Tennis polo
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| Tennis Polo | |
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| Players going for the ball during a tennis polo match | |
| Governing body: | Tennis Polo Association |
| Number of teams: | 2 |
| Players per team: | 8 |
| Game length: | 1 hours |
| Country of origin: | United States |
| Date of first game: | 2004 |
Tennis polo (or toccer) is a unique field sport played with racquets and a ball similar to those used in tennis, which is how it acquired its name. The sport can best be described as an amalgamation of racquet sports and team sports such as football (soccer), field hockey and lacrosse. The sport that best resembles tennis polo is the gaelic sport of hurling.
In tennis polo, two teams of eight players play on a grass (or grasslike) surface attempt to score goals, with the team scoring more goals after the end of regulation being declared the winner.
The sport is also referred toccer and is interchangbly referred to by players as "tennis polo" or "toccer" at different times. There are players in 18 countries including Canada, Mexico, United States, India and France.
Adapted to be a fast-paced sport with little stoppage of play, players use their racquets to hit, pass, carry and pick up the ball in the field of play.
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[edit] Equipment
Tennis polo players use racquets similar to those used in tennis. Each player must have a racquet and the minimum head size is at least 85 square inches, though standard head sizes are well over 95-100 square inches on most player racquets.
[edit] Field of Play
The field of play is any grass field, with two goals centered on opposing end lines of the pitch. There is no minimum size, though the game is generally played on football pitches or occasionally, one used for gridiron football.
[edit] Length of a Match
Matches are generally forty minutes long, divided into four 10-minute quarters, with an intermission between the two halves.
[edit] Game Play
The game begins with a touchoff, where the opposing team hits the ball to the other side of the field. The game begins once a player from the other team makes contact with the ball or its hits the ground in-bounds.
Hands can only be used to pass the ball or to switch from dribbling on the racquet to one's hand to attempt to take a shot with the racquet into the goal. Players cannot move with the ball in their hands at any time during the match. The exception to this rule is the goalkeeper.
[edit] Substitutions
Teams make unlimited substitutions and they enter play without stoppage of play. (similar to ice hockey.)
[edit] Turnovers
When the ball is turned over because it goes out of bounds, the clock is not stopped. Instead, the ball is retrieved (or in most cases, a new ball given to the opposing player) and the game resumes. If the ball is intentionally thrown out of bounds, it's referred to as wasting and the team that receives possession is awarded a free shot from the spot where the ball was hit.
[edit] Player positions
One player is designated as the Goalkeeper. Three of the players are designated as Defensive backs and generally play solely defense. The MidWing (or Halfback), is a hybrid offensive player who may play between the defensive and offense ends, depending on the scheme the team is running. The primary offensive players are the three wing players (left wing & right wing) and the attacker (or center).
[edit] Scoring
Scoring occurs when the ball is hit (or kicked) into the goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the most goals wins the match.
[edit] History
In 2004, Ron Bronson, then the Tennis Director at Camp Awosting in Bantam, Connecticut created the sport was developed as a diversion for his tennis players during a rainy summer; when the outdoor courts were largely rendered unusable. The game was one of a series of elaborate tennis hybrid games he created for his students, that were able to be played irrespective of the weather outside, usually indoors or on grass fields. The most popular of these games became known as toccer. At the insistence of his campers and with their help, they devised the first written rules of the sport later that summer.
Tennis Polo is the first known field sport to be invented by an African-American. The only other sport created by an African-American is Steer wrestling.
[edit] Resources
- Official Rules of Tennis Polo, Association of Tennis Players, (c) 2006-2008
