Hopscotch, Tetherball, Jump Rope

Hopscotch

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, hopscotch got its start not as a schoolyard game, but as a military exercise. During the early Roman Empire in ancient Britain, Roman soldiers ran through 100-foot long rectangular courses wearing full armor to help improve their footwork. Roman children drew up their own version of these courses, shortening the length and adding a scoring system, and the game of hopscotch was born.

The word hopscotch comes from hop, of course, meaning to jump, and escocher, an Old French word that means “to cut.” The game as we know it dates back to at least 1801, and now hopscotch is played all over the world. In France, the game is called Marelles. Germans play Templehupfen, and kids in the Netherlands play Hinkelbaan. In Malaysia hopscotch is called Ting-ting or Ketengteng, and in India it’s called Ekaria Dukaria. In Vietnam it’s known as Pico, in Chile it’s Luche, and in Argentina and many Spanish-speaking countries, it’s called Rayuela.

COURTS

Make your own court using chalk on a sidewalk or driveway, or by using masking tape on a floor or carpet indoors.

Traditional American hopscotch courts look something like this:

Super-old-fashioned courts had 6 boxes in a stack from 1 to 6, or 3 sets of 2 boxes:

Fancier versions include the Monte Carlo and the Italian:

Or, you can always make up your own style of hopscotch court!

RULES

Nearly every girl knows the basic rules for hopscotch, but there are some interesting variations to liven things up.

In the most basic game, the first player stands behind the starting line to toss a marker (a rock, a penny, a beanbag, a button) in the first square. The marker must land in the correct square without bouncing out or touching a line. The player should hop over the first square to the second on one foot, then continue hopping all the way to the end of the court. Side-by-side squares can be straddled, with each foot on a square, but single squares must be hopped on with just one foot. A square with a marker in it must be hopped over, and any neutral, or safe, squares may be jumped through in any manner a player wishes.

When a player gets to the end of the court, she turns around and hops back through to the beginning, stopping to pick up her marker on the way back. If she makes it to the end without jumping on a line or putting two feet down in a square, she can continue her turn by throwing the marker into square number 2 and trying again. If a player steps on a line, misses a square, falls, or puts two feet down, her turn is over. When it’s her turn again, she starts where she left off. The winner is the first player to complete one course of hopping up and back for every numbered square.

VARIATIONS

A French version of hopscotch is played on a spiral court and called, because of its shape, Escargot (snail) or La Marelle Ronde (round hopscotch). The court is drawn as a big snail or shell-like spiral and then sectioned into squares, the number of which is limited only by the size of the spiral itself. In this version, each player hops on one foot to the center of the spiral and back out again. When a player is able to complete the full circuit, she can mark one square with her initials, and from then on she is allowed to have two feet in that square. The other players must hop over it. The game is over when all squares are marked (or if no one can reach the center), and the girl who wins is the one who has her initials in the most squares.

This variation, allowing the player to initial a square, can also be adapted for the traditional version of the game. After a player has completed one hopscotch sequence successfully, jumping all the way up and all the way back, she can throw her marker onto the court, and wherever the marker lands she can place her initials. Then that square is hers, and she is allowed to have two feet in it when hopping, while the other players must hop over it. In this version, each player is only allowed to initial one square per game.

A British variation, which can be used with traditional straight courts as well as with spiral courts, involves the player holding her marker between her feet and hopping from square to square on two feet without letting go of the marker or stepping on the lines.

In Toss-and-Reach Hopscotch, a player throws her marker into the center square, then hops to each square in order. From each square, she must reach in to pick up her marker without losing her balance or stepping on any lines.

In Agility Hopscotch, the player must hop back and forth across the center line without touching any lines or losing her balance. She must hop on her left foot in squares marked L and on her right foot in squares marked R. She may rest with both feet down where the L and R are marked opposite each other.

Tetherball

TETHERBALL requires a fast mind and equally fast hands to send the ball spiraling around the pole for a win. This was our favorite game growing up and we’d love to see more tetherball courts—and maybe someday tetherball as an Olympic event.

At its most basic, tetherball involves a ball—similar to a volleyball but somewhat squishier—tied to the top of a 10-foot pole by a rope. Two players try to hit the ball in one direction so that the rope winds completely around the pole. (But tetherball is also fun to play by yourself—in your backyard when no one’s around. You can practice and make up games for yourself, too. Like trying to duck before the ball hits you in the head.) Actual tetherball courts have a circle drawn on the ground around the pole and are divided in half. A drawn circle isn’t necessary, but you should expect to need about 8-10 feet of space all around the pole, and each player should stay on her own side of the circle.

RULES

The rules of tetherball are deceptively simple: two people stand opposite each other, one person serves by hitting the ball in one direction around the pole, and the other tries to hit the ball in the opposite direction around the pole. The first player to get the rope wrapped completely around the pole is the winner.

Because the server has a big advantage (she gets to hit the ball first), players can decide to play matches instead of single games. The total number of games comprising the entire match is up to the players to decide, but the winner must win by at least two games. Another way to decrease the serving advantage is to have the player who doesn’t serve choose which side of the circle she is on and which direction she is hitting.

FOULS AND VIOLATIONS

How seriously you take fouls is something that needs to be decided before the game. Fouls include:

♦ Stepping across the center line.

♦ Server hitting the ball twice at the beginning before the opponent hits it once.

♦ Hitting the ball twice while it is still on your side of the circle.

♦ Hitting the ball with any part of the body other than the hand or forearm.

♦ Reaching around the pole and hitting the ball.

♦ Catching or holding the ball.

♦ Throwing the ball.

♦ Touching the pole with any part of your body.

♦ Hitting the rope with any part of your body.

If you only have a few players, you can treat these fouls as mere violations and resume the game by stopping the ball and returning it to where it was wrapped when the violation occurred. The non-violating player gets to serve, and then either player can hit the ball. If a player racks up three violations, the opponent automatically wins.

If the two players commit a violation at the same time, they must do a pole drop to start the game again. Both players hold the ball with one hand, lifting it about three feet away from the pole, directly over the line dividing their two halves of the circle, and then let go of the ball at the same time. The ball should hit the pole, and then either player can hit it to continue the game.

No matter how you decide to play, the only absolute game-ender is grabbing the pole. If a player does that, she immediately loses the game.

EQUIPMENT

The Ball

A tetherball is the only piece of equipment that you must purchase specifically for the game and is similar to a volleyball, but softer. It will have either a loop sticking out of the surface or a recessed spot on the surface of the ball to attach the rope.

The Pole

The best pole for the job is a 10 to 12-foot long, 2-inch diameter steel pipe sunk 2 feet into the ground, with an eyebolt run through the pole about 4 inches from the top for attaching the rope. This may be a good time to take a field trip to your local hardware store. But with a good eye you might be able to spot a likely pole around town that will serve nicely for the game. Just remember to untie the ball and take it home with you when you are done.

MAKING A TETHERBALL COURT IN YOUR YARD

Here’s your shopping list:

♦ 10 to 12′ long, 2″ diameter steel pipe

♦ 2′ long, slightly wider than 2″ diameter, steel pipe

♦ Eyebolt with nut (for attaching the rope to the top of the pole)

♦ Drill and bit capable of drilling through metal

♦ Concrete mix

♦ Tetherball

♦ Rope (if not included with the tetherball)

Making the court

Drill a hole through the pole about 4 inches from the top for the eyebolt, and put the eyebolt in place.

Dig a hole in your lawn, gravel driveway, or backyard about 2½ feet deep, with a 2-foot diameter.

Pour in 6 inches of concrete and let it set.

Stand the 2-foot long pipe in the hole and add concrete around the pipe to fill the hole (it’s a good idea to have something to keep the pipe in place while the surrounding concrete sets; also, the pipe should be level with the ground and should protrude just above ground level, but not so much that it sticks up enough to get nicked by a lawn mower).

Once the concrete is set, slide the pole into your concrete-and-pole base (this should be a solid, tight fit, but the long pole is removable).

Attach the rope and ball.

Jump Rope

IT’S SURPRISING to us now, since jump rope is often thought of as a girl’s game, but skipping rope actually began as a boys-only activity, prohibited for females. Nowadays, though, jumping rope is for everyone. It’s even a competitive sport.

Jumping rope has been a favorite game through the ages. Medieval European paintings depict children rolling hoops and jumping rope along cobblestone streets. In 1600 AD Egypt, children used vines for jump rope play. In England, jumping rope was particularly popular around Easter, when skipping took place in Cambridge and in several Sussex villages. Even today, every Good Friday in the East Sussex village of Alciston, children gather to jump rope.

TEN CLASSIC JUMP ROPE RHYMES

From the streets of Philadelphia to the schoolyards of Beverly Hills these rhymes have been passed down and around for generations. As with handclap games, you may know different versions of these. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Blue Bells, Cockle Shells

(swing rope from side to side)

Blue bells, cockle shells

Easy ivy over

(on “over,” swing rope overhead and begin

normal jump rope swing)

Here comes the teacher with a big fat stick

Now its time for arithmetic

One plus one is?

(jumper responds) Two

Two plus two is?

(jumper responds) Four

Four plus four is?

(jumper responds) Eight

Eight plus eight is?

(jumper responds) Sixteen

Now its time for spelling

Spell cat.

(jumper responds) C-A-T

Spell dog.

(jumper responds) D-O-G

Spell hot.

(jumper responds) H-O-T

(when the jumper finishes spelling hot, swing the rope as fast as possible until the jumper misses)

2. Cinderella

Cinderella, dressed in yella

Went upstairs to kiss a fella

Made a mistake

And kissed a snake

How many doctors

Did it take?

(start counting jumps until the jumper misses)

3. Help

H - E - L - P

(The jumper jumps once for each letter as the word help is spelled out, and the girls turn the ropes turn faster and faster until she misses. The letter they are on when she misses determines what kind of jumping the jumper must then do.)

H—Highwaters

(rope doesn’t touch the ground)

E—Eyes closed

(jumping with eyes closed)

or

E—Easy over

(rope goes over slower than usual)

L—Leapfrog

(jump like a frog: crouch down,

then jump high)

P—Peppers (rope twirls quickly)

(The jumper then jumps in that style until she misses.)

4. Ice Cream Soda

Ice cream soda,

cherry on the top,

Who’s your boyfriend (or best friend)

I forgot

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc.

(When the jumper misses, the other players name a boy or best friend whose name begins with that letter.)

5. Miss Brown

I went down town, to see Miss Brown.

She gave me a nickel, to buy a pickle.

The pickle was sour so she gave me a flower.

The flower was black so she gave me a smack.

The smack was hard so she gave me a card.

And on the card it said:

Little Spanish dancer turn around.

(turn while jumping)

Little Spanish dancer, touch the ground.

(touch ground)

Little Spanish dancer tie your shoe.

(jump on one leg, pretend to tie shoe)

Little Spanish dancer, 64-skidoo.

(jump/exit rope area)

6. Not Last Night But The Night Before

Not last night b ut the night before, 24 robbers came knocking at my door, As I ran out, (jumper jumps out of rope) They ran in, (jumper jumps back in) Knocked me on the head with a rolling pin.

I asked them what they wanted And this is what they said:

Chinese dancers do the splits, (the jumper does commands after each one)

Chinese dancers do high kicks,
Chinese dancers turn around,
Chinese dancers touch the ground,
Chinese dancers get out of town.

(the jumper runs out of the rope, end of turn)

7. School

School, school, the golden rule, spell your name and go to school

(The jumper spells name and then runs out without touching the rope. Each subsequent turn, the jumper jumps through the grades.)

Kindergarten (jumper just runs through)

First Grade (jumper jumps once, saying “first grade” then runs out)

Second Grade (jumper jumps twice, saying “second grade” then runs out)

And so on, through 12th grade

(The jumper’s turn ends when she misses or once she’s jumped all the way through the 12th grade.)

8. Down in the Valley

Down in the valley where the green grass grows,

There sat (jumper’s name) pretty as a rose.

Up came (a boy)

And kissed her on the cheek,
How many kisses did she get this week?

(jumper jumps and counts until she misses)

9. Policeman

Policeman, Policeman do your duty

Here comes (jumper’s name), an American beauty.

She can wiggle, she can wobble,
she can do the splits.

But I bet you five dollars that she can’t do this.

(Jumper’s name) jumps on one foot, one foot,
one foot, (jumper jumps on one foot)

(Jumper’s name) jumps on two foot, two foot, two foot (jumper jumps on two feet)

(Jumper’s name) jumps on three foot, three foot, three foot (jumper jumps on two feet with one hand to the ground)

(Jumper’s name) jumps on four foot, four foot, four foot (jumper jumps on two feet with both hands to the ground)

(Jumper’s name), jump out!

10. Apples on a Stick

Apples on a stick

Make me sick,

Make my heart go

Two-forty-six.

Not because I’m dirty,

Not because I’m clean,

Not because I kissed a boy

Behind a magazine.

Close your eyes and count to ten.

If you mess up, then that’s the end.

(jumper jumps and counts to 10)