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Many sports developed from ancient
times, when running and throwing
skills were essential to survival.
Any activity governed by rules
and requiring physical
ability is considered
a sport – and
at the heart of
many sports
is a ball.Sport
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(^14) Baseball This sport
is very similar to softball,
but played with a smaller,
harder ball.
(^15) Cricket A bowler throws the
ball at a wicket (set of wooden poles),
which is defended by a batsman.
(^16) Golf A club is used to hit a small
ball a long distance to get it into, or
as near as possible to,
each hole on a course.
(^7) Gaelic football With its roots in an
ancient Irish game called caid, players
score by kicking or hitting the ball through
H-shaped goals.
(^8) Aussie Rules football Players pass the
oval-shaped ball to team-mates by kicking or
throwing it. To score, they must kick the ball
between four posts at each end of the field.
(^9) Juggling balls Jugglers keep several balls in
the air at once. Experienced jugglers can swap
balls for knives and fire torches.
(^10) Lacrosse Invented by Native Americans,
players catch and throw a rubber ball with
netted sticks. They must throw it into the
opposition team’s goal to score.
(^11) Softball In this team sport, players use a bat
to whack a ball as far as possible to give them
time to run around four ground markers.
(^12) Rugby Players attempt to gain points by
landing the oval ball beyond the other team’s
goal line or kicking it over a high H-shaped goal.
(^13) Medicine ball Athletes put these weighty
balls on their bodies to increase their muscle
strength while exercising.
(^1) Hurling This fast-paced Irish game
involves teams of 15 “hurlers” with axe-
shaped sticks, two goals, and a small ball.
(^2) American football Points are
scored by players carrying or throwing
an oval ball into the opposition’s area.
(^3) Polo This ball game is played on
horseback. Riders use long-handled
mallets to drive a ball into the goal.
(^4) Football The world’s most popular
sport involves two teams of 11 players
trying to score goals in the opposition’s
net, with each game lasting 90 minutes.
(^5) Hockey In this game, two teams armed
with hockey sticks try to score by smashing
a ball into the opponent’s net.
(^6) Shotput Players compete to throw a
7 kg (16 lb) metal shot as far as possible.
(^20) Rounders Two teams take turns at
batting and fielding. A rounder is scored
when a player hits the ball far enough to
run around four posts before the ball
is returned by a fielder.
(^21) Basketball The game was first played
using peach baskets on poles for hoops.
If a team scored, the referee climbed a
ladder to get the ball.
(^22) Netball Based on basketball, this
team sport is played on courts and is
most popular with women in Australasia.
(^17) Boules Very popular in France,
players compete to throw heavy balls
at a much smaller ball, called a jack.
(^18) Bowls On well-maintained lawns,
players try to roll balls closer to a small
target ball than their opponents.
(^19) Snooker Using sticks called cues, two
players attempt to pot 15 red balls and
six different coloured balls into
six pockets on a special
wool-covered table.
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Modern
footballs have
32 stitched
panels
Medicine balls
can weigh from
2.5 to 7 kg
(5 to 15 lbs)
Rugby balls are
oval shaped to make
them easier to hold
against the upper
body while running
278_279_Sport.indd 278 03/01/19 12:11 PM