Outdoor Sports and Games Part 23

A tin pan or wooden disk is suspended from a frame by means of a string and the contestants in turn kick it as it is drawn higher and higher until finally, as in high jumping, it reaches a point where the survivor alone succeeds in touching it with his toe.

HOCKEY

Hockey is usually played on the ice by players on skates, although, like the old game of s.h.i.+nney, it may be played on any level piece of ground. The hockey stick is a curved piece of Canadian rock elm with a flat blade. Instead of a ball the modern game of ice hockey is played with a rubber disk called a "puck." In hockey, as in many other games, the whole object is to drive the puck into your opponents' goal and to prevent them from driving it into yours. Almost any number of boys can play hockey, but a modern team consists of five players. Hockey skates are of special construction with long flat blades attached to the shoes. The standard length of blade is from 14-1/2 to 15-1/2 inches.

They cost from three to six dollars. The hockey player's uniform is a jersey, either padded trousers or tights, depending upon his position, and padded s.h.i.+n guards for the goal tenders.

HOP OVER

All but one of the players, form a ring standing about two feet apart.

Then by some "counting out" rhyme some one is made "it." He then takes his place in the centre of the circle, holding a piece of stout string on the end of which is tied a small weight or a book. He whirls the string about and tries to strike the feet or ankles of some one in the circle, who must hop quickly as the string comes near him. If he fails to "hop over" he becomes "it."

HOP SCOTCH

Hop scotch is a game that is played by children all over the world. A court about 20 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide is drawn with chalk, coal, or a piece of soft brick on the sidewalk or scratched with a pointed stick on a piece of level ground. A line called the "taw line"

is drawn a short distance from the court. The court is divided into various rectangles, usually eleven divisions, although this varies in different sections. At the end of the court a half circle is drawn, variously called the "cat's cradle," "pot," or "plum pudding." The players decide who is to be first, second, etc., and a flat stone or piece of broken crockery or sometimes a folded piece of tin is placed in division No. 1. The stone is called "potsherd." The object of the game is to hop on one foot and to shoot the potsherd in and out of the court through the various divisions until they are all played. He then hops and straddles through the court. Whenever he fails to do the required thing the next player takes his turn.

HUNT THE SHEEP

Two captains are chosen and the players divided into equal sides. One side stays in the home goal and the other side finds a hiding place.

The captain of the side that is hidden or "out" then goes back to the other side and they march in a straight line to find the hidden sheep.

When they approach the hiding place their own captain shouts, "Apple!"

which is a warning that danger is near. When he is sure of their capture or discovery he shouts, "Run, sheep, run!" and all the party make a dash for the goal.

INTERCOLLEGIATE AMATEUR ATHLETIC a.s.sOCIATION OF AMERICA

This a.s.sociation controls the field athletic contests between the colleges known as the "Intercollegiates."

It is generally known as the I.C.A.A.A.A. To win a point for one's college in this contest is the highest honour that a track athlete may obtain. In these games, which take place annually, the following thirteen events are contested for:

Mile run Shotput 440-yard run 120-yard hurdles 100-yard dash Running high jump Two-mile run 880-yard run 220-yard low hurdles Pole vault Broad jump 220-yard dash Hammer throw

I SPY

This game is sometimes called "Hide and Seek," One of the players is made "it" by any of the familiar counting-out rhymes. The rest then secure a hiding place while he counts fifty or one hundred. A certain tree or fence corner is considered "home." "It" then attempts to spy his hidden playmates in their hiding places and to run "home"

shouting, "I spy" and their names. If the one discovered can get home before "it," he does so, shouting, "In free!" with all the breath that is left in him. The game is especially interesting just at dusk, when the uncertain light makes the "outs" brave in approaching home without detection. If "it" succeeds in capturing all the players the first one caught is "it" for the next game.

JACK f.a.gOTS

This game is the same in principle as Jackstraws except that f.a.gots or sticks of wood two feet long are used in place of jackstraws. They are removed from a pile with a crooked stick and must be taken out one at a time without disturbing the rest. The number of sticks removed const.i.tutes a player's score. When any stick other than the one he is trying for is moved he loses his turn. The next player must attempt to remove the same stick that the other failed on. The game is won by the player having the greatest number of sticks to his credit.

j.a.pANESE FAN BALL

This game is especially adapted for a lawn party for girls. Either j.a.panese fans or the ordinary palm-leaf fans will do for rackets. The b.a.l.l.s are made of paper and should be six or eight inches in diameter and in various colours. At opposite ends of a s.p.a.ce about the size of a tennis court are erected goal-posts similar to those used in football, but only six feet above ground. These may be made of light strips of wood. There is also a similar pair of posts and a crossbar midway between the goals.

The game is played by two contestants at a time. Each takes an opposite end of the court and tosses the ball into the air. Then by vigorous fanning she endeavours to keep it aloft and to drive it over the opponent's goal-post. At the middle posts the ball must be "fanned" under the crossbar. If the ball falls to the ground it may be picked up on the fan and tossed aloft again, but it must not be touched by the hands. The winner is the one who first drives the ball the length of the court and over the crossbar.

KICK THE STICK

One player is chosen to be "it" and the rest are given a count of twenty-five or fifty to hide. A stick is leaned against a tree or wall and this is the home goal. As soon as the goal keeper can spy one of the players he runs in and touches the stick and makes a prisoner, who must come in and stand behind the stick. If one of the free players can run in and kick the stick before the goal tender touches it, he frees all the rest and they scurry to a place of hiding before the stick can again be set up and the count of twenty-five made. As the object of the game is to free your fellow-prisoners, the free players will attempt all sorts of ruses to approach the stick without being seen or to make a dash for it in hope of kicking it ahead of the goal keeper. The game is over when all the players are captured, and the first prisoner is "it" for the next game.

KING OF THE CASTLE

This can be made a very rough game, as it simply consists in a player taking a position on a mound or hillock and defying any one to dislodge him from his position by the taunting words:

"_I'm the King of the Castle,_ _Get down you cowardly rascal._"

The rest try to shove him from his position and to hold it successfully against all comers themselves. The game, if played fairly, simply consists in fair pulls and pushes without grasping clothing, but if played roughly it is almost a "free-for-all" fight.

LACROSSE

A game of ball played by two opposing teams of twelve players each.

The lacrosse field is a level piece of ground with net or wire goals at each end. The players strive to hurl the ball into their opponents'

goal by means of a lacrosse stick or "crosse." This is a peculiar bent stick with a shallow gut net at one end. It somewhat resembles a tennis racket, but is more like a snowshoe with a handle. The game originated with the Indians and is much played in Canada.

In playing, the ball must not be touched with the hands, but is hurled from one player to another by the "lacrosses" until it is possible to attempt for a goal. It is also pa.s.sed when a player is in danger of losing the ball.

Lacrosse sticks cost from two to five dollars each and are made of hickory with rawhide strings. The players wear specially padded gloves to protect the knuckles. The usual uniform for lacrosse is a tight-fitting jersey and running trousers.

LAWN BOWLS

This is a very old game and of great historic importance. The famous Bowling Green in New York City was named from a small park where the game was played by New Yorkers before the Revolution. The game is played with wooden b.a.l.l.s five inches in diameter and painted in various gay colours. Usually lignum vitae is the material used. They are not perfectly round but either slightly flattened at the poles into an "oblate spheroid" or made into an oval something like a modern football. Each player uses two b.a.l.l.s, which are numbered. A white ball, called a "jack ball," is then thrown or placed at the end of the bowling green or lawn and the players in turn deliver their b.a.l.l.s or "bowl" toward the jack. The whole game consists in placing your ball as near to the jack as possible and of knocking away the b.a.l.l.s of your opponents. It is also possible to strike the jack and to drive it nearer to where the b.a.l.l.s of your side are lying. When all the players have bowled, the two b.a.l.l.s nearest the jack each count a point for the side owning it. The game if played by sides is somewhat different from a two-handed contest. The main point first is to deliver the ball as near to the jack as possible and then to form a barrier or "guard"

behind it with succeeding b.a.l.l.s to block those of your adversaries.

Sometimes the Jack is placed in the middle of the green and the teams face each other and bowl from opposite ends. A green is about seventy feet square with closely cropped gra.s.s. Four players form a "rink" and are named "leader," "second," "third," and "skip" or captain. The position from which the b.a.l.l.s are delivered is called the "footer." It is usually a piece of cloth or canvas three feet square.

LAWN BOWLING

This game is similar in every respect to indoor bowling except that no regular alley is used. A net for a backstop is necessary. The pins are set upon a flat surface on a lawn and the players endeavour to knock down as many pins as possible in three attempts. The scoring is the same as in indoor bowling. To knock down all ten pins with one ball is called a "strike," in two attempts it is a "spare." In the score, the strike counts ten for the player and in addition also whatever he gets on the next two b.a.l.l.s. Likewise he will count ten for a spare, but only what he gets on one ball for a bonus. As a consequence the maximum or perfect score in bowling is 300, which is a series of ten strikes and two more attempts in which he knocks down all the pins. In lawn bowling the scores are very low as compared with the indoor game, where good players will often average close to 200 on alleys where they are accustomed to bowl. Lawn bowling is a different game from lawn bowls, which is described in a preceding paragraph.

LAWN HOCKEY

This game is played on a field a little smaller than a football field, being 110 yards long and from 50 to 60 yards wide. The ball used is an ordinary cricket ball. The goals are two upright posts 12 feet apart and with a crossbar 7 feet from the ground. Eleven men on a side const.i.tute a full team, but the game may be played with a fewer number. The positions are known as three forwards, five rushes, two backs or guards, and the goal tender.

The object of the game is very simple, being to drive the ball between your opponents' goals. The ordinary ice hockey stick will be satisfactory to play with. The princ.i.p.al thing to remember in lawn hockey is not to commit a "foul," the penalty for which is a "free hit" at the ball by your opponents. It is a foul to raise the stick above the shoulders in making a stroke, to kick the ball (except for the goal tender), to play with the back of the stick, to hit the ball other than from right to left, and any form of rough play such as tripping, pus.h.i.+ng, kicking, or striking.