 metres). Usually no more than six greyhounds run in a race, which is run on grass. Most races are held at night under lights.
In the United States, dog racing started in California, but the sport had spread as far east as Florida by the mid-1920s. It eventually became a popular pastime in many states. However, in the late 20th century, efforts began to end dog racing over concerns about the animals’ welfare. In the 1990s, states started banning the sport, and, by the early 21st century, only a handful of states continued to hold dog races. In those places, the sport is under the supervision of state commissions. Eight dogs compete in each race, and there may be 10 or 11 races to a program. Dog tracks in the United States are made of sand and loam and are normally 1/4 mile (400 metres), most races being at 5/16 or 3/8 mile. Betting, an essential feature of dog racing in most countries, is by the pari-mutuel (totalizator) system.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Lewis.
buzkashī
- Related Topics:
- horse
buzkashī, (Persian: “goat dragging”) also spelled bozkashī, a rugged equestrian game, played predominantly by Turkic peoples in northern Afghanistan, in which riders compete to seize and retain control of a goat or calf carcass.
Buzkashī has two main forms: the traditional, grassroots game, known as tūdabarāy (Persian [Dari]: “coming out of the crowd”), and the modern government-sponsored version, qarajāy (“black place”). Both feature mounted competitors who struggle for control of a decapitated, dehoofed, and, sometimes, gutted carcass weighing anywhere from 40 to 100 pounds (20 to 50 kg), the eviscerated body being lighter. Neither style has many formal rules, but common etiquette prohibits a player from biting or pulling the hair of an opponent, grabbing the reins of an opponent’s mount, or using weapons. Traditional tūdabarāy games, however, have no formal teams and are not played within clearly defined spatial boundaries. Expert riders known as chapandāzān (singular chapandāz) dominate play, but—in games that often involve hundreds of riders—everyone has the right to compete. The objective of play in the tūdabarāy style is, from an initial mounted scrum, to gain sole control of the carcass and ride it free and clear of all other riders. “Free and clear,” however, is difficult to judge, and disputes are common. Violent play can readily shift to real violence.
The goals and boundaries of the government-sponsored qarajāy style are more clearly defined, and thus games are easier to control. Two teams that rarely exceed 10–12 riders contend over a defined field with set flags and circles—the “black places”—as goals. In more stable times, the Kabul tournament referees were usually military officers who controlled quarrelsome riders with threats of incarceration.
While participants may regard buzkashī as lighthearted fun, both forms of the game are played in an implicitly political context, in which patrons—in northern Afghanistan, the traditional elite (khans)—seek to demonstrate, and thus enhance, their capacity to control events in the country’s ever-shifting power structure. Patrons breed and train horses and hire chapandāzān to ride them. Riders of all skill levels meet at various ceremonial gatherings (tūʾīs), the centerpiece of which is a day or more of buzkashī competition. These gatherings are status-oriented events that publicly test the social, economic, and political resources of the sponsoring khan—or, for qarajāy, of the government. In tūdabarāy, a number of rounds of buzkashī are played per day, and the sponsor awards prizes to the winner of each. If the sponsor’s resources prove sufficient and he is able to prevent excessive violence, the tūʾī is generally deemed a success, and he gains status; if the sponsor fails, his reputation can be ruined.
Buzkashī originated among the nomadic Turkic peoples (Uzbek, Turkmen, Kazak, and Kyrgyz)—likely as an entertaining variant of ordinary herding or raiding—who spread westward from China and Mongolia between the 10th and 15th centuries; the descendants of these people are now the game’s core players. It is popular predominantly in Afghanistan but also is retained as a self-conscious cultural remnant in the Muslim republics north of Afghanistan and in parts of northwestern China. Other ethnic groups in northern Afghanistan have more recently entered the culture of buzkashī, including Persian (Dari)-speaking Tajiks and Ḥazāra from western Afghanistan and Pashtun migrants from south of the Hindu Kush mountain range.
Beginning in the early 1950s, the Kabul-based central government hosted national tournaments, first on the birthday of King Mohammad Zahir Shah (reigned 1933–73) and then on dates politically advantageous to subsequent regimes. The government had complete control over buzkashī matches by 1977. As central authority diminished during the Afghan War (1978–92), so, too, did the ability of the then-Marxist government to stage buzkashī tournaments in Kabul. As a result, the regime’s prestige was damaged, and it forsook further efforts to stage tournaments after 1982. Subsequently, opposition mujahideen commanders in the countryside began sponsoring their own buzkashī matches, and after that time Afghan refugees sometimes played the game in Pakistan.
In the United States, dog racing started in California, but the sport had spread as far east as Florida by the mid-1920s. It eventually became a popular pastime in many states. However, in the late 20th century, efforts began to end dog racing over concerns about the animals’ welfare. In the 1990s, states started banning the sport, and, by the early 21st century, only a handful of states continued to hold dog races. In those places, the sport is under the supervision of state commissions. Eight dogs compete in each race, and there may be 10 or 11 races to a program. Dog tracks in the United States are made of sand and loam and are normally 1/4 mile (400 metres), most races being at 5/16 or 3/8 mile. Betting, an essential feature of dog racing in most countries, is by the pari-mutuel (totalizator) system.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Lewis.
buzkashī
buzkashī, (Persian: “goat dragging”) also spelled bozkashī, a rugged equestrian game, played predominantly by Turkic peoples in northern Afghanistan, in which riders compete to seize and retain control of a goat or calf carcass.
Buzkashī has two main forms: the traditional, grassroots game, known as tūdabarāy (Persian [Dari]: “coming out of the crowd”), and the modern government-sponsored version, qarajāy (“black place”). Both feature mounted competitors who struggle for control of a decapitated, dehoofed, and, sometimes, gutted carcass weighing anywhere from 40 to 100 pounds (20 to 50 kg), the eviscerated body being lighter. Neither style has many formal rules, but common etiquette prohibits a player from biting or pulling the hair of an opponent, grabbing the reins of an opponent’s mount, or using weapons. Traditional tūdabarāy games, however, have no formal teams and are not played within clearly defined spatial boundaries. Expert riders known as chapandāzān (singular chapandāz) dominate play, but—in games that often involve hundreds of riders—everyone has the right to compete. The objective of play in the tūdabarāy style is, from an initial mounted scrum, to gain sole control of the carcass and ride it free and clear of all other riders. “Free and clear,” however, is difficult to judge, and disputes are common. Violent play can readily shift to real violence.
The goals and boundaries of the government-sponsored qarajāy style are more clearly defined, and thus games are easier to control. Two teams that rarely exceed 10–12 riders contend over a defined field with set flags and circles—the “black places”—as goals. In more stable times, the Kabul tournament referees were usually military officers who controlled quarrelsome riders with threats of incarceration.
While participants may regard buzkashī as lighthearted fun, both forms of the game are played in an implicitly political context, in which patrons—in northern Afghanistan, the traditional elite (khans)—seek to demonstrate, and thus enhance, their capacity to control events in the country’s ever-shifting power structure. Patrons breed and train horses and hire chapandāzān to ride them. Riders of all skill levels meet at various ceremonial gatherings (tūʾīs), the centerpiece of which is a day or more of buzkashī competition. These gatherings are status-oriented events that publicly test the social, economic, and political resources of the sponsoring khan—or, for qarajāy, of the government. In tūdabarāy, a number of rounds of buzkashī are played per day, and the sponsor awards prizes to the winner of each. If the sponsor’s resources prove sufficient and he is able to prevent excessive violence, the tūʾī is generally deemed a success, and he gains status; if the sponsor fails, his reputation can be ruined.
Buzkashī originated among the nomadic Turkic peoples (Uzbek, Turkmen, Kazak, and Kyrgyz)—likely as an entertaining variant of ordinary herding or raiding—who spread westward from China and Mongolia between the 10th and 15th centuries; the descendants of these people are now the game’s core players. It is popular predominantly in Afghanistan but also is retained as a self-conscious cultural remnant in the Muslim republics north of Afghanistan and in parts of northwestern China. Other ethnic groups in northern Afghanistan have more recently entered the culture of buzkashī, including Persian (Dari)-speaking Tajiks and Ḥazāra from western Afghanistan and Pashtun migrants from south of the Hindu Kush mountain range.
Beginning in the early 1950s, the Kabul-based central government hosted national tournaments, first on the birthday of King Mohammad Zahir Shah (reigned 1933–73) and then on dates politically advantageous to subsequent regimes. The government had complete control over buzkashī matches by 1977. As central authority diminished during the Afghan War (1978–92), so, too, did the ability of the then-Marxist government to stage buzkashī tournaments in Kabul. As a result, the regime’s prestige was damaged, and it forsook further efforts to stage tournaments after 1982. Subsequently, opposition mujahideen commanders in the countryside began sponsoring their own buzkashī matches, and after that time Afghan refugees sometimes played the game in Pakistan.
three-day event
- Key People:
- Charles Ferdinand Pahud de Mortanges
- Related Topics:
- horse dressage show jumping
three-day event, also called Horse Trials, equestrian competition, testing the overall abilities of horse and rider in competition at dressage, cross-country and endurance riding, and stadium show jumping.
The first day’s event, the dressage competition, tests the horse’s obedience and the rider’s ability. It consists of a series of movements at the trot, walk, and canter; performance is judged on a point system of from 0 to 6 points for each required gait. “General impression” is also judged, and points are deducted for performing the movements in the wrong order.
The second day’s competition, considered the most difficult and most important event of the three-day competition, is a test of speed, endurance, and jumping ability on a course divided into steeplechase, cross-country, and two road and track sections. The length of the course varies according to the significance of the competition, with some championship courses equalling 22 miles (35 km).
The final day of the three-day event is devoted to a show jumping competition designed to demonstrate a horse’s ability to perform after the severe endurance test of the second day. In this competition, which is not considered a difficult test of jumping ability, the horse hurdles 10 to 12 obstacles over a distance of 820 to 984 yards (750 to 900 m) at an average speed of 15 miles (24 km) an hour. As in the second day’s competition, penalty marks are given for failing to clear obstacles and for exceeding the time limit. During the three-day event, both team and individual scores are recorded, team scores by totaling the points of the best three of the four team members.
Originating as a cavalry test for officers’ chargers, the three-day event is still called the militaire on the Continent. The Fédération Équestre Internationale (International Equestrian Federation), which supervises international competition, calls the event Concours Complet d’Équitation (“Complete Competitive Examination in Horsemanship”). Individual and team three-day events have been held at every Olympic Games from 1912. At the 1996 Games separate competitions decided team and individual scores.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
softball
softball, a variant of baseball and a popular participant sport, particularly in the United States. It is generally agreed that softball developed from a game called indoor baseball, first played in Chicago in 1887. It became known in the United States by various names, such as kitten ball, mush ball, diamond ball, indoor–outdoor, and playground ball. There were wide variances in playing rules, size and type of playing equipment, and dimensions of the playing field.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-DIG-ppmsca-18407)
In 1923 a rules committee was appointed to publish and circulate a standard set of rules. The committee was later enlarged to form the International Joint Rules Committee on Softball, which came to include representatives of a number of organizations that promote and sponsor softball. The Amateur Softball Association of America, organized in 1933, came to be the recognized governing agency for promotion and control of organized national competition.
National Photo Company Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-DIG-npcc-00406)
The Fédération Internationale de Softball (International Softball Federation), which was formed in 1952, acts as liaison between more than 40 softball organizations of several countries. Headquarters are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The federation coordinates international competition and regular regional and world championship tournaments for men and women. In 1996 a women’s softball competition was added to the Olympic Games. It was removed from the Games following the 2008 Summer Olympics but was added back to the program of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were postponed until 2021, owing to a worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The fundamentals of softball are the same as those of baseball. Batting and fielding strategy are similar, but softball is played on a much smaller area, and a game is only seven innings long.
The regulation playing field for softball includes a diamond-shaped area with 60-foot (18.3-metre) baselines. The pitching distance for men is 46 feet (14 metres) and for women 43 feet (13.11 metres). Bats must be round, not more than 34 inches (86.4 cm) long, and not more than 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) in diameter at the largest part. The official softball is a smooth-seam ball 12 inches (30.5 cm) in circumference, weighing between 6.25 and 7 ounces (177 and 198 grams).
In softball the ball is delivered by an underhand motion, whereas in baseball the pitch is overhand or sidearm. Base stealing is permitted in both games, but in softball the runner must keep contact with the base until the pitcher releases the ball on delivery to the batter.
A popular variation of softball called slow-pitch may be played with regulation equipment. The major differences from softball (fast-pitch) are that there are 10 members on a team, the pitching distance for men and for women is 46 feet, and a pitched ball must be delivered at moderate speed with an arc of at least 3 feet in its flight toward the batter. Speed and height of the pitch are left to the judgment of an umpire, who may eject a pitcher for repeatedly throwing the ball too fast. Base stealing is not allowed in slow-pitch.
Another variation, popular especially in Chicago and other midwestern American cities, is played with a ball that is 16 inches (40.64 cm) in circumference on a diamond whose base paths are 55 feet (16.8 metres) for men and 50 feet long (15.25 metres) for women. The ball is delivered as in slow-pitch, and fielders typically play without gloves.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.
korfball
korfball, game similar to netball and basketball, invented in 1901 by an Amsterdam schoolmaster, Nico Broekhuysen. It was first demonstrated in the Netherlands in 1902 and was played on an international level, primarily in Europe, by the 1970s. It was devised as a game for both sexes. A national association was formed in 1903, and the game spread to Belgium, Indonesia, Suriname, Germany, Spain, New Guinea, and England. The International Korfball Federation, which was established as Fédération Internationale de Korfball in 1933, increased its membership to more than 50 countries by the early 21st century.
Korfball is played by two teams of eight (four men and four women). It is played indoors on a rectangular field 131 feet (40 metres) long and 66 feet (20 metres) wide and outdoors on a field that is 197 feet (60 metres) by 98 feet (30 metres). At either end of the field, a short distance inside the end line, is a goalpost supporting a cylindrical basket (“korf”) open at both ends, with the rim of the basket 11.5 feet (3.5 metres) above the ground. The object of the game is to throw a ball so that it passes through the korf from above, scoring one point. The korf is about 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter and 10 inches (25.4 cm) high, and the ball is about 13.6 inches (34.5 cm) in circumference and 15–17 ounces (425–475 grams) in weight.
The field is marked into two zones—defense and attack—each occupied by two men and two women from both teams, their movement being restricted to their zone. An indoor game consists of two 30-minute halves, an outdoor game 35-minute halves. Play begins with a free pass from centre. Action consists almost entirely of passing the ball from hand to hand and from one zone to the next. Kicking, punching, handing off, and running with the ball are illegal. Although no body contact is permitted, guarding is close, with players guarding opponents of the same sex. A penalty shot at goal from a penalty mark 13 feet away is awarded to the victim of a major violation of rules.
After two goals are scored, players move to the next zone: defense to attack, and attack to defense. Thus, players are thrust into a variety of playing situations.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.
water polo
- Key People:
- Dezsö Gyarmati Henry Taylor
- Related Topics:
- Olympic Games
water polo, sport played in a swimming pool by teams of seven with a buoyant ball resembling an association football (soccer ball). The game was originally called “football-in-the-water,” and indeed it is more like association football and basketball than polo, the name of the sport coming from an earlier form of the game in which players rode barrels painted like horses and struck the ball with sticks. The aim of the game is to score a goal by throwing or dribbling the ball between the goalposts and under the crossbar of the defenders’ goal. The sport originated in Great Britain in the 1870s. The first rules were established in Scotland in 1877, when goalposts were suggested. When the first international water-polo match was held in London in 1890, Scotland won although the team was playing by British rules, which subsequently formed the basis of international regulations. The game was introduced to the United States in the 1880s. Great Britain was the first winner at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900 and also at the 1908, 1912, and 1920 games. Great Britain’s early world domination was overtaken by Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and eastern European countries.
Before World War II, two kinds of water polo were played: the water-soccer type, which used a fully inflated ball, weighing between 400 and 450 grams (14 and 16 ounces), and emphasized skillful passing; and the rugged body-contact style of play favoured in the United States, using a semi-inflated ball, with the premium placed on retaining possession. After 1937, however, only the game with the fully inflated ball has been officially recognized. Water polo is played in most parts of the world, and international competition is widespread. Women began competing internationally in 1978.
A water-polo team consists of seven active players and up to six substitutes. Each team wears either blue or white caps (red for the goalkeepers, with a blue or white number one; other players are numbered from 2 through 13). No grease or oil is allowed on the body. The two referees have final authority in each game; other officials include one or two timekeepers; one or two secretaries, who keep records of the many kinds of fouls, such as holding or hitting an opponent; and two goal judges. Water polo is regulated by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (International Amateur Swimming Federation; founded 1908) through its International Water Polo Committee, which issues Rules of Water Polo.
Water polo is a rough and demanding sport. The minimum depth of the pool is 2 metres (6.5 feet). The pool is 30 metres (98 feet) long between goals, and 20 metres (65 feet) wide. The width between goalposts is 3 metres (9.8 feet), the crossbar being at least 0.9 metre (3 feet) above the surface of the water. Nets are attached to the goalposts and crossbars. Pools for women’s games are smaller (25 metres by 17 metres [82 feet by 56 feet]).
This article was most recently revised and updated by Laura Etheredge.
All-America team
- Key People:
- Walter Camp Grantland Rice
- Related Topics:
- sports
- Notable Honorees:
- O.J. Simpson Jim Thorpe Lawrence Taylor Steve Young
All-America team, honorific title given to outstanding U.S. athletes in a specific sport in a given year competing at the collegiate and secondary school levels. Originally the term referred to a select group of college gridiron football players. Athletes selected to an All-America team are known as All-Americans.
The first All-America team comprised football players, picked by Caspar Whitney and Walter Camp in 1889 for a magazine called The Week’s Sport. Whitney and Camp continued to collaborate in selecting All-America teams, working for The Week’s Sport again in 1890 and then for Harper’s Weekly from 1891 through 1897. Camp made his own selections for Collier’s magazine from 1898 through 1924. Camp’s reputation as football player, coach, and rules maker made his selections generally accepted. When Camp died in 1925, Collier’s engaged Grantland Rice, the era’s most prominent sportswriter, to continue the annual selection.
Even before 1900, other football devotees had begun making their own All-America choices. The number of these selections increased as the popularity of football grew; major newspapers, news services, feature syndicates, and eventually magazines (most notably Look) picked annual teams. Rice and Collier’s began the practice of compiling their selections from the findings of a nationwide board of the American Football Coaches Association, which continues to select an All-America team. The major American news services, Associated Press and United Press International, also use the findings of representatives scattered throughout the country to choose All-America teams, as does the Football Writers Association of America.
All-America teams are now also chosen in such sports as baseball, basketball, swimming, and track and field and consist of athletes from colleges, high schools, and prep schools.
field hockey
- Key People:
- Constance M.K. Applebee Dhyan Chand Marjorie Pollard
- Related Topics:
- Olympic Games sports ice hockey
field hockey, also called hockey, outdoor game played by two opposing teams of 11 players each who use sticks curved at the striking end to hit a small, hard ball into their opponent’s goal. It is called field hockey to distinguish it from the similar game played on ice.
Hockey is believed to date from the earliest civilizations. The Arabs, Greeks, Persians, and Romans each had their own versions, and traces of a stick game played by the Aztec Indians of South America have been found. Hockey can also be identified with other early games, such as hurling and shinty. During the Middle Ages a French stick game called hoquet was played, and the English word may be derived from it.
Hockey began to be played in English schools in the late 19th century, and the first men’s hockey club, at Blackheath in southeastern London, recorded a minute book in 1861. Teddington, another London club, introduced several major variations, including the ban of using hands or lifting sticks above the shoulder, the replacement of the rubber cube by a sphere as the ball, and most importantly, the adopting of a striking circle, which was incorporated into the rules of the newly founded Hockey Association in London in 1886.
The British army was largely responsible for spreading the game, particularly in India and the Far East. International competition began in 1895. By 1928 hockey had become India’s national game, and in the Olympic Games that year the Indian team, competing for the first time, won the gold medal without conceding a goal in five matches. It was the start of India’s domination of the sport, an era that ended only with the emergence of Pakistan in the late 1940s. The call for more international matches led to the introduction in 1971 of the World Cup. Other major international tournaments include the Asian Cup, Asian Games, European Cup, and Pan-American Games. Men’s field hockey was included in the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1920 and then permanently from 1928. Indoor hockey, played by teams of six players with six interchanging substitutes, has become popular in Europe.
Despite the restrictions on sports for ladies during the Victorian era, hockey became increasingly popular among women. Although women’s teams had played regular friendly games since 1895, serious international competition did not begin until the 1970s. The first Women’s World Cup was held in 1974, and women’s hockey became an Olympic event in 1980. The international governing body, the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations, was formed in 1927. The game was introduced into the United States in 1901 by Constance M.K. Applebee, and field hockey subsequently became a popular outdoor team sport among women there, being played in schools, colleges, and clubs.
The game is played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular ground. The field is 100 yards (91.4 metres) long and 60 yards (55 metres) wide, and it is marked with a centre line and two 25-yard lines. The goals are 4 yards (3.66 metres) wide and 7 feet (2.13 metres) high. For a goal (which counts for one point) to be scored, the ball must go into the goal and, while within the shooting circle (semicircle), must have been touched by the stick of an attacker. The ball was originally a cricket ball (cork centre, string-wound, and covered with leather), but plastic balls are also approved. It is about 9 inches (23 cm) in circumference. The stick is usually 36 to 38 inches (about 1 metre) long and weighs 12 to 28 ounces (340 to 790 grams). Only the flat left side of the stick may be used to strike the ball.
The usual composition of a team is five forwards, three halfbacks, two fullbacks, and a goalkeeper. A game consists of two halves of 35 minutes each, with an intermission of 5–10 minutes. A time-out is called only in case of injury. The goalkeeper wears thick, yet lightweight pads and, while in the shooting circle, is allowed to kick the ball or stop it with the foot or the body. All other players, however, may stop the ball with the stick only.
Play is started (and restarted after a goal is scored and after half-time) by a pass-back in the centre of the field. A face-off, or bully, is used to restart the game after an injury or equipment time-out, following simultaneous penalties by both teams, or when the ball becomes trapped in a player’s clothing. In a face-off two players, one from each team, face each other with the ball on the ground between them. After alternately tapping the ground and then his opponent’s stick three times, each player tries to strike the ball, thus putting it into play. There are various provisions for putting the ball into play in case it goes off the field.
There are various fouls in field hockey. The off-side rule, which is designed to prevent a player from getting an advantage by staying up the field ahead of the ball and ahead of fewer than two members of the opposing team, was dropped after the 1996 Olympics. Raising the stick above the shoulder while playing the ball is illegal. Stopping the ball with the hand is a foul, as is stopping it with the body or foot. Causing a dangerous play by raising the ball by undercutting it, as well as hooking an opponent’s stick, are also fouls. Finally, there is the obstruction rule: a player is not permitted to obstruct an opponent by putting his stick or any part of his body between the opponent and the ball or by running between the opponent and the ball. Most fouls are penalized by giving the opposition a free hit from the point of infraction. There is one umpire for each half of the field.
Men’s field hockey World Cup
Results of the men’s field hockey World Cup are provided in the table.
| year | winner | runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pakistan | India |
| 1973 | Netherlands | India |
| 1975 | India | Pakistan |
| 1978 | Pakistan | Netherlands |
| 1982 | Pakistan | West Germany |
| 1986 | Australia | England |
| 1990 | Netherlands | Pakistan |
| 1994 | Pakistan | Netherlands |
| 1998 | Netherlands | Spain |
| 2002 | Germany | Australia |
| 2006 | Germany | Australia |
| 2010 | Australia | Germany |
| 2014 | Australia | Netherlands |
| 2018 | Belgium | Netherlands |
Women’s field hockey World Cup
Results of the women’s field hockey World Cup are provided in the table.
| year | winner | runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Netherlands | Argentina |
| 1976 | West Germany | Argentina |
| 1978 | Netherlands | West Germany |
| 1981 | West Germany | Netherlands |
| 1983 | Netherlands | Canada |
| 1986 | Netherlands | West Germany |
| 1990 | Netherlands | Australia |
| 1994 | Australia | Argentina |
| 1998 | Australia | Netherlands |
| 2002 | Argentina | Netherlands |
| 2006 | Netherlands | Australia |
| 2010 | Argentina | Netherlands |
| 2014 | Netherlands | Australia |
| 2018 | Netherlands | Ireland |
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
