Highest governing body | Tennis Polo Association |
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First played | Lakeside, CT, USA (2004) |
Characteristics | |
Team members | 2 teams of 10 |
Tennis polo (or toccer) is a field sport where two teams of ten players (nine field players and one goalkeeper) use a tennis ball to score goals by throwing the ball into a goal defended by a keeper who holds a racket. Tennis polo shares elements of sports such as field handball, hurling, football, and lacrosse. The game may also be played where all field players have racquets including the goalkeeper.
The sport is interchangeably referred to as "tennis polo" or "toccer". There are players in 18 countries including Canada, Mexico, United States, Italy, and France. [1]
Adapted to be a fast-paced sport with little stoppage of play, players advance the ball by throwing or kicking within the field of play.
Tennis polo goalkeepers use rackets similar to those used in tennis. Only goalkeepers are allowed racquets, but any player can serve as goalkeeper, but no player acting as goalkeeper can leave the 11-yard box with a racquet.
The sport is played on a grass field between 80 and 100 yards long and 50 to 65 yards wide. The goal area is a semicircular line with an 11-yard radius and the penalty mark at 13 yards from the goal. An experimental rule has a second semicircular line on the field with a 17-yard radius. Generally, a field for gridiron football or soccer can be used. [2]
The match length is variable, but sanctioned matches are divided into two halves of 20 minutes. If matches are tied, an extra 20-minute period is played. If the score remains tied at the end of a tournament match, the game is decided by throws from the penalty mark (13 yards from the goal), but players are allowed to run anywhere between the midfield line and penalty mark before throwing the ball and have five seconds in which to take their shot. [3]
Each half of the game begins with a jump ball by a referee at midfield.
The ball can be advanced by throwing it or kicking it. When a player has the ball in their possession, they can run with it for up to three steps (or five seconds) before being required to either pass it or attempt a shot on goal.
Offensive players cannot attempt shots on goal from within the penalty area (referred to as the "layer") and any goals scored from within the layer are invalid. Defensive players may defend from within the layer, as well as the racket keeper.
Teams make unlimited substitutions and substitutes enter play without stoppage of play (as in ice hockey and some varieties of indoor soccer).
When the ball is turned over because it goes out of bounds, the clock is not stopped. Instead, the ball is retrieved (or in most cases, a new ball given to the opposing player) and the game resumes. If the ball is intentionally thrown out of bounds, it's referred to as wasting and the penalized team is assessed a penalty depending on the severity, which may include extended time at the discretion of the referee.
The standard 10-team formation consists of two layer defenders, one strong back, a deep wing, one middle receiver, three strikers and a goalkeeper. [4] Some teams opt for different variations of player formations, but no more than 10 players (including a goalkeeper) are allowed on the field at a time.
Most games are officiated by a head referee and two umpires at each end of the field. Players are assessed penalties for infractions such as holding, carrying the ball too long without passing or attempting a shot on goal, interference or goal keepers running outside of the layer with the racket in-hand.
Scoring occurs when the ball is hit (or kicked) into the goal. Each goal is worth one point. Goals scored outside of the 17-yard arc are worth two points and those scored in front of the 13-yard arc are worth one point.
Offensive players are not allowed to be in front of the ball in order for two-point goals to count. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins the match.
In 2004, the Tennis Director at Camp Awosting in Lakeside, Connecticut, Ron Bronson, created the sport of toccer as a diversion for his tennis players during a rainy summer. The outdoor tennis courts were largely unusable, so Bronson came up with a series of elaborate tennis hybrid games that could be played indoors or on grass fields. The most popular of these games was toccer, which is a combination of tennis and soccer. At the insistence of his campers and with their help, Bronson devised the first written rules of the sport later that summer.
In 2010, the rules were modified dramatically at Windridge Camp at Teela-Wooket in Roxbury, Vermont. Players there discovered the sport and modified the rules to allow only goalkeepers to carry rackets. In this modified format, field players advance the ball by throwing it across the field (and into the goal.) After a year of experimental rules testing, the governing body of Tennis Polo, the Tennis Polo Players Association (TPA), codified the Vermont format as the official format of toccer. [4]
Tennis Polo is the first field sport known to be invented by an African-American. The only other sport known to have been created by an African-American is Steer wrestling. [5]
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the opposing team. A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, and the team that scores more goals wins.
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the most goals at the end of the game wins the match. Each team is made up of six field players and one goalkeeper. Excluding the goalkeeper, players participate in both offensive and defensive roles. It is typically played in an all-deep pool where players cannot touch the bottom.
Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly world-wide in over 185 countries. The governing body of squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the sport is not part of the Olympic Games, despite a number of applications. Supporters continue to lobby for its incorporation in a future Olympic program. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour.
A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a network of strings is stretched tightly. Some rackets may have a solid or perforated hitting surface instead of a network of strings. Such rackets may be called a paddle or bat. Collectively, these games are known as racket sports.
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting opposing shots on goal. Such positions exist in bandy, rink bandy, camogie, association football, Gaelic football, international rules football, floorball, handball, hurling, field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, ringette, rinkball, water polo, and shinty as well as in other sports.
Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court like a basketball court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, formerly royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, in which a player is allowed to take a single shot at the goal while it is defended only by the opposing team's goalkeeper. It is awarded when an offence punishable by a direct free kick is committed by a player in their own penalty area. The shot is taken from the penalty mark, which is 11 m from the goal line and centred between the touch lines.
A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken from the corner of the field of play nearest to the place where the ball crossed the goal line.
Polocrosse is a team sport that is a combination of polo and lacrosse. It is played outside, on a field, on horseback. Each rider uses a cane or fibreglass stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in which the ball is carried. The ball is made of sponge rubber and is approximately four inches across. The objective is to score goals by throwing the ball between the opposing team's goal posts.
Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets", to distinguish it from the related sport of squash.
The goalkeeper is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring. This is accomplished by having the goalkeeper move into the trajectory of the ball to either catch it or direct it further from the vicinity of the goal line. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands, giving them the sole rights on the field to handle the ball. The goalkeeper is indicated by wearing a different coloured kit from their teammates and opposition.
Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and participant conduct. Examples include verbal abuse or taunting of an opponent or a game official, an excessive celebration following a significant play, or feigning injury. The official rules of many sports include a general provision whereby participants or an entire team may be penalized or otherwise sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The following terms are used in water polo. Rules below reflect the latest FINA Water Polo Rules.
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. The rules on how a player attempts a penalty shot or kick also varies between sports.
In water polo, the goalkeeper occupies a position as the last line of defense between the opponent's offence and their own team's goal, which is 2.8 m2 (30 sq ft).
The rules of water polo are the rules and regulations which cover the play, procedure, equipment and officiating of water polo. These rules are similar throughout the world, although slight variations do occur regionally and depending on the governing body. Governing bodies of water polo include FINA, the international governing organization for the rules; the NCAA, which govern the rules for collegiate matches in the United States; the NFHS, which govern the rules in high schools in the USA; and the IOC, which govern the rules at Olympic events.
In games of association football, teams compete to score the most goals during the match. A goal is scored when the ball passes completely over a goal line at either end of the field of play between two centrally positioned upright goal posts 24 feet (7.32 m) apart and underneath a horizontal crossbar at a height of 8 feet (2.44 m) — this frame is itself referred to as a goal. Each team aims to score at one end of the pitch, while preventing their opponents from scoring at the other end. Nets are usually attached to the goal frame to catch goalscoring balls, but the ball is not required to touch the net.
Futsal began in the 1930s in South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather. Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.
A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team.
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