Polo Description Essay, Research Paper

A polo match lasts about one and one-half hours and is divided into six 7 minute

periods or chukkers. Since a horse in fast polo can cover two and one-half to

three miles per period, he’ll be too tired to play a second one right away.

After resting for two or three periods, some horses can return to the game.

Still, in championship polo, a player will come to the field with at least six

horses. The mounts are horses, mostly thoroughbreds, not ponies. The object of

the game is to score as many goals as possible. There are four players on a team

and each assumes a specific position either offensive or defensive. However,

given the enormous size of the playing fields, the momentum of the galloping

horses and the ball’s unexpected changes of direction, the game is very fluid,

and the positions continuously change. There are few set plays in polo, and good

anticipation is almost a sixth sense. With thousand pound animals running at

speed there is a pre-eminent necessity for a right of way rule. The central

concept in the rules of polo is the line of the ball, a right-of-way established

by the path of the traveling ball. Like the rules of the road, there are do?s

and don’ts governing access to this right-of-way and crossing it. Within these

limitations, a player can hook an opponent’s mallet, push him off the line, bump

him with his horse or steal the ball from him. Penalties are awarded as free

hits. The more severe, the shorter the distance to the goal. The closer hits are

almost certain goals. After every goal is scored, the teams change sides in

order to compensate for field and wind conditions. A typical score would be

10-7. Polo games are played on the flat or the handicap. Every registered player

is awarded a skill rating from C (-2, the lowest) to 10 (the highest). When a

match is played on the handicap basis, the sum total rating of the players on

the team is subtracted from that of the opposition. Any difference is then

awarded to the lower rated side in goals on the scoreboard. Polo – The history

Possibly the oldest team sport, polo’s genesis is lost to the eye of history. An

Asiatic game, polo was first played on a barren campground by nomadic warriors

over two thousand years ago Valuable for training Cavalry, the game was played

from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the Game

of Kings, Tamer lane’s polo grounds can still be seen in Samarkand. British tea

planters in India witnessed the game in the early 1800’s but it was not until

the 1850’s that the British Cavalry drew up the earliest rules and by the 1869’s

the game was well established in England. James Gordon Bennett, a noted American

publisher, balloonist, and adventurer, was captivated by the sport and brought

it to New York in 1876 where it caught on immediately. Within ten years, there

were major clubs all over the east, including Newport and Long Island. Over the

next 50 years, polo achieved extraordinary popularity in the United States. By

the 1930’s polo was in the midst of a Golden Age it was an Olympic sport and

crowds in excess of 30,000 regularly attended international matches at Meadow

Brook Polo Club on Long Island. The galloping game produced athletes who would

doubtless have achieved greatness in any sport. Cecil Smith, the Texas cowboy

who held a perfect 10-goal rating for a still-record 25 years. Devereux

Melbourne, instrumental in formulating modern styles of play and Tommy Hitch

cock, war hero and the best of the best in international competition for two

decades. In the past 20 years, polo in the United States has undergone an

unprecedented and remarkable expansion. At present, there are more than 225

clubs with over 3,000 players. Cricket – The rules There are 2 teams which have

11 players each. They play on a large circular or oval field batting area pitch

at the center. At each end of the pitch is a 28inch-high wicket consisting of

three vertical poles called stumps and two small horizontal sticks called bales.

Wicket is an old word for a small gate. One team bats and the other team fields

or bowls. All eleven members of the fielding team are on the field at the same

time in various positions. Two members of the batting team are on the field at a

time, one batsman standing near each wicket. One member of the fielding team,

called the bowler, the bowler throws the ball overran from one wicket towards

the other with the aim of hitting the target wicket. The batsman at that end

tries to hit the ball with his bat. The aim of the batsmen is to score runs for

his team. There are 2 ways a batsman can get these runs: 1. By hitting the ball

out of the field. If the ball does not bounce before it crosses the boundary he

scores 6 runs and if it does bounce he scores 4 runs. 2. By hitting the ball

within the field and running from one end of the pitch to the other. The other

batsman runs in the opposite direction. One run is scored for each length of the

pitch they run. The aim of the fielding team is to get each batsman out. There

are 3 main ways a batsman can be out: 1. If he is caught 2. If the batsman is

run out 3. If a ball delivered by the bowler hits any part of the batsman and it

is judged by the umpire that the ball would have hit the wicket if the batsman

had not been in the way. The part of the body usually hit is the leg and so this

type of out is called LBW. When a batsman is out he is replaced by another

member of his team. Once the fielding team gets 10 of the 11 batsmen out, or the

over limit is reached, the fielding team becomes the batting team and vice

versa. The new batting team then has to try to beat the other team’s score. The

game may last for one or two innings for each team. The team with the highest

number of runs at the end of the game wins. Cricket – equipment Bat For a young

boy to learn the art of batting, the choice of a bat, of suitable size and

weight, is of the most importance. It is best for the young batsmen to use a bat

which feels light rather than one which fells heavy. There is little benefit to

be had from using a heavy bat too early, especially when one is just beginning.

Don’t get t aken in by the talk of heavy bats in modern cricket. You can use it

but only when you are sufficiently strong to be able to handle it. Pads Careful

instruction should be give by the coach on the importance of selecting batting

pads that will be suitable to young players. Pads should provide adequate

protection from injury, fit comfortably on the legs, should not be cumbersome or

too heavy and must not impede or restrict quick and easy movement. Player Code

Players should always be neatly and correctly dressed. All boots should be clean

and properly sprigged, either with spikes on the soles and heels or with spikes

in the soles and hardened ribbed rubber on the heels. Bad sprigging may easily

be the cause of a spilled catch or a run out. A bowler will not be able to get a

good foothold on a hard or wet surface. No player should wear a wrist-watch or

ring on the field or should one carry a cap in a pocket. A protector should be

worn at all times by the batsmen and the wicket-keeper and the fielders right

near the bat. Comfortable well fitting socks should be worn. In the case of fast

bowler, it is quite often good policy to wear two pairs of socks. It is

recommended that batsmen and keepers wear only short socks. Not only do they

give a smarter appearance but are also more comfortable. Fold the trousers in

front of the legs and strap the pads tight to them. Batting gloves should be

worn at all times in all grades of the game. This gives the player protection as

well as comfort in gripping the bat. Bad equipment or lack of equipment in a

match or at the nets can often be very damaging to a player’s confidence. Often,

players who are hurt in the nets would have been spared the agony had they been

wearing proper equipment. Such shortage of equipment can also lead a player into

gaining the bad habit of not getting behind the line of the ball. No Bowler can

do justice to himself and his team if his boots are ill-fitting, if his toes are

being pinched, if the sprigs are piercing the material and keep getting at his

feet, if blisters are being caused by chafing and if toenails are being

compressed. A proper grip of the ground is also vital. Pay a lot of attention

when you are buying your first pair of cricket boots. Boots must be laced tight

to give support to the ankles. Blisters must be avoided. An additional innersole

is often helpful. A little talcum power sprinkled into the socks or a little

Vaseline applied between the toes may help avoid friction and stop the blisters.

Aids to foot comfort are not sufficient in themselves. Boots must fit well.

Helmets may become necessary at a later stage when young batsmen come across

bowlers who are really pacy. It would be much better to learn to play the game

without them. It is not too difficult to adjust to the helmet once you go up the

ladder and you need the protection of this modern headgear. Rugby – Introduction

Rugby is a popular game played by men and women of every race, from under age

five to well over fifty, in over 100 countries of the world. In a few of those

countries it is the national sport – some say religion. The basic game involves

15 players. The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by

carrying, passing, kicking and grounding an oval ball in the scoring zone at the

far end of the field called the in-goal area. Grounding the ball, which must be

done with downward pressure, results in a try, worth 5 points. After a try a

conversion may be attempted by place kick or drop kick. If the ball passes over

the bar and between the goal posts the conversion is successful and results in a

further 2 points. Points may also be scored from a drop kick in general play,

worth 3 points and a penalty kick worth 3 points. The ball may not be passed

forward (though it may be kicked forward) and players may not receive the ball

in an offside position, nor may they wait in such a position. Players may not be

tackled without the ball. Play only stops when a try is scored, or the ball goes

out of play, or an infringement occurs. When the ball goes out it is thrown back

in at a line-out where the opposing forwards line up and jump for the ball.

Infringements result in a penalty, or free kick, or scrum. In a scrum the

opposing forwards bind together in a unit and push against the other forwards,

trying to win the ball with their feet. Substitutions are only allowed in case

of injury and there is no separate offensive and defensive unit.