Outdoor games

CONTENTS

ContentsINTRODUCTION :.....................................................................................................................61. CRICKET............................................................................................................................7

2. Gilli-Danda.......................................................................................................................11

Rules.....................................................................................................................................................12

Scoring and outs.................................................................................................................................12

3. KABADDI.........................................................................................................................13

4. Golf...................................................................................................................................13

5. KHO KHO.........................................................................................................................14

6. Hide and Seek.................................................................................................................16

7. Musical Chairs................................................................................................................18

You will need:....................................................................................................................................18

How to play:.......................................................................................................................................18

Hints:...................................................................................................................................................18

8. Football............................................................................................................................19

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9. Basketball.......................................................................................................................20

History..................................................................................................................................................22

10. Baseball...........................................................................................................................22

11. Hockey.............................................................................................................................24

Subtypes of hockey............................................................................................................................24

Bandy...............................................................................................................................................24

Field hockey.....................................................................................................................................25

Ice hockey........................................................................................................................................26

Roller hockey (inline)......................................................................................................................28

Roller hockey (quad)......................................................................................................................28

OUTDOOR GAMES

Sledge hockey.................................................................................................................................29

Street hockey...................................................................................................................................30

12. Badminton.......................................................................................................................30

Rules.....................................................................................................................................................31

Court.....................................................................................................................................................31

Badminton court, isometric view.......................................................................................................31

Serving.................................................................................................................................................32

Scoring.................................................................................................................................................33

13. Kancha: ..........................................................................................................................35

14. Volleyball.........................................................................................................................36

Volleyball in the Olympics..................................................................................................................38

15. Hopscotch.......................................................................................................................40

16. Blindman’s Buff..............................................................................................................41

17. Land and Water...............................................................................................................42

18. Lagori or Pithu................................................................................................................43

19. Chain................................................................................................................................44

20. Kick the Can:...................................................................................................................44

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INTRODUCTION :

When I was a kid, we played outside with the other kids in the neighborhood with most of our free time. We also made the most of recess at school. We kept ourselves quite occupied without any of today’s modern technologies. Listed below are some no-tech games that you may have enjoyed as a kid. I sure did. Some can be done indoors. Some can be done by yourself or with just one friend. But most of them are best when done outside with a group of people. Also, most of these games can be changed or improved by making up your own rules.

Use your imagination!

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1. CRICKET

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket, a set of three wooden stumps sited at each end. One team, designated the batting team, attempts to score as manyruns as possible, whilst their opponents field. Each phase of play is called an innings. After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a set number of overs have been completed, the innings ends and the two teams then swap roles. The winning team is the one that scores the most runs, including any extras gained, during their period batting.

At the start of each game, two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play. The play begins when a designated member of the fielding team, known as the bowler, delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to the other, towards a set of wooden stumps, in front of which stands one of the batsmen, known as the striker. The striker's role is to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps through use of his bat, and simultaneously strike it sufficiently well to score runs. The other batsman, known as the non-striker, waits at the opposite end of the pitch by the bowler. The bowler's intention is to both prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman, at which point the dismissed batsman has to leave the field and another teammate replaces him at the crease.

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The most common forms of dismissal are bowled, when the bowler hits the stumps directly with the ball, leg before wicket, when the batsman prevents the ball from hitting the stumps with his body instead of his bat, and caught, when the batsman hits the ball into the air and it is intercepted by a fielder before touching the ground. Runs are scored through two main methods: either hitting the ball sufficiently powerfully that it crosses the boundary, or through the two batsmen swapping ends by each simultaneously running the length of the pitch in opposite directions whilst the fielders are retrieving the ball. If a fielder is able to retrieve the ball sufficiently quickly and put down the wicket with either batsman out of his ground, a run-outoccurs. Adjudication is performed on-field by two umpires.

The laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). There are

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various formats ranging from Twenty20, played over a few hours with each team having a single innings of 20 overs, to Test cricket, played over five days with unlimited overs and the teams playing two innings apiece. Traditionally, cricketers play in all-white kit but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours. In addition to the basic kit, some players wearprotective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball which is a hard, solid object made of compressed leather enclosing acork core.

Although cricket's origins are uncertain, it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century. ICC, the game's governing body, has over 100 members, ten of which are full members who play Test cricket. Women's cricket, which is organised and played separately, has also achieved international standard. Cricket is the world's second most popular spectator sport, after association football, and is followed primarily in Australasia, Great Britain and Ireland, the Indian subcontinent, southern Africa and the West Indies.

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2.Gilli-Danda

Gilli-Danda is an amateur sport played in the rural areas and small towns all over Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as Cambodia, Turkey and Italy. The game is played with two sticks: a large one called a danda, which is used to hit a smaller one, the gilli.

Gilli Danda is an ancient sport of India, possibly with origins over 2500 years ago.[1][2] It is believed to be the origin of Western games such as cricket, baseball and softball.

"Gilli Danda" is played with two pieces of equipment - a danda, being a long wooden stick, and a gilli, a small oval-shaped piece of wood.

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RulesStanding in a small circle, the player balances the gilli on a stone in an inclined manner (somewhat like a see-saw) with one end of the gilli touching the ground while the other end is in the air. The player then uses the danda to hit the gilli at the raised end, which flips it into the air. While it is in the air, the player strikes the gilli, hitting it as far as possible. Having struck the gilli, the player is required to run and touch a pre-agreed point outside the circle before the gilli is retrieved by an opponent. This aspect of the game is similar to runs in cricket or baseball.

There is no official maximum number of players or teams. Gilli-danda can be played where each individual plays for themselves, or between two teams.

Scoring and outs

The gilli becomes airborne after it is struck. If a fielder from the opposing team catches the gilli, the striker is out. If the gilli lands on the ground, the fielder closest to the gilli has one chance to hit the danda (which has to be placed on top of the circle used) with a throw (similar to a run out in cricket). If the fielder is successful, the striker is out; if not, the striker scores one point and gets another opportunity to strike. The team (or individual) with the most points wins the game. If the striker fails to hit the gilli in three tries, the striker is out (similar to a strikeout in baseball). After the gilli has been struck, the opposing players need to return to the circle or, in the best case, catch it in mid-air without its hitting the ground - this was believed to have later evolved into a Catch Out in cricket and baseball.

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3. KABADDI

Kabaddi is a contact sport that originated in ancient India. Kabaddi is an umbrella term which encompasses various forms of the game including International rules Kabaddi; budheliya parth, Gaminee, Amar and Punjabi. Kabaddi also encompasses similar sports known by their regional names, such as hadudu in Bangladesh, bhavatik in Maldives, chedugudu in Andhra Pradesh, sadugudu in Tamil Nadu and jai bhavani in MaharashtraKabaddi is the national game of Bangladesh and also the state game of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab.

4.Golf

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Golf is a club and ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

Golf is one of the few ball games that do not require a standardized playing area. The game is played on a course with an arranged progression of either nine or 18 holes. Each hole on the course must contain a tee box to start from, and a putting green containing the actual cup. There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway, rough, and hazards, but each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout and arrangement.

Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels.

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5. KHO KHO

Kho kho (Punjabi: ਖੋ-ਖੋ) is a tag sport from the Indian subcontinent. It is played by teams of twelve players, of which nine enter the field, who try to avoid being touched by members of the opposing team. It is one of the two most popular traditional tag games of the South Asia, the other being kabaddi. Apart from the South Asia, it is also played in South Africa.

Rules, field dimensions and equipment used

Each team consists of 12 players, but only 9 players take the

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field. A match consists of two innings with each inning consisting of chasing and running turns of 9 minutes each. One team sits/kneels in the middle of the court, in a row, with adjacent members facing opposite directions. The runners take to the field, 3 at a time and the team that takes the shortest time to tag/tap all the opponents in the field, wins. There is a pole on each end and the runner can go between two players who are sitting in zig zag manner, but the chaser is not allowed to turn back while running and go between the players. But chaser can go to pole and touch it and can go back or go to other side.

Schematic representation of a kho-kho pitch

A kho kho playground (or pitch) is rectangular.[4] It is 29 metres in length and 16 metres in width. There are two rectangles at the end. Length of the rectangle is 16 metres and the width is 2.75 metres. In the middle of these two rectangles, there are two wooden poles. The central lane is 23.5 metres long and 30 cm width. There are eight cross lanes which lie across central lane, length of the cross lanes, are 16  metres and width 30  cm. It makes the small rectangles and each of it is 16  metres in length and 2.3 metres in breadth,(the two rectangles of near by the wooden poles are 2.5   metres width) at right angles to the central lane and divided equally into two parts of 7.85 metres each by central lane. At the end of central lane, the free zone tangent to the post-line, two smooth wooden posts are fixed, 120 cm height from the ground and their circumference is not less than 30 cm and not more than 40 cm they have so many tricks in running like double chain, single chain, dogging and ring game as well as in chasing like dive, pole dive, fake kho etc.The equipment used in kho kho are poles/post, strings, metallic measuring tape, lime powder, wire nails, two watches, types of rings having inner circumference of 30 cm and 40 cm, score shots (like a whistle, for instance), and stationery to write results.

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6.Hide and SeekHide and Seek Everyone has played this one. Most parents have played with their kids, since hiding and finding is a common interest of small children. I’ve heard of all kinds of variations on this game. Sometimes you count to twenty, sometimes ten, sometimes one hundred.

Sometimes there is a home base that you can run to and tag, becoming “safe,” sometimes you just wait to be found. The general idea is that one person is “it,” that person closes his or her eyes and counts to a certain number without looking and then he or she tries to find the others. Number of Players: Ideally at least three. Equipment: None. Kick the Can: This game is a variation of tag and hide & seek. One person or a team of people are designated as “it” and a can is placed in the middle of the playing area. The other people run off and hide while the “it” covers his or her eyes and counts to a certain number. “It” then tries to find everyone. If a person is tagged by “it”, they go into a holding pen for captured players. If one of the un-captured players manages to kick the can, the captured players are released. The game is over once all the non-”it” players are in the holding pen. Number of Players: Ideally at least three. Equipment: A metal can. Capture the Flag: This game is most fun when played with a large group. Split the group into two teams, each team having a flag or other marker at the team’s base. The object of the game is to run into the other team’s territory, capture their flag and make it safely back to your own territory. You can tag “enemy” players in your territory, sending them to your jail. They can be sprung from jail

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by a member of their own team running into your territory, tagging them and running back, with one freed person allowed per jail break. It is sometimes played that all the people in jail could hold hands and make a chain back toward their own territory, making it easier for members of their team to tag them. We also played a similar game called Steal the Sticks. It had almost the same rules, but several sticks were used instead of one flag. Number of Players: A large group. Equipment: Two flags or other markers.

7. Musical ChairsAnother favourite game with little kids, Musical Statues is easy to set up, fun to play, and ideal for small party venues. This game is often the most successful of the "musical" games, although it

takes a little more preparation.

You will need:A CD player or similar with dancing music or children's favouritesA chair or cushion for each player *Some little prizes

* you can improvise by cutting squares or circles out of an old plastic tablecloth or sheet if you like - you just want a "base" for children to sit on, which will survive some energetic trampling by enthusiastic children.

How to play:

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Arrange the chairs or cushions around the room, leaving space for the children to skip around and dance. Two lines of chairs in the centre of the room works well, as does a ring around the edges. Alternatively, scatter them around the area randomly.

Similar to musical bumps and music statues, the children dance and skip around while the music plays. When the music stops they must race to sit on a chair or cushion. In the first round there will a space for everybody, but then you remove one chair after each round and the child who doesn't find somewhere to sit is eliminated.

Hints:Supervise carefully! Sometimes children get a little carried away in this game...

8.Football

 

Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying

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degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called 'football' in certain places include: association football (known as soccer in some countries); gridiron football (specifically American football or Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby football (either rugby league or rugby union); and Gaelic football. These different variations of football are known as football codes.

Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century.he expanse of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British

influence outside of the directly controlled Empire. By the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage.In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world.

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9. Basketball Basketball is a sport, generally played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.048 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end.

A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, after the other team is assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) is issued when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by throwing it to a teammate, or by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling). It is a violation to lift, or drag, one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.

There are many techniques for ball-handling—shooting, passing, dribbling, and rebounding. Basketball teams generally have player positions, the tallest and strongest members of a team are called a center or power forward, while slightly shorter and more agile players are called small forward, and the shortest players or those who possess the best ball handling skills are called a point guard or shooting guard. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coach's game plan, and managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays (player positioning).

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Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most popular and widely considered to be the highest level of professional basketball in the world and NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual

salary per player.Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague and FIBA Americas League. The FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA Americas Championship.

The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup features the top national women's basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League.

History.

Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement.

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Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a major part of the game around the 1950s, as manufacturing improved the ball shape.

10. BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding.

The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is

thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases and returns to home plate.

Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates' turns batting, such as on a hit or by other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the visiting team, constitutes an

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inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no game clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning.

Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the national

sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia.

In the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League.

11. HockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick. In many areas, one

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sport (typically field hockey or ice hockey[1]) is generally referred to simply as hockey.

Subtypes of hockey

BandyBandy is played with a ball on a football field-sized ice arena (bandy rink), typically outdoors, and with many rules similar to association football. It is played professionally in Russia and Sweden and is considered a national sport in

Russia. The sport is recognised by the IOC; its international governing body is the Federation of International Bandy.

Bandy has its roots in England in the 19th century, was originally called "hockey on the ice",[9] and spread from England to other European countries around 1900; a similar Russian sport can also be seen as a predecessor and in Russia, bandy is sometimes called "Russian hockey". Bandy World Championships have been played since 1957 and Women's Bandy World Championships since 2004. There are national club championships in many countries and the top clubs in the world play in the Bandy World Cup every year.

Field hockeyField hockey game at Melbourne University.

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Main article: Field hockeyField hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, or sand-based or water-based artificial turf, with a small, hard ball approximately 73 mm (2.9 in) in diameter.

The governing body is the 126-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Men's field hockey has been played at each Summer Olympic Games since 1908 except for 1912 and 1924, while women's field hockey has been played at the Summer Olympic Games since 1980.

Modern field hockey sticks are constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and are J-shaped, with a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and a curved surface on the rear side. All sticks are right-handed – left-handed sticks are not permitted.

While field hockey in its current form appeared in mid-18th century England, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan.[10] It was the national sport of India until the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports declared in August 2012 that India has no national sport.[11]

Ice hockey

The Barrie Colts and the Brampton Battalion in an ice hockey game

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Ice hockey is played between two teams of skaters on a large flat area of ice, using a three-inch-diameter (76.2 mm) vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is played all over North America, Europe and to varying extents in many other countries around the world. It is the most popular sport in Canada, Finland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Ice hockey is the national sport of Latvia[12] and the national winter sport of Canada.[13] Ice hockey is played at a number of levels, by all ages.

Further information: Minor hockeyThe governing body of international play is the 77-member International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Women's ice hockey was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. North America's National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe.[citation needed] The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in Olympic ice hockey over many categories.[citation needed] International ice hockey rules were adopted from Canadian rules in the early 1900s.[14]

The contemporary sport developed in Canada from European and native influences. These included various stick and ball games similar to field hockey, bandy and other games where two teams push a ball or object back and forth with sticks. These were played outdoors on ice under the name "hockey" in England throughout the 19th century, and even earlier under various other names.[15] In Canada, there are 24 reports[16] of hockey-like games in the 19th century before 1875 (five of them using the name "hockey"). The first organized and recorded game of ice

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hockey was played indoors in Montreal, Canada, on March 3, 1875, and featured several McGill University students.

Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can legally curve either way, for left- or right-handed players.[citation needed]

Roller hockey (inline)Rink hockey – Rollhockey – Hoquei em Patins

Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. Inline hockey is played

by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in three 15-minute periods with a variation of the ice hockey off-side rule. Icings are also called, but are usually referred to as illegal clearing.[17] The governing body is the IIHF, as for ice hockey, but some leagues and competitions do not follow the IIHF regulations, in particular USA Inline and Canada Inline.

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Roller hockey (quad)Roller hockey, also known as quad hockey, international-style ball hockey, and Hoquei em Patins, is an overarching name for a roller sport that has existed since long before inline skates were invented. This sport is played in over sixty

countries and has a worldwide following. Roller hockey was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

Sledge hockeySledge hockey is a form of ice hockey designed for players with physical disabilities affecting their lower bodies. Players sit on double-bladed sledges and use two sticks; each stick has a blade at one end and small picks at the

other. Players use the sticks to pass, stickhandle and shoot the puck, and to propel their sledges. The rules are very similar to IIHF ice hockey rules.[18]

Canada is a recognized international leader in the development of sledge hockey, and much of the equipment for the sport was first developed there, such as sledge hockey sticks laminated with fiberglass, as well as aluminum shafts with hand-carved insert

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blades and special aluminum sledges with regulation skate blades.

Based on ice sledge hockey, inline sledge hockey is played to the same rules as inline puck hockey (essentially ice hockey played off-ice using inline skates). There is no classification point system dictating who can play inline sledge hockey, unlike the situation with other team sports such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. Inline sledge hockey is being developed to allow everyone, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, to complete up to world championship level based solely on talent and ability.[citation needed] The first game of inline sledge hockey was played at Bisley, England, on 19 December 2009 between the Hull Stingrays and the Grimsby Redwings. Matt Lloyd is credited with inventing inline sledge hockey, and Great Britain is seen as the international leader in the game's development.

Street hockey Also known as road

hockey, this is a dry-land variant of ice and roller hockey played year-round on a hard surface (usually asphalt). A ball is usually used instead of a puck, and protective equipment is not usually worn.

12. Badminton

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Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it

within the opposing side's half of the court.

Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.

The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports.

Rules

The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.

Court

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Badminton court, isometric view

The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although badminton rules

permit a court to be marked for singles only.[12] The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of same length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.

The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.

The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.

The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

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Serving

The legal bounds of a badminton court during various stages of a rally for singles and doubles gamesWhen the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents' court or it will count as a fault.

At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with the racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts unlike tennis.

When the serving side loses a rally, the serve immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second serve").

In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in her/his left service court when her/his score is odd.

In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he serves to a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their

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positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that, each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.

Scoring

Main article: Scoring system development of badmintonEach game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served[12] (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.

If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as 24–22), except when there is a tie at 29-all, in which the game goes to a golden point. Whoever scores this point will win.

At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy first, and their opponents making the leftover the remaining choice.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the match. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third

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game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches 11 points.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.

13. Kancha:

This is a game that is well known to kids in India. This game involves the use of round glass marbles that are easily available at the neighborhood shops. The object of playing Kancha is to

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collect as many as you can by striking the opponent’s marbles. Many different Kancha games exist and children make up their own versions as they go too.

14. Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since 1964.

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The complete rules are extensive. But simply, play proceeds as follows: a player on one of the teams begins a 'rally' by serving the ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court. The team may touch the ball up to 3 times but individual players may not touch

the ball twice consecutively. Typically, the first two touches are used to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court.

The rally continues, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either

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(1): a team makes a kill, grounding the ball on the opponent's court and winning the rally; or (2): a team commits a fault and loses the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the ball to start the next rally. A few of the most common faults include:

causing the ball to touch the ground or floor outside the opponents' court or without first passing over the net;catching and throwing the ball;double hit: two consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same player;four consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same team;net foul: touching the net during play;foot fault: the foot crosses over the boundary line when serving.The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short contact) the ball with any part of the body.

Volleyball in the Olympics

The history of Olympic volleyball traces back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where volleyball was played as part of an American

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sports demonstration event.After the foundation of FIVB and some continental confederations, it began to be considered for official inclusion. In 1957, a special tournament was held at the 53rd IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria to support such request. The competition was a success, and the sport was officially included in the program for the 1964 Summer Olympics.

The Olympic volleyball tournament was originally a simple competition: all teams played against each other team and then were ranked by wins, set average, and point average. One disadvantage of this round-robin system is that medal winners could be determined

before the end of the games, making the audience lose interest in the outcome of the remaining matches. To cope with this situation, the competition was split into two phases with the addition of a "final round" elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals matches in 1972. The number of teams involved in the Olympic tournament has grown steadily since 1964. Since 1996, both men's and women's events count twelve participant nations.Each of the five continental volleyball confederations has at least one affiliated national federation involved in the Olympic Games.

The U.S.S.R. won men's gold in both 1964 and 1968. After taking bronze in 1964 and silver in 1968, Japan finally won the gold for men's volleyball in 1972. Women's gold went to Japan in 1964 and again in 1976. That year, the introduction of a new offensive skill, the backrow attack, allowed Poland to win the men's competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-set match. Since the strongest teams in men's volleyball at the time belonged to

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the Eastern Bloc, the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics did not have as great an effect on these events as it had on the women's. The U.S.S.R. collected their third Olympic Gold Medal in men's volleyball with a 3–1 victory over Bulgaria (the Soviet women won that year as well, their third gold as well). With the U.S.S.R. boycotting the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the U.S. was able to sweep Brazil in the finals to win the men's gold medal. Italy won its first medal (bronze in the men's competition) in 1984, foreshadowing a rise in prominence for their volleyball teams. The 1984 women's tournament was also won by a rising force, China.

At the 1988 Games, Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons led the U.S. men's team to a second straight gold medal, and the Soviets won the fourth gold in the women's tournament. In 1992, underrated Brazil upset favourites C.I.S., Netherlands, and Italy in the men's competition for the country's first volleyball Olympic gold medal. Runner-up Netherlands, men's silver medalist in 1992, came back under team leaders Ron Zwerver and Olof van der Meulen in the 1996 Games for a five-set win over Italy. A men's bronze medalist in 1996, Serbia and Montenegro (playing in 1996 and 2000 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) beat Russia in the gold medal match in 2000, winning their first gold medal ever. In all three games the strong Cuban female team led by Regla Torres and Mireya Luis won the Gold medal. In 2004, Brazil won its second men's volleyball gold medal beating Italy in the finals, while China beat Russia for its second women's title. In the 2008 Games, the USA beat Brazil in the men's volleyball final. Brazil was runner-up again at the 2012 Summer Olympics, this time losing to Russia after losing two match points in the third set. In both games Brazil's women team beat the United States for the gold medal.

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15. Hopscotch

A game requiring two or more players, hopscotch involved manoeuvring through a rectangle drawn on the ground with six squares inside. First, a player stood beyond a defined line and tossed a stone into a square and then, they had to hop across the squares, skipping the one with the stone. No stepping on lines, or you were considered out.

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16. Blindman’s Buff

Pretty basic, one person would be blindfolded and would have to hunt for the others, who would keep dropping plenty of noise clues, like clapping or whistling or giggling. If he caught you, then it’s your turn to be blindfolded next. 

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17. Land and Water

The basic rule to remember during Land and Water, which we Bengalis used to call colloquially as Kumir Danga, was that all higher grounds were land, and everything else was water. The catcher, or the designated “crocodile” could catch you if you were on “water” but not when you were on “land”. The fun part of the game happened when everybody would run from one “land” to another, and the “crocodile” would chase them. If he caught you, then it’s your turn to chase next.

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18. Lagori or Pithu

A very popular game among kids in India at one time. It involves a ball and a pile of flat stones (which are stacked on top of each other). One member of a team throws the ball at the stack to knock the stones over. The team  then tries to restore the pile of stones while the opposing team ( known as the hitters) throws the ball at them. If the ball touches a person, he is out and his team continues without him.

Played by: two teams, any number of members.

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19. Chain

Chain is another classic children’s game, although it is losing popularity now. The game consists of a ‘denner’, whose aim is to catch the other players. Once the denner catches a player, the player becomes part of a chain(which is formed by holding hands) and then has to help the denner in catching the remaining players.

Played by: any number of people, usually not more than 10.

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20. Kick the Can:

This game is a variation of tag and hide & seek. One person or a team of people are designated as “it” and a can is placed in the middle of the playing area. The other people run off and hide while

the “it” covers his or her eyes and counts to a certain number. “It” then tries to find everyone. If a person is tagged by “it”, they go into a holding pen for captured players. If one of the un-captured players manages to kick the can, the captured players are released. The game is over once all the non-“it” players are in the holding pen.Number of Players: Ideally at least three.Equipment: A metal can.

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Thank you

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