swingball tetherball

Tetherball, rubber tetherball, PVC tetherball, for indoor and outdoor play. It's a game for two opposing players.

Tetherball is a North American game for two opposing players. The equipment consists of a 10 ft (3 m), stationary metal pole, from which is hung a ball from a rope, or tether. The two players stand on opposite sides of the pole. Each player tries to hit the ball one way; one clockwise, and one counterclockwise. The game ends when one player manages to wind the ball all the way around the pole so that it is stopped by the rope.

A similar game called Swingball (also totem tennis) uses a smaller, softer ball that the players strike with racquets. It is more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, in all of which tetherball (both as described above and as a name) is virtually unknown.

Swingball has a shorter pole (usually some 1.5 metres in height), is portable and the ball flies around the pole at a constant distance from the pole (usually also about 1.5 metres) on a helical screw; the game ends when the ball reaches the top or bottom of the screw. Generally the ball used for these games is either a tennis or a softer, sponge-rubber ball. The racquets are usually the size of tennis racquets but constructed of hard plastic. The game is played informally, usually with the pole being driven into a lawn or other grassy area, or as a holiday game on a flat stretch of sandy beach.

swingball tetherball