# Sports summarized Technically, *anything* involving two people competing can become a sport. However, many [cultures](people-culture.md) have adopted *watching* specific sports as a widespread recreational activity. For that reason, it helps to penetrate that sport (and get along with that culture) simply by understanding the base rules of that nation's favorite sport. These rules are enough to penetrate the sport, but are *not* exhaustive enough to cover all the basics. The rule-setting varies by each league, and there are always new adaptations that try changing those core rules. It's important to note that sports often become *less* safe by adding [safety](safety.md) features. - Typically, the motivation to implement a safety feature is to protect the players. - However, the increased safety means a higher threshold for taking risks, meaning people become more reckless. - Moving from leather to plastic football helmets means players can use their head as a battering ram, and it increases the risk of concussion. - Moving from leather to padded boxing gloves means boxers can safely strike the face, which increases the risk of brain damage. - Generally, safety features should protect a player from suffering a severe injury, but permit them to still suffer pain from behavior that violates the [rules](people-rules.md) and would have hurt otherwise. [Field and court sports](fun-sports-large.md) ## Small Court Sports ### Basketball Basketball is by far the most well-known indoor sport. The most well-established basketball leagues are the NBA (National Basketball Association) and NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Basketball's Division I. [Basketball courts](fun-sports-basketball.jpg) are always indoors and designed to accommodate both the basketball bouncing and rapid feet movement. The 13 rules were pretty straightforward in 1892 which involved dropping an inflated orange ball into a nailed-up peach basket, but more has been added since then: 1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 2. The ball may be slapped in any direction with one or both hands. 3. A player cannot run with the ball and must throw it from the spot he catches it, with allowance for catching the ball while running. 4. The ball must be held in or between the hands, without arms or body involved. 5. Nobody is allowed in any way to shoulder, hold, push, trip or strike their opponent. person of an opponent shall be allowed. The first time is a foul, and the second disqualifies him until the next goal or, if there was clear intent to hurt them, for the rest of the game, without substitutes. 6. A foul is striking the ball with the fist, violation of rules 3 and 4, and such described in rule 5. 7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls without the *other* side making a foul, the other side receives a goal. 8. A goal is when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there (without falling), providing those defending the goal don't touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge, and the opponent moves the basket, it's a goal. 9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it'll get thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In an argument, the umpire throws it straight in. The thrower is allowed five seconds, and it'll go to his opponent if he holds it longer. If any side delays the game, the umpire will call a foul on them. 10. The umpire judges and notes the fouls, and notifies the referee when three consecutive fouls were made. He can disqualify people according to Rule 5. 11. The referee judges ball and decides when the ball is in play, in bounds, which side it belongs, and keeps the time. He decides when a goal was made and tracks goals and other typical referee duties. 12. The time shall be 2 15-minute halves, with a 5-minute break in-between. 13. The side making the most goals in that time is declared the winner. In a draw, the coach can consent to continue the game until someone makes another goal. This expanded and adapted itself over the years: - The free throw line was specified in 1895, which allowed a distinction between penalties and fouls, and there are many rules that have adapted to give players free shots. - They didn't specify how many players, but the number of players per team solidified at 5 by 1900. - Dribbling was introduced in 1901, meaning a player could bounce the ball once, and was permitted to be continuous as of 1909. - The inconvenience of the peach basket was that someone had to climb and retrieve the ball every time someone scored, so in 1906 they cut the bottom out. - Running with the ball stopped being a foul in 1922 and became a violation, which simply meant a loss of possession. - Originally a player was disqualified on a 2nd foul, but it became 4 fouls in 1911 and 5 in 1945. - The time expanded to 20-24 minutes per half. - To keep the game moving, teams were required in 1933 to advance the ball over the center line within 10 seconds of gaining possession, and it became 8-seconds started in 2000. - There was a three-second rule established in 1936 that prohibited offensive players from staying near their opponents' basket (the "lane" or "key") for over three seconds. - In 1954, to increase the speed of play, players were required to take a shot within 30 seconds. ### Tennis On [a tennis court](fun-sports-tennis.webp), the rules of tennis are relatively straightforward: - The game involves either "singles" or "doubles", which means either 1 or 2 people on a team, and singles is a simple one-on-one match. - Each tennis player stands on opposite sides of the net and hits a tennis ball back and forth with a racket. - The "point" starts with one of the players performing a "serve", and the other player must attempt to "return" the serve after it bounces at least once inside the "service box". - If the server misses the service box, they have a "fault" and can try a "second serve", and if they fail again it's a "double fault" and the server loses the point. - If the serve hits the net cord and bounces inside the correct service box, it's a "let" and the serve is repeated. - If the opponent doesn't return a valid serve, the server gets the point. - Once the ball is in play, each player can win the point by keeping the ball within the court while also trying to force their opponent to make a mistake. - A player can only hit the ball once before returning it to the other side of the net. - The point ends when someone misses the ball, hits the ball out of the court or into the net, or the ball bounces twice. - The point continues if the ball hits the net cord and bounces over the net on the correct side. - When in play, the player loses the point if they touch the net or post, or if they cross over onto the opponent's side of the court. - The boundary lines of the court are part of the court. A ball that hits the line itself is still considered "in". The points are the only complex part of tennis: - Every game involves a set number of matches, which is the best out of an odd number (e.g., best out of 5). - Each player's points progress from 0, to 15, to 30, to 40. - If *both* players reach 40, it's called "love". - A player can move to "advanced" if they score another point. However, if they lose right after that, the score is reset to "love". If they score again *after* attaining "advanced", they win the match. Table tennis and ping pong are *very* similar, smaller versions of tennis, but they have semantic differences: - Table tennis is 7 games of the best of 11 points, while ping pong is the best of 3 rounds of 15 points, with some other variations. - Table tennis allows for various paddles, while ping pong requires everyone using the same paddle. - Official games are run by either the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) or the World Championship of Ping-Pong. Pickleball is a hybrid of tennis and table tennis, often played to scoring 11-points rounds for the best of 3. Racquetball is a variation of tennis with a large, long room: - Most of the rules of tennis are preserved (2-bounce rule, 1 strike per side, etc.). - The requirement is to strike the racquetball across the "service line" with a racquet after bouncing it. - Players take turns within the same court. - There's no out-of-bounds because it's in a large room. - Players aren't allowed to interfere with their opponents' turn. Jai Alai is another racquetball variation, but involves launching a ball with gigantic scoops at a distant wall. Volleyball is another variation of tennis, but typically involves a larger team and batting an inflated ball similar to a round soccer/football with your bare hands. ## Racing All races are the same: cross the finish line faster than your opponents, with everyone sharing the same constraints. The only reason it's still a "sport" is because each racer creates physical constraints against other racers. - It stops being a sport when it's a time attack. - They're sometimes distance races, but can sometimes be a test of endurance. Once you understand the constraints of cycling, automotive, skiing, or whatever, you understand the race. ## Mock Combat The objective of a mock combat match is to subdue the other opponent, typically with restraints on what the combatant is permitted to perform. The conditions vary, but usually mean incapacitating their opponent. Martial arts typically require only the approved maneuvers from that particular martial art, with the winner staying inside a ring. Wrestling borrows from martial arts with approved maneuvers, but winning requires either performing more successful maneuvers than the opponent or pinning the person to the mat. Boxing has bungees around the outside of the ring, and winning either requires delivering more connecting punches or getting the opponent to the floor where they don't come back up again. Mixed martial arts takes everything from boxing, but adds *many* more approved maneuvers and requires the opponent to be pinned like in wrestling. Most popular [video games](computers-software-gamedev.md) for e-sports that aren't strictly racing are mock combat arrangements, typically as thematic variations on first-person or third-person shooters. ## Cue Sports & Croquet Most cue sports (e.g., pool) and croquet involve the players taking turns using an implement to strike a target. The "game" is heavily affected by the placement of the balls. Frequently, players' actions can move balls that obstruct movement by other players. ## Acrobatics Each acrobatic endeavor is the same concept: perform spectacularly difficult maneuvers with a specified object. It can be a skateboard, ice skates, or a unicycle, but the goals are clearly defined based on prior champions in that sport. ## Pure Competitions Other domains aren't really "sports", but are instead simply competitions. - The psychological aspect of comparison is still present, but there is *no* interaction whatsoever from other participants in the role. Some people debate that golf isn't even a sport. In one sense, they're correct because there's *very* limited interaction with the other players, and the sport itself is more a hobby than a competition. Fishing is the standard hobby of fishing, but with a time constraint and the objective to catch the largest or most fish. Bowling is the standard hobby of bowling, but in parallel with other players. All [target shooting](fun-sports-target.jpg) involves striking a distant object (or hitting as close as possible) with a specified distance weapon. - Whether it's shooting guns, bows, or horseshoes, the objective is effectively the same with small variations.