Volleyball by Kendall

     Volleyball has become a very popular sport in the world. It is even in been part of the Summer Olympic Games since 1964.  It has quite a history that has become what it is today.

     Volleyball originated in the United States in 1895. The sport was created by William G. Morgan who was an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts (History of Volleyball 1). William wanted combine parts of basketball, tennis, baseball, and handball in order to make a game for his classes of businessmen which demanded less physical contact than basketball (History of Volleyball 1). The game of volleyball had begun soon after it was established. Although at the time it was called mintonette, volleyball got its name during a demonstration game where someone commented to Morgan that the players appeared to volley the ball back and forth over the net. This led to a more simple explanatory name for the sport. Volleyball had gotten very popular and on July 7, 1896 at Springfield College, the first game of volleyball was played (HISTORY OF VOLLEYBALL 1).

For Morgan, the game could be played in the gymnasium or the exercise hall but could also be used outdoors. The game consisted of any number of players to keep the ball in motion from one side to the other over a net raised 6 feet 6 inches above the floor . The play would start by a player on one side serving the ball over the net into the opponents ' field or court. The opponents would then return the ball without hitting the floor and both sides would keep striking the ball back and forth until one side fails to return the ball or allows the ball to hit the floor.

     Volleyball had reached Japan and Asia through the YMCA network by 1896 and a specially designed ball was made in 1900, the rules of the game were set in place in the next twenty years. In 1916, the Philippines created the "set" and "spike" and a six-a-side play was instituted and became the standard two years later (History of Volleyball, 1). The rules that mandated the three hits per side and back-row attacks were established by 1920. During the same time in the 1920's, the United States, Russia, and Japan had begun volleyball associations. It became even more popular when U.S. soldiers brought the game overseas during WWII and shortly afterward, France had  also recognized the sport nationality (History of Volleyball, 1).  In 1949, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had established the game a non-Olympic sport in 1949 and the first World Championships for men were also  held during that same year at the time. Three years later, the women's first world -level competition came three years later. The Russians were the best in playing the sport until the mid-1980's with competition from Japan. The United States made their stance as the men's team won back-to-back gold medals in Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988).

    Volleyball has had a tremendous impact regarding sports. Today there are over 800 million people who play volleyball at least once a week and there are more than 46 million Americans who play volleyball in the United States.  The game has always had a great importance in sports and will continue to be one of the most popular games in the world.

Works Cited

"History of Volleyball » NCVA." NCVA RSS2. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

"History of Volleyball - Volleyball.Com - Volleyball Timeline, Volleyball Origins, Volleyball Inventor, Equipment, Clothes, Shoes and Rules for Beach and Indoor." History of Volleyball - Volleyball.Com - Volleyball Timeline, Volleyball Origins, Volleyball Inventor, Equipment, Clothes, Shoes and Rules for Beach and Indoor. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.

"Volleyball." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 May 2014.

"Athletic Association to Add Volleyball to Offerings." ABC Newspapers. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

"Remote Whiteboard." Remote Whiteboard. Ad01, 30 July 2012. Web. 14 May 2014.

   

 

Ping Pong/Table Tennis by Kendall

     Ping pong or table tennis started sometime in the 1880s where it was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game. They would convert their dining room tables into miniature types of the original tennis playing field (Table Tennis History, 1). Various every-day objects were used to create the sport. The game was first called by many names such as "whif-whaf", "gossamer", and "flim flam". The game was played with paddles made from cigar box lids and balls that consisted of champagne corks (Table tennis, 1).

     Table tennis grew in popularity after James W. Gibb innovation that changed the style of the game. Gibb was a British enthusiast of table tennis who found novely celluloid balls during a trip to the U.S. in 1901 and learned that these were essential for the game. Another enthusiast, E.C. Goode, created the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled/stippled rubber to the  wooden blade in 1901 (Table tennis, 1). By 1901, tournaments were beginning to be organized, books were written to describe about table tennis, and even a non-official world championship was set up in 1902. Sometime in the 1900s, table tennis was banned in Russia because the rulers at that period of time deduced that playing the game had an adverse effect on players' eyesight.

     Later in 1921 the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain and the International Table Tennis Federation followed after in 1926. In 1926 the first ever official World Championships was organized in London and in 1933 the United States Tennis Association now called USA Table Tennis was created. Some time in the 1950s, rackets began to be used with a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer that had a huge  change to the game with the establishment of greater spin and speed (Table tennis, 1). These were first introduced to Britain by S.W. Hancock Ltd. who was a sports goods manufacturer. Speed glue was used to increase the spin and speed which led  to changes of the equipment to "slow the game down" (Table Tennis, 1). Table tennis was even introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988.

      Several rule changes were made after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney by the ITTF (International
Table Tennis Federation).  The first one was that the older  38 mm (1.50 in) balls were officially replaced by 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000. This was used to increase the ball's air resistance and slowed down the game with positive effects. Shortly afterward, the ITTF altered the scoring system from a 21-point to an 11-point score system. They also changed the rules on service that was made to prevent players from hiding the ball during service and to increase the average length of rallies and to reduce a server's advantage, which was effective in 2002 (Table tennis, 1).

       Table Tennis is still around today and continues to play a great influence around the world. It it is played by several countries worldwide and is in the Olympic sports. Table tennis will continue to play a huge role in sports and continue to maintain its popularity and be a good game for anyone that wants to play table tennis.

Works Cited 

"Table Tennis." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 July 2014. Web. 08 May 2014. 

"History of Table Tennis." History of Table Tennis. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.

"National Table Tennis Championships Tournament News, Updates, Fixtures, Results, Videos." SportsKeeda. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.

BBC News. BBC, 18 Aug. 2008. Web. 11 May 2014. 

"Table Tennis Rules." Table Tennis Rules. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.