Rackets (sport)
Rackets ( in America also Racquets ) is a non-return game played in the hall and is considered as the direct forerunner of squash and racquetball. The sport is now common only in a few clubs in the UK, the U.S. and Canada. In London in 1908 Rackets was olympic.
Game
Rackets is in halls of 60 feet ( 18.28 m) long, 30 feet (9.14 m) wide and at least 30 feet in height played. The ball is hard, has a diameter of 1.5 inches (38 mm) and weighs 28 grams. It is played with rackets made of wood. The rules are essentially the rules for squash, which are indeed originated from these.
The ball is struck alternately against the front wall above the so-called board, and may often as previously, but not touching, the side walls and the rear wall of the floor. The board is a 2 feet and 2 inches (0.66 m) high wooden wall, often covered with cloth. Before the return of the ball must touch the ground more than once, otherwise it is an error. Upon impact, the ball must be played directly on the front wall and has other pet restrictions. Power of Aufschläger an error, service alternates. Power of the receiver an error, the server shall receive one point. Whoever reaches 15 points first, wins the set, tied score of 13 or 14 points will be extended by 3 or 5 points. A match consists of several winning records.
Squash and the resulting end of 1920 in the USA Racquetball based on the same game idea, but differ from Rackets by the smaller play areas (9.75 × 6.40 m or 12.19 × 6.10 m ), by other balls and bats and modifications in the rules.
History
Rackets to have originated in the 18th century as a pastime in the London debtors prisons King 's Bench and Fleet. It was first played in the open air. The English sports journalist Pierce Egan describes racquets in detail in his 1832 published work Book of Sports And Mirror of Life and mentioned several open spaces in London Gaststhäusern racquets. In these places Championships have been held in the Open Court racquets. Harrow was the first school, was played at the rackets, probably from the early 1820s.
The oldest covered Rackets Hall was built shortly after 1839 on Eglinton Castle in Kilwinning, Scotland. Mid-19th century began the covered courts to oust the open. The old Prince 's Club opened in 1853 with seven courts. The dimensions of the main field in the Prince 's Club (60 feet long, 30 feet wide) were still used today standard. More rackets halls followed, including the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in Harrow, in the new Prince 's Club, in Manchester and Liverpool, and in 1888 Queen's Club, where at the Olympic Games London 1908 competitions in rackets, indoor tennis and jeu de Paume (English Real Tennis ) were held.
With the change from open to covered courts racquets was becoming a sport of the wealthy. At the same time the sport was competition: to practice and to bridge the waiting time on the Court, a pupil of Harrow played with a soft ball The flying slower than the hard ball used in racquets Initial reports of this first Squash Racquets, later only squash ( engl. squeeze ) variant mentioned date from the year 1850. Squash spread rapidly, especially in schools, and was soon played on smaller courts than the classic rackets. 1908 Squash independent sport and went in 1928 with the founding of the Squash Rackets Association ( SRA) own way.
Rackets today
Rackets is now (as of October 2012) played by only a few clubs that are organized into two federations: the Tennis and Rackets Association was founded in 1907 and called 18 clubs and schools with racquets courts. The North American Rackets Association has 7 members in the U.S. and Canada. Both associations coordinate a regular game traffic.