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2223242526272930323128(^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.
(^29) Table tennis This
sport began in Victorian
England, when dinner
guests turned their table into a
mini tennis court. Champagne
corks were used as balls.
(^30) Water polo Players swim to catch
the ball to stop the opposing team
from reaching their goal.
(^31) Tenpin bowling Players hurl a heavy ball
down a wooden lane to knock down the 10 pins.
(^32) Marbles Players compete to throw glass
marbles inside a designated circle or at
another target marble.
(^23) Volleyball Two teams of six players
compete to pass a ball over a high net
using only their hands. If the ball touches
the ground, the other team gains points.
(^24) Croquet French peasants in the 14th
century used wooden mallets to whack a
wooden ball through hoops crafted from bent
branches, inventing the game of croquet.
(^25) Tennis Played on grass or clay courts, two
players (singles) or four players (doubles) use
racquets to hit a felt-covered ball over a net.
26 Pool Similar to snooker, two players use cues
to sink either red or yellow balls into pockets. The
winner is the player who pots the final black ball.
(^27) Squash Inside a walled court, players take
turns to smash a rubber ball against the wall
with a racquet.
(^28) Beach volleyball First played on
California’s sandy beaches in the
1920s, this sport can now be
played on artificial
sand courts.
(^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.
A beach volleyball is
softer and larger than
a regular volleyball
Three finger holes are
drilled into a bowling ball
so it can be gripped
A water polo ball has a
special non-slip surface
The ball used in netball is
smaller than the one used
to play basketball
Hollow table tennis
balls are hit with bats
called “paddles”
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