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The Tennis Court, Dimensions And Surfaces
Posted by: | CommentsTennis courts are standard in dimension, but vary widely in surface material. Tennis rules dictate the length, width, and placement of the lines on a tennis court. Tennis courts have a variety of surfaces and can be either outdoors or indoors. In this article, we will introduce the basic dimensions and aspects of the tennis courts and discuss the different types of tennis court surfaces.
The rules of tennis dictate that tennis courts be 78 feet long from baseline to baseline. A net, 3 feet high in the middle, divides the court into two equal halves. Tennis courts are 36 feet wide from doubles sideline to doubles sideline, and 27 feet wide from singles sideline to singles sideline.
Unlike the dimensions of a tennis court, the tennis court surface can vary in character. The different surfaces have different characteristics that affect the style of play. Common surfaces for outdoor tennis courts include grass, red clay, green clay, and hard courts. In addition, indoor tennis courts often have hard surfaces or synthetic, carpet-like surfaces.
The very first tennis courts were made of grass. While the number of grass tennis courts has decreased in recent years, some remain, and the worlds most prestigious tennis tournament, The Championships at Wimbledon, is still played on grass tennis courts.
Grass tennis courts are considered a fast surface because the ball moves quickly through the court when it bounces. Typically, the ball stays low and close to the ground. Because of the speed of the court and the unreliability of the bounce, historically players playing on grass tennis courts prefer to volley the ball out of the air whenever possible.
Red clay and green clay are the two types of clay, or slow, court surfaces. Red clay tennis courts are made of natural clay or crushed red brick. The French Open is played on red clay courts. Green clay, the more common type of clay court in the U.S., is made of Har-Tru, a mixture of crushed stone, rubber, and plastics. Clay courts are considered slow because the ball bounces more slowly off the court. Typically, players playing on clay tennis courts prefer to hit balls off the bounce from behind the baseline.
Hard courts, the most common court surface in the U.S., are another fast court surface. Hard courts are made of asphalt or concrete coated with a thin sealer and special paint. Some types of hard courts have more extensive, rubberized coatings. The ball bounces high off hard tennis court surfaces and moves through the court quickly. Because the ball has a reliable bounce and the ball moves quickly off the court, players can employ a variety of tactics. Generally, aggressive play is preferred.
Finally, tennis players also play indoors, especially during the winter, on indoor tennis courts. Indoor tennis court surfaces are made of concrete or a synthetic or plastic material that mimics grass. Indoor tennis courts are generally the fastest tennis court surface of all. At the professional level, hard serves, volleys, and powerful ground strokes dominate matches on indoor tennis courts.
Author: J. Lloyd
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Collectible Sports Memorabilia
Posted by: | CommentsCOLLECTING sports collectibles or sports memorabilia, antique or modern, is limited by two factors: the money available and the space to be filled. Having determined these basic essentials, it is then a personal matter. The taste of the collector may lead to Baseball Memorabilia, Basketball Memorabilia, Football Memorabilia, Golf Memorabilia, NASCAR memorabilia, Diecast Collectibles, Bobble Heads, Hero Posters, or innumerable other things. The lucky acquisition of an admired piece may lead to a determination to get more of the same, or at least to find out what the admiration is all about.
An encyclopedia definition of Sports Collecting would go something like this: “The hobby of sports collecting consists of acquiring specific sports items based on a particular sporting interest of the sports collector. These sports collections of sporting things are often highly organized, carefully cataloged, and attractively displayed.” A sports collectible (or collectable) is defined as a manufactured item designed for people interested in sports to collect. The term sports memorabilia usually refers to items related to sporting that can be directly connected to a recent or historical sporting event or sports personality. There are many people that collect these sports memorabilia and collectibles.
Since collecting depends on the interests of the individual collector, it may deal with almost any subject including sports collectible & sports memorabilia. The depth and breadth of the collection may also vary. Some collectors choose to focus on a specific subtopic within their area of general interest, for example Baseball memorabilia of the New York Yankees, Basketball memorabilia of the Los Angeles Lakers, Football memorabilia of the Dallas Cowboys, Golf memorabilia of Tiger Woods, NASCAR memorabilia of Tony Stewart, Diecast collectibles of fire trucks, Bobble Heads for any sport, & posters of heroes such as Lance Armstrong. Others prefer to keep a more general collection, accumulating any or all Baseball memorabilia, Basketball memorabilia, Football memorabilia, Golf memorabilia, NASCAR memorabilia, Diecast collectibles, Bobble Heads, or Hero Posters.
When the NBA, MLB, and NFL began selling their basketball, baseball, and football jerseys in stores during the 1980s, game used jerseys also became a hot item among sports memorabilia collectors. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman was famous for taking off his jerseys and throwing them to the stands after his games were over. Michael Jordan is probably the basketball player whose memorabilia is most sought after by collectors. Todays stars include Ben Roethlisberger, Shaquille O’Neil, Nomar Garciaparra, etc. These players seem to be pushing the already popular area of sports collectibles and memorabilia to a new level of acceptance to the public.
Collections can take the form of a single item such as a signed baseball, football, or basketball. Collections can also take the form of a series of items, such as jerseys from each member of a particular baseball, basketball, or football team. A NASCAR collection of hats from different drivers is very popular. Golf balls with different logos are especially popular. The cost of any sports collectible memorabilia item is directly proportional to the popularity of the sports figure with which the item correlates. The more popular the sports figure, the more money the sports collectible memorabilia item will demand. The whole sports collectible memorabilia industry is driven by supply and demand. The more demand the higher the price and vice versa. Also, the more supply of an item, the lower the price. Sports cards would be a good example. Only so many of certain cards were ever made. Those carry a higher price than those that were made in bulk. Quality is a very big determining factor in the price of any sports collectible memorabilia item. In general, the better the quality, the higher the price.
Author: Kevin Fairbanks
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tennis — How Vulcanized Rubber Changed the Game
Posted by: | CommentsIn my mind, the true history of tennis does not begin until the 1850s, when the first modern tennis balls were invented and used. Before this point, the history of tennis is the history of a completely different game real tennis.
Real tennis is played on indoor courts. In fact, real tennis cannot be played outside the players use the angled walls of a real tennis court to strategically hit and return the ball to their opponents. Yes, real tennis his very similar to todays modern tennis, or lawn tennis, but only in the same way that handball, badminton, croquet, and racquetball are similar to lawn tennis!
That is why I choose to start my history of tennis at the point in which lawn tennis diverged from real tennis, and this happened in the 1850s. It was in the 1850s that Charles Goodyear, of Goodyear tire fame, invented vulcanized rubber. Vulcanized rubber is a process that prevents natural rubber from deteriorating so quickly (without the vulcanization process, natural rubber could deteriorate within just a few days.)
So, with the vulcanization of rubber came rubber tennis balls. The rubber tennis balls could be used outdoors on lawn courts. These rubber tennis balls were a nice change from the wads of wool, hair, wool, or cork wrapped in leather or string and cloth these are what had been used in real tennis.
And because these vulcanized rubber tennis balls could be used outdoors, on lawn courts, without walls to bounce them off of, new rules had to be invented for this new game of lawn tennis.
Walter Clopton Wingfield is usually the man who is given credit for the invention of modern tennis, or lawn tennis. Around 1874, Wingfield actually patented the game. And the game became popular among the leisured classes throughout the end of the 1800s.
The popularity of tennis spread relatively quickly. Tennis clubs were set up around this time. The first tennis championships were held in 1877 in Wimbledon a precursor to the Grand Slam tournament held in Wimbledon every year, even today.
The rules of tennis changed gradually throughout the later 1800s, changing the shape of the court and the height of net and thereby changing the history of tennis in the process!
So, as you can see, it makes sense that I choose to start the real history of tennis around the 1850s when Charles Goodyears invention of vulcanized rubber made modern tennis possible.
Author: Anne Clarke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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