10 OWN COURT GAMES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Home court games are those sports in which there is a defined area for each team to develop its game or strategy. Some examples of sports are tennis, volleyball, and swimming.

There are many sports activities, and all require a physical space to develop. This space is called court in many of them. The fields or fields are delimited and can be from a small chess board to a football or baseball field.

When each of the teams occupies a space of the court separate from that of the opponent, it is said that the game is divided court or own court. Otherwise, if the players can move into the opponent's space, then we are talking about invasion games.

In home court games there is no contact between the players. The teams are separated by a net, line or dead space and it is not allowed to cross it.

As they cannot transfer to the opposite field, there is no friction or contact between the players, so those injuries that can be caused when two opponents dispute a position on the field or the possession of a ball or ball, will not occur.

While in contact sports, obtaining a point is achieved by introducing the ball, ball in an arc, net, or passing it somewhere, in home court games the goal is obtained by making the opponent's space is invaded by the ball, either when touching said field, or doing it more than twice depending on the sport in question.

What are some of the home court games?

1- Volleyball

It is played between two teams of 5 players, although there are variants of two players and in individual mode. The objective is to return the mobile (ball in this case) over the mesh to the opposite court before having hit it a maximum of three times.

It is played in several sets depending on the modality. The court can be made of smooth wood, polished concrete or sand in the beach mode.

2- Tennis

The objective is to hit the ball and return it to the enemy court before it has bounced twice on the home court. The ball is hit with a racket. It is played in single and double modalities.

3- Ping pong

Like tennis, but in this case the court consists of a wooden or concrete table and the rackets are much smaller. It can also be played in single or double mode.

4- Badminton

In this case, the object to hit is a shuttlecock, not a ball, and it cannot fall on the opposite court. It is played in double or individual mode.

5- Swimming

The athlete runs through the pool in one lane and must not invade the partner's lane. The variations of the sport are made with respect to distance and individual or team participation (relay).

6- Speed

Like swimming, the runner tries to get there earlier while keeping his track. It is part of the disciplines that make up athletics and varies depending on the distance to be covered and the presence or absence of obstacles.

7- Valencian ball

Teams of two or more opponents throw a ball hitting it with the bare or protected hand to the opposite side. This is usually done against a wall, also called a pediment.

There are variants referring to the material with which the ball is made as well as its dimensions.

8- burned

In English, it is known as Dodgeball. Two teams of several players, where the one who owns the ball tries to hit a player from the opposing team with the ball without the ball touching the ground.

The hit player leaves the court. In some modalities, hitting an opponent recovers a lost player. The team that manages to eliminate the most opponents wins.

9- Paddle

It faces pairs of players, in a rectangular and totally enclosed court, divided by a net in the center. The ball is hit with a paddle until the opponent cannot return it properly.

10- Variations of the above

At the school level, the teacher can make modifications or variants of the previous games, to stimulate teamwork and game strategy.

An example is throwing a ball to the opponent's court and that it must be caught and returned before bouncing twice. The dimensions of the space will depend on the capacity and availability of the place.

Common features of court games

Although there is a wide variety of home court sports, most have the following common characteristics:

The mobile

All games have a mobile that is the object that is thrown into the opposite space to obtain the goal or to be returned. Among them we have balls, balls, hoops, darts, shuttlecocks etc.

Striking implement

The mobile is impacted by it to acquire movement. In some sports like volleyball, the mobile is hit with the hand. In the case of tennis or badminton, he is hit with rackets. It can also be a bat, mesh, etc.

Pitch

It is the space in which the party unfolds. It is divided into two zones, one for each team or player in the case of individual sport. The zones can be separated by a mesh, a line or a dead space that must not be crossed. The ground must be smooth and homogeneous.

Mesh or net

It is part of the court and is a barrier that prevents the mobile from passing through it, forcing it to have to be crossed over. Its height and dimensions depend on the game.

Players

The games or sports of divided court encourage the confrontation between two players or teams of players, whose objective is to beat the opponent.

For this purpose, in the case of teams, it is required that a game strategy be executed between players of the same team, based on collaboration and strategic position within the field, to increase the effectiveness in attack and defense.

Game time

In most split court games there is no time limit for each game, but instead a given number of points or points is set to be the winner.

Alternation in participation

Due to its nature of division of the space where the players are located, since the mobile or object can only be on one of the two sides at any given time, there is an alternation in the participation of the players or teams.

The offensive team is the one that owns the mobile and is preparing to strategically return it to the opponent, while the defensive team prepares with its positions to receive it. For this same reason there is no pressure on the team or player who owns the mobile, nor is there any physical effort or contact from the opponent to prevent them from possessing it or trying to make them lose possession or control of it.

Punctuation

In most cases, a point is scored when the object touches or falls more than once on the opponent's ground or when the opponent cannot return it to the opponent's court.

Depending on the sport or game, there may be a limit of contacts or blows to the mobile before returning it. In other cases, the serving team is the one that has the power to score points, so that the defensive team can only regain the serve by scoring, without obtaining a score.

Sets

Split court games usually take place in several sets of a certain number of points, and the winner is the one who has obtained a given number of sets won.

No tie

Given that to obtain a set it is necessary to reach a certain number of points, the first team to achieve this score is awarded the set and they cannot be tied.

References

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