Girls and Athletics / Giving a brief summary of the activity, rules and method of administration of the following games in girls' schools and colleges, women's clubs, etc.: archery, basket ball, cricket, fencing, field day, field hockey, gymnastics, golf, hand ball, ice hockey, indoor base ball, rowing, soccer, skating, swimming, tennis, track athletics, volley ball, walking, water polo, water basket ball.

by Unknown

There are two umpires who control the game. One judges all balls, strikes, blocks, dead balls, balks, illegal deliveries, fair and foul hits, ground hits, foul strikes. All decisions at the home plate are made by her. Time and play are called. She stands in a position behind the catcher.

The other judges the base plays. She stands near base line where she can best see field of play.

The two change positions at the end of each inning.

A regulation score card should be used.

American Hand Ball[1]

Hand ball is a game suitable for either indoor or outdoor playing, in which two or four persons may participate. The game is divided into two parts—offensive and defensive. The server, or, if there are four playing, the server and her partner, constitute the offensive; the receiver or the receiving side, the defensive. The score is made by the serving side upon an error by the receiving side; if the server makes an error she loses the serve, thus also the chance to score. The ball is batted with the cupped hand against a wall or back board so that it bounds within a given territory.

The server drops or bounces the ball and then hits it on the rebound with the palm of hand against the wall, so that it rebounds as far from the receiver as possible. Control and speed are two important factors. In order to obtain good control, the player should practice and endeavor to place the ball where her opponent isn’t. This requires careful observation of your opponent’s tactics. After control comes speed; a speedy ball is always hard to return.

For the defensive, the player should always try to be in a good position to return any ball; thus, it is imperative to be able to play the ball with either hand. It is safer for the defensive player to play a conservative game rather than a speedy one, for any error counts for the other side.

[1] For further details see Spalding’s “American Hand Ball.”

Every player should learn to serve well, to use control and speed; every player should learn to become equally efficient with either hand, batting the ball with straight aim; every player should always remember to outmaneuver her opponent and place the ball where it is most difficult for her to return it.