Pitch (sports field)

A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field.

For most sports the official term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside refereeing/umpiring circles.^{[citation needed]} The field of play generally includes out-of-bounds areas that a player is likely to enter while playing a match, such as the area beyond the touchlines in association football and rugby or the sidelines in American and Canadian football, or the "foul territory" in baseball.

The surface of a pitch is most commonly composed of sod (grass), but may also be artificial turf, sand, clay, gravel, concrete, or other materials. A playing field on ice may be referred to as a rink, for example an ice hockey rink, although rink may also refer to the entire building or, in the sport of curling, to either the building or a particular team.

In the sport of cricket, the cricket pitch refers not to the entire field of play, but to the section of the field on which batting and bowling take place in the centre of the field. The pitch is prepared differently from the rest of the field, to provide a harder surface for bowling.

A pitch is often a regulation space, as in an association football pitch.

The term level playing field is also used metaphorically to mean fairness in non-sporting human activities such as business where there are notional winners and losers.^[1]

Fields of play in various sports

Pitches

American football field
Australian rules football playing field
Association football pitch,
surrounded by running track
Bandy field
Baseball field
Basketball court
Cricket field (with the cricket pitch in the centre)
Field hockey pitch
Gaelic, hurling, and camogie pitch
Ice hockey rink
Kabaddi pitch
Rugby league playing field
Rugby union pitch
Speed skating rink
Tennis court
Velodrome (track cycling)

Field sizes

Sport	Shape	Field length	Total length	Width	Total width	Number of players^[2]
Badminton (singles)	Rectangular	44 feet (13 m)	17.40 m	17 feet (5.2 m)	8.18 m	1
Badminton (doubles)	Rectangular	44 feet (13 m)	17.40 m	20 feet (6.1 m)	9.10 m	2
Baseball	Diamond	92-128 m	-	137-150 m^[3]	-	9
Baseball5	Square	21.00 m	-	21.00 m	-	5
Softball (WBSC)^[4]	Circle quadrant	250 feet (76 m)	-	250 feet (76 m)	-	9
Basketball (FIBA)	Rectangular	28.00 m	-	15.00 m	-	5
Basketball (NBA)	Rectangular	94 feet (29 m)	-	50 feet (15 m)	-	5
Basketball (3x3)	Rectangular	11.00 m	-	15.00 m	-	3
Cricket	Oval	130–180 yards (120–160 m)	-	130–180 yards (120–160 m)	-	11
Indoor cricket	Rectangular	30.00 m	-	12.00 m	-	6
Dodgeball (WDA)	Rectangular	17.00 m	-	8.00 m	-	6
Association football	Rectangular	110–120 yards (100–110 m)	-	70–80 yards (64–73 m)	-	11
Beach soccer	Rectangular	35–37 m	-	26–28 m	-	5
Futsal	Rectangular	38-42 m	-	20-25 m	-	5
Rugby union	Rectangular	94-100 m	106-144 m	68-70 m	-	15
Rugby league	Rectangular	100.00 m	112-122 m	68.00 m	-	13
American football	Rectangular	100 yards (91 m)	120 yards (110 m)	160 feet (49 m)	-	11
Indoor American football	Rounded rectangular	50 yards (46 m)	66 yards (60 m)	28 yards (26 m)	-	-
Flag football^[5]	Rectangular	50 yards (46 m)	70 yards (64 m)	25 yards (23 m)	-	5
Canadian football	Rectangular	110 yards (100 m)	150 yards (140 m)	65 yards (59 m)	-	12
Australian rules football	Oval	135-185 m	-	110-155 m	-	18
Gaelic football	Rectangular	130–145 m	-	80–90 m	-	15
Handball	Rectangular	40.00 m	-	20.00 m	-	7
Field hockey	Rectangular	100 yards (91 m)	-	60 yards (55 m)	-	11
Indoor hockey	Rectangular	36-44 m	-	18-22 m	-	6
Ice hockey (IIHF)	Rounded rectangular	61.00 m	-	30.00 m	-	6
Ice hockey (NHL)	Rounded rectangular	200 feet (61 m)	-	85 feet (26 m)	-	6
Bandy	Rectangular	100-110 m	-	60-65 m	-	11
Kabaddi (standard)^[6]	Rectangular	13.00 m	-	10.00 m	-	7
Kabaddi (circle-style)^[7]	Circle	44.00 m	-	44.00 m	-	8
Kho kho	Rectangular	27.00 m	30.00 m	16.00 m	19.00 m	9
Kho kho (Ultimate Kho Kho)^[8]	Rectangular	22.00 m	26.00 m	16.00 m	20.00 m	7
Field lacrosse	Rectangular	110.00 m	-	60.00 m	-	10
Box lacrosse	Rounded rectangular	55-61 m	-	24-28 m	-	6
Lacrosse sixes	Rectangular	70 m	-	36.00 m	-	6
Short track speed skating	Oval	60.00 m	-	30.00 m	-	-
Long track speed skating	Oval	178.00 m	-	66.00 m	-	-
Swimming (Olympic)	Rectangular	50.00 m	-	25.00 m	-	-
Swimming (short course)	Rectangular	25.00 m	-	20.00 m	-	-
Tchoukball	Rectangular	27.00 m		17.00 m		7
Tennis (singles)	Rectangular	78 feet (24 m)	37.00 m	27 feet (8.2 m)	18.00 m	1
Tennis (doubles)	Rectangular	78 feet (24 m)	37.00 m	36 feet (11 m)	18.00 m	2
Track and field (indoor)	Oval	90.03 m	-	45.78 m	-	-
Track and field (outdoor)	Oval	176.91 m	-	92.52 m	-	-
Ultimate	Rectangular	64.00 m	100.00 m	37.00 m	-	7
Volleyball	Rectangular	18.00 m	24-31 m	9.00 m	15-19 m	6

Game court

Game court is one of the names for a multi-sport athletic space, typically constructed outdoors, where such games as basketball, volleyball, paddle tennis and other racquet sports, and up to a dozen more games and activities can be played. They are usually smaller than a regulation tennis (120' x 60')or basketball (84'x50')court, although there is no set dimensions or size for a game court. The game-court concept was popularized by Sport Court in the 1970s, and some generic references are made to game courts as 'sport courts', although that is a trademark of Connor Sport Court International, LLC. Game courts are often found in residential backyards, giving families and children opportunities for healthy recreation close to home.

Game courts are usually constructed using a rectangular sub-base made from concrete or asphalt, then covered with an open-grid modular polypropylene (or similar) sports surface to improve safety. Most feature athletic equipment such as basketball goals, net systems for racquet sports, volleyball and badminton, lights for nighttime play, fencing or ball containment netting, hockey/soccer goals, lines or markings for various sports, and practice or training components can also be incorporated into the design.

Surface

The surface of a game court—as opposed to simply playing on concrete or asphalt—is designed for safe play and to reduce injury. Many people have started to use suspended athletic courts to cover old athletic courts like tennis courts and basketball courts. The surface should provide appropriate traction for various types of sports and activities, as well as shock or force reduction to minimize overuse and stress injuries.

Game courts are typically custom-designed to the interests of the family or organization, and are versatile in enabling a wide variety of sports to be played in a relatively small space. Some activities played on a game court are enjoyable modifications of other sports (such as short-court tennis) that allow for similar skills to be developed as the 'regulation' game, but on a reduced-scale court size. A typical game court of 50 by 30 feet (15.2 m × 9.1 m) might include a basketball key and 3-point line arranged around a hoop, overlaid by short-court tennis or pickleball lines (which can also be used for volleyball or badminton) along the longer dimension.

Ball containment

Game courts for private use will frequently be built with a high fence surrounding the surface to allow for containment of the ball used in play, and, if required, to prevent people from entering. Any of several materials have been used, including chain-link fencing, welded wire mesh fence, and fabric mesh or netting.

References

^ Kapstein, Ethan B (16 Dec 2010). Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field. Princeton University Press.
^ The minimum (or typical, if there is one) number of players per team on the field is shown.
^ http://web.mit.edu/~xsdg/Public/papers/himcm-2003.pdf "The width is the distance between foul poles... the Twins’ field width (473.9 ft) and the Braves’ field width (470.2 ft) is not significant. However, the difference between the Rockies’ and Yankees’ field widths (492.9 ft and 446.9 ft, respectively) is very significant."
^ "Official rules of Softball - Fast pitch" (PDF).
^ "International Flag Football - Rules 2023" (PDF).
^ "Kabaddi: Origin, rules and the Pro Kabaddi League". Khel Now. Retrieved 2021-09-27. The dimensions of the playing area vary for men and women. It is 33ft x 43ft for the former
^ "Standard style and circle style - the two variants of Kabaddi". SportsAdda. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-07. In the circle style format, the field is a circle with a radius of 22 meters [i.e. diameter of 44 meters] which is divided into two equal halves by a mid-line.
^ "rules-season1.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2022-08-14.

External links

Rules and dimensions

[1] Kapstein, Ethan B (16 Dec 2010). Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field. Princeton University Press.

[2] The minimum (or typical, if there is one) number of players per team on the field is shown.

[3] ttp://web.mit.edu/~xsdg/Public/papers/himcm-2003.pdf "The width is the distance between foul poles... the Twins’ field width (473.9 ft) and the Braves’ field width (470.2 ft) is not significant. However, the difference between the Rockies’ and Yankees’ field widths (492.9 ft and 446.9 ft, respectively) is very significant."

[4] "Official rules of Softball - Fast pitch" (PDF).

[5] "International Flag Football - Rules 2023" (PDF).

[6] "Kabaddi: Origin, rules and the Pro Kabaddi League". Khel Now. Retrieved 2021-09-27. The dimensions of the playing area vary for men and women. It is 33ft x 43ft for the former

[7] "Standard style and circle style - the two variants of Kabaddi". SportsAdda. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-07. In the circle style format, the field is a circle with a radius of 22 meters [i.e. diameter of 44 meters] which is divided into two equal halves by a mid-line.

[8] "rules-season1.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2022-08-14.

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