Modifications of Team Sports Rules.

In general, there are two reasons for modifying the rules in sport activities: (1) to meet a specific objective or (2) to solve a perceived problem. The sense of the original game is usually not altered significantly because the number of rule changes is kept to a minimum. Changes in rules may be made for administrative or financial reasons, or to adjust to the participants or to the quality or quantity of participation. Suggestions for modifying team sports are presented. Some rule modifications for soccer involve the adjusting to the height and number of team members, number of allowable hits, officiating, and allocating time. In football, there are rule modifications to prevent injuries and unnecessary collisions, alter the size and design of playing area, determine the time length for the game, and to break ties in the scoring. Two modifications for standard slow- and fast-pitch softball games deal with the length of the game and the amount of game action in the time period. Many skills used in playing ice hockey can be learned by replacing the ice rink with the gymnasium floor. There are many alternative rules that could be used in basketball to eliminate the stopping of the time clock and to keep the game moving. (CJ)