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Sports and Games - B

These are all sports and games beginning with the letter B.

Badminton

Badminton is believed to have evolved from Badminton Hall, Avon, England, around 1870, or from a game played in India at about the same time. However, a similar game was played in China 2000 years earlier. Badminton is played with a lightweight racket and shuttlecocks - these are half-circles of cork in which feathers are fixed. As in tennis, the game can be played as singles or doubles. Unlike tennis, points are scored one at a time and only the server scores. A winning shot by the receiver ends the service.

Bandy

Bandy is similar to ice hockey except that it is played on a bigger ice rink and there is no play behind the goal lines. There are two teams of fourteen players - two of these are goalkeepers. Only eleven of these players are allowed on the ice at a time. As in ice hockey, the team that scores the most goals wins the game. The game lasts for ninety minutes - two forty five minute halves.

Baseball

The modern rules of baseball, or Cartwright rules, were introduced in New Jersey on 19 June 1846. Baseball is most popular in America, where there are two leagues, the National (NL) and the American (AL), founded in 1876 and 1901 respectively. It is also a very popular game in Japan. There are nine players in each team. Each team takes turns in batting and fielding. The object is to score more runs than the opposing team. When the fielding team has put out three of their opponents, the fielding team and the batting team change over.

Basketball

The modern game was devised by Dr James Naismith in Massachusetts, USA, in December 1891. Basketball teams are five-a-side, and seven substitutes are allowed. The object is to score points by throwing the ball into the opposing team's basket. Each game has two halves of twenty minutes each. If at the end of the two halves the score is tied, play continues in five minute periods until one team has won.

Billiards

Billiards originated in France. Two white balls, one with a spot for identification purposes, and one red one, are used. The baIls being hit with "cues" that taper down to a striking tip. You score three points for "potting," the red or going in off the red: two for potting the white (your opponent's ball), or going in off the white: and two for a cannon (hitting both the other balls). Billiards can be played by two or four players (playing in pairs).

Bobsleigh

Organized bobsleighing began in Davos, Switzerland in 1889. The object is to complete the special downhill snow covered course in as short a time as possible. Competitions are for crews of two or four. The driver steers and the rear man operates the brakes and corrects skidding. With the four-man team, the middle two riders help push the bobsleigh at the start of the race and then use their weight to help with cornering.

Boules

Petanque, or boules, originated in France from its parent game Jeu Provencal, where it is still immensely popular. Its origins go back over 2000 years. Boules can be played by two players or teams of four, six or eight players. The object of the game is to throw your boule and get it to roll along the pitch and stop as close as possible to the jack. When all the players or teams have finished playing their boules the player or team with the boule nearest to the jack scores one point for each boule that is nearer to the jack than the opposing team's boules.

Bowls - Grass

Bowls is one of the oldest of all games. Bowls looks a simple game, the object being simply to place the bowls as near as possible to the "jack." The bowls, however, are "biased," and this makes the game one of considerable skill. It is played by two players or teams of up to four players. One point is scored for each bowl nearer to the jack than the opponent's best ball. The winner is either the player or team which wins most ends or with the most points when all the ends have been completed.

Boxing

Boxing began competitively in Ancient Greece as one of the first Olympic sports. Modern day boxing evolved from 1867 when the 8th Marquess of Queensberry gave his name to the rules. Boxing only became a legal sport in 1901. The boxers have gloves on their hands and punch each other on the body - above the waist. Punches to the back of the neck and to the kidneys are not allowed. Bouts are won by a knock-out, by your opponent retiring, or on points if all the rounds of the bout are completed.