Basketball is a fast moving game that can be played on both indoor and outdoor courts. The object of the game is to score points by making field goals or free throw shots. The length of time that the game is played varies, depending on the age, fitness level and skill of the players, but most youth games are made up of four 6-minute quarters. There are short breaks between each quarter and at half-time.

At the beginning of a basketball game, both teams send five players each onto the court. The game begins with a jump ball at center court. Each team tries to recover the ball and move it toward their designated basket. When the ball is within shooting range of the net, players take shots at the basket and score points for each field goal. The opposing team tries to block the shots and prevent the ball from going into the basket.

Basketball youth leagues generally accept boys and girls beginning at age 5.

The size of the basketball court varies from 94 feet in length at the college and professional level, to sizes much smaller for youth leagues. Likewise, the height of the basket and the size of the basketball are adjusted for the player's size.

Advantages

Basketball is an excellent conditioning sport that can be enjoyed by both boys and girls alike. Participation in athletic sports like basketball, improves physical fitness, coordination, self-discipline, and gives children valuable opportunities to learn about teamwork.

Basketball games can be played on school playgrounds, home driveways, and indoor gyms. Although an official game of basketball requires 10 players and use of a full-court, it is common to play with as little as two players on a half-court. One major advantage about basketball is that the skills needed for the game can be practiced individually. Many families purchase portable basketball nets for home use. Jumping rope at home is another great way to prepare to play basketball.

Disadvantages

As in most sports that involve running for sustained periods of time, injuries to the lower extremities are most common, particularly ankle injuries, with strains and sprains being the most often encountered basketball injuries.

Other injuries such as bruises, lacerations, and bone fractures can result both from falls and from collisions between players.

A study conducted by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported the following statistics related to sports injuries in children ages 10 to 14:

Baseball. Although no knows for sure how baseball started, the origins of baseball most   likely has roots in the British game   called rounders. In the earliest days,  the American version of rounders was known as 'Town Ball'. Rules varied from town to town and there was no widely accepted way to play.

Basketball. A game that started with 18 men in  a YMCA gymnasium in Springfield, Mass., has grown into a game that more than 300 million people play worldwide. The man who created   this instantly successful sport was Dr. James Naismith.

Golf. The Romans played a game like golf by striking a feather stuffed ball with club shaped branches during the reign of Caesar.  Golf was banned in Scotland   in 1457.  The oldest golf course is in Scotland, called St. Andrews, and it  was used as early as the 16th century.  Golf became firmly established in Great Britain by the 17th century.

Ice Hockey. Until the mid-1980s it was generally accepted that ice hockey derived from English field hockey and Indian lacrosse and was spread throughout Canada by British soldiers in the mid-1800s. Research then turned up mention of a hockey-like game, played in the early 1800s in Nova Scotia by the Micmac Indians

Lacrosse was considered the most  widely played team sport of its time in North America with regional variations played with either one or two sticks of differing structures. In all it's forms the Native version of lacrosse was an athletic contest of great skill, pride and spiritual significance.

Sports

...from aikido to archery, snowboarding to squash...

The Hertfordshire Sports Village opens on the Hatfield de Havilland campus from August 2003. It offers some of the best university based sporting and fitness facilities in the country.

Whether you are a talented and committed sports person, someone who just plays sport or keeps fit for fun, or, like many people, somewhere between the two, the Sports Village offers something to suit you.

Going to university provides you with one of the best opportunities you will have to participate in different sports, or to improve your skills and performance in a particular activity. You can choose from a wide range of student clubs, play serious or social sport, or take advantage of the excellent fitness and swimming facilities to keep fit.

Hertfordshire Sports Village will play host to many of the Students Union Clubs and will also serve as a home match or training venue to other local and professional clubs. This gives you the opportunity to play for University teams, local clubs and in country leagues in a variety of sports.

The clubs offer an excellent opportunity to try out different sports. Many welcome complete beginners as well as accomplished performers and are coached by professional, qualified coaches, making the University of Hertfordshire an ideal place to try something new.

'among the best in the country'

If you are interested in individual health and fitness activity, there is a wide range of personal fitness services on offer, including personal training, sports sciences support and a sports injury clinic, as well as a full programme of fitness classes in the aerobics studio. The swimming pool offers ?lane swimming? throughout opening hours, swimming lessons, aquarobics classes and competitive club activity.

Hertfordshire Sports Village comprises:Twelve badminton court sports hall with sprung wooden floor built to Badminton Association of England Performance Centre standards and perfect for other sports such as basketball and volleyball. A 25 metre eight-lane swimming pool built to national short course competition standards. A 12 metre climbing wall with features including a bouldering cave and moveable hand holds for different route setting. A four-net purpose-built indoor cricket hall which is also used as a multi-purpose hall for martial arts, archery and a variety of other

activities. A 100 station fitness centre with cardio-theatre, smaller secondary gym, aerobics studio and sports injury clinic. Two squash courts with sprung floors, glass backed walls and viewing gallery.Two floodlit New Generation astroturf pitches, suitable for use for football and rugby at all levels. Floodlit sandfilled astroturf pitch primarily for use for hockey. Three grass football pitches and one rugby pitch.

In addition to the on-site facilities, there are a host of other sporting faciliites in Hertfordshire including a local indoor tennis centre and a choice of golf courses.

For more information, please see the Hertfordshire Sports Village web-site.