Skittles (sport)
From Free net encyclopedia
Skittles is an old European target sport, from which Ten-pin bowling and Candlepin bowling in the United States, and Five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom the game remains a very popular pub sport in England and Wales, though it tends to be found in particular regions, not nation-wide. It is perhaps most common in the south west counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and South Wales. It is very popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Contents |
Terminology
- Ball - the wooden ball rolled at the skittles.
- Beaver - when a player knocks down no pins in a hand.
- Broken frame - a frame with some pins knocked over
- Cheese - a round, flattened wooden discus (often made of lignum vitae), shaped like some types of cheese, which in some variants of the game is thrown instead of rolling a ball
- Flattener / floorer / flopper - when a player knocks down all nine pins with one ball or cheese.
- Frame - the full set of pins (usually nine) standing upright
- Hand - a player's turn at the game
- Pin - a skittle.
- Pitch - the long rectangular strip along which balls are thrown and at the end of which the pins stand
- Sidey /Cush - a ball played that hits the side of the alley.
- Skittle alley - a long narrow building in which skittles is usually played.
- Skittle may be an onomatopoeic word that describes the noise made when the skittles fall.
- Spare - when a player knocks down all nine pins with 2 balls, allowing a third throw with the pins re-set.
- Sticker / sticker-up - a person who puts knocked-over pins back upright
- Sunshine - (South Wales) when a player fails to knock down any pins with his three balls
Standard game
Skittles usually takes place in a skittle alley, and usually uses a single set of nine pins.
The pitch, like the pins and the rules, varies according to region, but is between 21 feet (6.4 m) and 36 feet (11 m) long to the front pin.
The balls are traditionally made of hardwood, often lignum vitae, though rubber balls may sometimes be found. They are between 4 inches (100 mm) and 6 inches (150 mm) in diameter, and have no finger holes. The player usually has a choice of sizes. A sloping wooden ramp along the side of the alley is often used to return them to the players.
Pins are vertical lengths of wood - traditionally from the wood of a cider apple tree in the west country, or sometimes synthetic materials. They are between 6 inches (150 mm) and 16 inches (400 mm) high, weigh up to 3 kg, with height, shape and weight all varying by region. The central pin (or sometimes the front pin) may be larger or differently shaped in some games. The pins are always arranged in a diamond pattern:
*
* *
* * *
* *
*
Usually three balls are thrown, and any pins that have been knocked down but that remain on the pitch are removed between throws. If all the pins are knocked down, they are put back by the sticker - so the maximum score is typically 27 (3 x 9), though this varies in different versions of the game.
Generally the ball is thrown to roll along the floor, but in some regions it is bowled rather like in cricket, either with or without a bounce - though with an under-arm swing action. Each player may have up to 12 'hands' (turns) during a match.
Variants
Front Pin First
In this variant of the game, pins are only counted if the front pin is knocked over first. If the front pin is missed, any pins that are knocked over are not reset.
Nomination
In this variant of the game, the player has to nominate the pin that will be hit first before the throw. Unless this pin is knocked over the player will not score. The names given to the pins may vary from region to region, in Wiltshire they are usually referred to as Front Pin, Front Right Quarter, Front Left Quarter, Outside Right (or Right Winger), Centre Pin, Outside Left (or Left Winger), Back Right Quarter, Back Left Quarter and Back Pin.
Midlands
In the Midlands, a 'cheese' is thrown through the air instead of using a ball.
Gloucestershire Skittles
In the Cheltenham area, skittles is played with either a team of 12 (winter skittles) or 6 (summer skittles). Each player plays 6 hands of 3 balls. However, in Gloucester, the players play 10 hands of 3 balls, and a team is made up of 10 skittlers.
London skittles (Nine-pins)
Also known as ninepins, this version uses nine pins (made of hornbeam) and a cheese. The cheese is thrown at the pins using a swinging motion whilst stepping forwards. After an initial throw, the remaining pins (the 'broken frame') may end up in a variety of formations - each of which has a distinctive (and usually London-based) name, such as a London Bridge or a Portsmouth Road. Knocking down all the pins at once is known as a 'floorer' and is highly respected. A player who manages to throw three floorers in succession is lauded.
Whilst it was once a popular game played in pubs all over London (generally sited by the river), it is now only played at two venues: one in Hampstead and one in Norbury. The origins of this skittles game are vague, but it is thought by some to have been started by Dutch sailors, possibly playing on the decks of moored barges.
Table skittles
Table-top versions of the game also exist. These include:
- Hood skittles: a miniaturized version in which the pins are on a special table which is closed on three sides with a leather hood; a 'cheese' is thrown at the pins underarm
- Devil among the Tailors: another miniaturized version, in which a small ball is attached by a chain or string to a vertical pole, allowing it to be swung through the air in an arc to strike the pins.