NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14005207/detail.html

Wow. Tag. I've heard they banned dodgeball in some schools too.

But look at the bright side, at least there's not an obesity epidemic in this country. :)

Tag?

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.

We played that in my high school, but with two major difference:

(1) Either you only have to touch the guy or you have to pull his flags out (a la flag football).
(2) Except for the first guy, if you get tagged/flagged you can't move your feet. You can still tag/flag others, though.

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.Unfortunately most schools have had their hearts set on selling of their grounds to make money to pay for other things. This essentially means most playgrounds consist entirely of asphalt. Sorry, but I don't fancy being rugby tackled on asphalt.

Unfortunately most schools have had their hearts set on selling of their grounds to make money to pay for other things. This essentially means most playgrounds consist entirely of asphalt. Sorry, but I don't fancy being rugby tackled on asphalt.

Bah wimp!

Bah wimp!Sets you and Barringtonia a game of British Bulldog on some nice weathered asphalt.

I've heard they banned dodgeball in some schools too.

Ok, i have to ask: what actually is dodgeball? All I know about it is from American media, that it's a game that involves children throwing balls as hard as they can at each other. How on earth was that allowed in schools in the first place!?

Ok, i have to ask: what actually is dodgeball? All I know about it is from American media, that it's a game that involves children throwing balls as hard as they can at each other. How on earth was that allowed in schools in the first place!?


You've never played Tan Ass then. Best game ever!

Sets you and Barringtonia a game of British Bulldog on some nice weathered asphalt.

We always played British Bulldog on asphalt. :confused: Actually, it was concrete, now I think about it. The grass was for football and sliding tackles.

You might as well just ban fun. Same effect in the end.

This is getting fracking ridiculous. Now, I never was active, but they wonder why kids are getting fatter... If they're not ALLOWED to do anything fun outside, why would you bother?

I'm amazed they haven't banned soccer, football, swimming (could drown!), athletics (could have a major fall!), or indeed all sports.

For the record, I think doing so is ridiculous.

Actually, the main problem is we're expecting kids to be adults. They're not, they're kids.

I do know a primary school I attended banned bullrush.

If you're not going to allow games, just allow 20 minutes for lunch and shove more schooling in. Anything more than that if you're not going to let kids play is pointless anyhow.

Tag?!? You should have played Brandings in high school, it was brutal.

So they're banning a children's game that's been around since like the dawn of time because suddenly kids are afraid of being "chased or harassed against their will?" This is getting ridiculous. Keep giving kids the silk glove treatment like this and they'll all grow up to be nerve-wracked pill-popping wrecks when they have to face the real world...

Let kids be kids FFS!

They haven't banned Red Rover yet? Surely they've spared that as well as Wall Ball (usually involving throwing a ball at someone's ass if they fumble their catch)...

So they're banning a children's game that's been around since like the dawn of time because suddenly kids are afraid of being "chased or harassed against their will?" This is getting ridiculous. Keep giving kids the silk glove treatment like this and they'll all grow up to be nerve-wracked pill-popping wrecks when they have to face the real world...

Let kids be kids FFS!

People go around in public chasing people, then whacking them on the arm, saying 'Tag!', strange...

They haven't banned Red Rover yet?

Vague memories.....remind me about Red Rover.

Tag?!? You should have played Brandings in high school, it was brutal.

This one I've not heard of, can you provide details?

This one I've not heard of, can you provide details?
brandings

Branding definition: To throw a ball at someone hard enough to leave a mark.

To play brandings you need a tennis ball and a wall, preferably 2 stories or more in height with no windows. 2 players are required as a minimum but theoretically there is no maximum player number. I have seen up to 30 kids playing brandings. The more the better in fact.

The game starts by one player throwing the ball at the wall. It must hit the wall on the full or else the thrower is up for a branding. In this event the first person to recover the ball can brand the original thrower. If the ball comes off the wall and is caught one handed the catcher can brand the thrower.

If the ball is dropped by the catcher then the catcher can be branded by the first person to recover the ball. A failed catch is defined by the ball touching the ground after it has touched the catcher. Quite often the butter fingered catcher will recover the ball first and throw it away or refuse to drop it. This behaviour is unacceptable and the player is expelled from the game. The failed catcher is under no obligation to assist the person nearest him get the ball but he must not throw the ball away, if he recovers it he must simply drop it.

The branding can be avoided by running to and touching the wall. So a thrower who is caught one handed can run to the wall and prevent the brand. A failed catcher can also run to the wall and prevent the brand.

A failed catch is not restricted to someone who attempts to catch the ball. If the ball while in flight comes into contact with any part of a persons body and then touches the ground, the person touched by the ball is considered to have failed the catch.

The only really controversial rule is the avoided catch rule. If someone deliberately tries to avoid an incoming catch it maybe considered a failed catch. Usually all kids will yell "borked!" or some other phrase to identify the deliberate avoidance. This will usually strike fear into the heart of the person who just avoided the ball and they run for their life to the wall.

There are a number of strategies available to the thrower. The long high ball is hard to catch one handed so he can set someone up for a drop. It also gives the thrower a chance to move toward the wall. In fact the thrower could be touching the wall before the ball is caught.

The other option is the low fast ball. If somebody stands close to the wall so they can defuse any brands that might come their way the thrower (who is free to move where he likes for 5 seconds) can send in a low fast ball with a trajectory that comes back off the wall and into the person. This gives the wall hugging person a very tricky catch and depending on the quality of the throw it may actually result in a brand itself.

In the interests of fair play the players may agree that headshots are illegal. In any case a shot in the centre of the back or upper thigh has a much more long lasting effect.

We played this game alot in years 5 and 6. I remember at one stage we had an exchange teacher from Denmark. When he was first on playground duty he was horrified to see us playing this game and banned it. Of course we complained bitterly and explained to him that it was a game we played all the time before he came along. To our surprise he agreed to let us continue and decided to play for a few minutes to get a feeling for this strange Aussie game. Thank god he only played once because his brands were by far the worst I ever felt.
Source: circa 1970's - 1980's, AUS
Source: http://www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=term&d=2&t=168.

Vague memories.....remind me about Red Rover.

This is why I like Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rover

Players on a team hold hands, forming a "chain". The leader of a team will call a player from the opposing team. That player must try and break through two players' hands (a link) to stay on their own team. If the player is not able to break through the link, that team will gain control of that player. Before a player would try to break the link, the link would normally say "Red Rover, red Rover, _________ (player's name) come on over!"

Typically, the weaker players are chosen first to increase the chance of taking them.

When only one player is left on a team, they must try and break through a link. If they do not succeed, the opposing team wins. Otherwise, they are able to get a player back for their team.

The game can be a potentially painful experience. For example, when the runner breaks through a link (or attempts to break through), it can hurt the linkers' arms, or body depending on if he falls or gets bruised by somebody's bones.

People go around in public chasing people, then whacking them on the arm, saying 'Tag!', strange...

You know full well what I mean! Adults going in and trying to protect kids from everything means that the kids will learn to defend themselves from nothing.

You know full well what I mean! Adults going in and trying to protect kids from everything means that the kids will learn to defend themselves from nothing.

In terms of kids learning to be quick tongued in retorts with classmates etc I agree, but not so much in Tag, footy is better anyways.

They banned tag? Give me a break. And then they wonder why obesity rates in children are so high?

Just let kids be kids. A lot of adults expect them to be miniature adults and they're not. I think that is a main problem.

This is why I like Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rover

Thanks, I remember that game - it was painful, I tended to always be invited into games with people a couple of years above me, partly because I was a quick, a little foolhardy and oblivious to the consequences of pain, though I certainly felt it - it was just the challenge overcame the thought of the results - that was a game even I tended to try and avoid.

.

Never played that one - it does remind me of another game we played very briefly.

Our school had these large window doors separated by a 5m concrete divider. The point of the game was to kick a football as hard as you could, aiming for the concrete divider. It was okay to do it softly to be honest but it was hard not to start kicking it harder and harder.

The thrill came from the fact that sooner or later someone was going to send the ball crashing through the glass windows.

A teacher came down at one point shouting "what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to break those windows?"

A friend calmly replied that, to the contrary, the point of the game was to miss them.

In terms of kids learning to be quick tongued in retorts with classmates etc I agree, but not so much in Tag, footy is better anyways.

It's not so much the tag itself, but the basic premise of over-protectionism that bothers me.

It's not so much the tag itself, but the basic premise of over-protectionism that bothers me.

No kidding. Last I checked, tag was one of the least violent recess games that we played; especially if it was freeze tag.

We played this game alot in years 5 and 6. I remember at one stage we had an exchange teacher from Denmark. When he was first on playground duty he was horrified to see us playing this game and banned it. Of course we complained bitterly and explained to him that it was a game we played all the time before he came along. To our surprise he agreed to let us continue and decided to play for a few minutes to get a feeling for this strange Aussie game. Thank god he only played once because his brands were by far the worst I ever felt.

Is that exchange teacher by any chance named "Greg Focker"? I just get in my head an image of a teacher going all out and just blasting the students with all his fury.

Also, the game is exactly like "Wall Ball" aka "Shit!" aka "Welting".

I've not heard of the term "Brandings" but now, that's added into the list.

I loved that game back in middle school. School officials figured it was better to let us beat each other with tennis balls rather than dealing drugs or doing other activities clearly in the wrong...

Hell, I'd play it today if there were a game somewhere. Additionally, considering that it's clearly a global sport (Aussie game, American game), it should become globalized. Just imagine, a damn good game of Welting/Brandings/Wall Ball to replace diplomatic endeavors and war.

Why, dare I say, we might even have fun at it!

I fondly remember playing Brandy (Ball Chasey (Ball Tag)). Good times. Ditching tennis balls at each other was really fun.

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.
we used to play a variation of that at primary school, it was called Blood Ball. basically the same but there was a ball and roughly equal facing teams. once brought to the ground you changed teams and the aim was to take the ball over the opposing teams back line. i think it was based on some comic or other.

Bulldog was banned at my secondary school though, but we still played it sometimes. the field that we played on had like a 50 degree incline so take downs were often spectacular.

point #3794 in favor of homeschooling- my kids still get to play dodgeball and other highly competitive games in P.E.

I don't think it ever had a name (as far as I remember) but the guys I went to school with had a game where you would hold up your fist and the other player would punch your knuckles as hard as they could and then vice versa. Basically the first one to give up lost. I remember a few times coming in after lunch barely able to move my hand

There are several pre-schools in our area that don't allow kids to play any games that involve "sides" or a "winner".

At my kids' elementary school, if they're playing softball or soccer, and it looks like one side is starting to win, the teacher changes who is on what team. Some of the time, a really good player is forced to play for both teams (softball is the example here - a good hitter is forced to hit for both teams).

They are constantly told not only that winning is unimportant, but that winning is actually bad, and that players who are good at something are not any more valuable in a game than anyone else.

Sounds like a version of Mercy.

For girls.

Pffft mercy was nothing compared to this game. At least with mercy you had to go all the way to breaking part of your arm to cause lasting damage. Blood was spilled in the knuckles game

I don't think it ever had a name (as far as I remember) but the guys I went to school with had a game where you would hold up your fist and the other player would punch your knuckles as hard as they could and then vice versa. Basically the first one to give up lost. I remember a few times coming in after lunch barely able to move my hand

Sounds like a version of Mercy.

For girls.

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.

Hmm, not Bulldog, its Bull Rush; the good old days. Both girls and boys used to play it. believe me, some of the girls were built like brick shithouses.

Ok, i have to ask: what actually is dodgeball? All I know about it is from American media, that it's a game that involves children throwing balls as hard as they can at each other. How on earth was that allowed in schools in the first place!?

It's remarkably simple, really.

There are two teams, of equal numbers.

The court is split in half, one team on one side, the other on the other side. You cannot cross the middle divide(Sometimes there are rules that you have to throw the ball behind a certain line, giving a good buffer zone, sometimes not).

There are a bunch of balls(Usually rubber balls filled with air, or for the "safe" version, those damnable foam ones). At the beginning of the game, the balls are placed on the divider line.

All players of each team must start the game at the very back of the court. When the game starts, the players rush to the center to grab the balls quickly.

Then, you throw the balls at players on the other team.

If it hits them, and the ball is not caught, that person is out.

If the balls is caught, you are out(And depending on the "home" rule either someone else of the players choosing comes in, or all player who were gotten out by the player who through the ball come in).

You continue throwing the balls back and forth until one team is entirely eliminated.

It really is a fun, but painful, game.

I don't think it ever had a name (as far as I remember) but the guys I went to school with had a game where you would hold up your fist and the other player would punch your knuckles as hard as they could and then vice versa. Basically the first one to give up lost. I remember a few times coming in after lunch barely able to move my hand

we just called that Knuckles at my school.

I feel really sorry for these kids when they get into a thing called the real world...where you're not going to have some over protective school system or mommy and daddy to hold their hands and make all the mean people not make fun of them....that hitting fists together game is called bloody knuckles...at least for us it was...you weren't allowed to quit unless you were bleeding already...quitting before hand would usually merit you a whole day or two of hazing....funny I never saw any girls playing that game...you must have some very masculine like women where you live BWO...have fun tapping that

There are several pre-schools in our area that don't allow kids to play any games that involve "sides" or a "winner".

At my kids' elementary school, if they're playing softball or soccer, and it looks like one side is starting to win, the teacher changes who is on what team. Some of the time, a really good player is forced to play for both teams (softball is the example here - a good hitter is forced to hit for both teams).

They are constantly told not only that winning is unimportant, but that winning is actually bad, and that players who are good at something are not any more valuable in a game than anyone else.

That's such bullshit. How can they get away with indoctrinating such bullshit into the next generation?

Sure, winning isn't always important, but it feels damn good when you win and it gives you that driving desire to try and accomplish something more difficult.

On any team, all players are important in their own way, but players who are good, let's face it, they are more valuable to their team than the snotty kid who trips over his own feet and cries a lot.

I don't think it ever had a name (as far as I remember) but the guys I went to school with had a game where you would hold up your fist and the other player would punch your knuckles as hard as they could and then vice versa. Basically the first one to give up lost. I remember a few times coming in after lunch barely able to move my hand

I remember it being called knuckles and I remember it hurting like hell - the other version was putting your hands flat together and holdng them out and your opponent tries to slap them - you can't move til they do - that also hurt.

Hmm, not Bulldog, its Bull Rush; the good old days. Both girls and boys used to play it. believe me, some of the girls were built like brick shithouses.

It was definitely called Bulldog for us though these games change names a lot from county to county I think.

I remember it being called knuckles and I remember it hurting like hell - the other version was putting your hands flat together and holdng them out and your opponent tries to slap them - you can't move til they do - that also hurt.


Slappsies was what we called that. It was like the gateway drug for Knuckles

Sounds like a version of Mercy.

For girls.

Actually, it's either Bloody Knuckles or Collision. Not sure which one, based on his description.

Man, Bloody Knuckles was fun. I always won due to my extremely high tolerance for pain.

I wonder what they would think of the game "Smear the Queer" (ultra-violent tag played on asphalt, for those who don't know) these days?

I know that once I was minding my own business and out of nowhere here comes the guy who's it, and he runs right into me while he's looking over his shoulder. I got knocked unconscious!

Have they thought of banning Leap Frog yet?

At the elementary school I attended, we played the wall ball game, called it red ass (when teachers were around, red ace, and no throwing the ball at victims).

Football was banned though. Not just tackle football, but even throwing a football was not allowed. :confused: Surely throwing a football wasn't as dangerous as most of the other games we played. We would play soccer at lunch and recess, and that would be pretty competitive. We would just abandon rules at one point and it could disintegrate into a battle royale. But, that is obviously less of a danger than throwing a football around.

I don't think it ever had a name (as far as I remember) but the guys I went to school with had a game where you would hold up your fist and the other player would punch your knuckles as hard as they could and then vice versa. Basically the first one to give up lost. I remember a few times coming in after lunch barely able to move my hand

That was called bloody knuckles. We had a game in the same theme called quarters though, where two guys would be spinning a coin on a table, and periodically they have to flick it and get it to spin the other way (counterclockwise or clockwise). Whoevers flick made the coin fall on the table had to put their fist knuckle down on the table, and the other guy would flick the coin horizontally at full strength towards him. Whoever cut the other guys knuckles first won. (i.e. whoever bled first lost)

That was called bloody knuckles. We had a game in the same theme called quarters though, where two guys would be spinning a coin on a table, and periodically they have to flick it and get it to spin the other way (counterclockwise or clockwise). Whoevers flick made the coin fall on the table had to put their fist knuckle down on the table, and the other guy would flick the coin horizontally at full strength towards him. Whoever cut the other guys knuckles first won. (i.e. whoever bled first lost)

Ooooooo played that one too. Took a bit more skill than the other

That was called bloody knuckles. We had a game in the same theme called quarters though, where two guys would be spinning a coin on a table, and periodically they have to flick it and get it to spin the other way (counterclockwise or clockwise). Whoevers flick made the coin fall on the table had to put their fist knuckle down on the table, and the other guy would flick the coin horizontally at full strength towards him. Whoever cut the other guys knuckles first won. (i.e. whoever bled first lost)

Never seen that variation - does counter-flicking the coin in itself hurt?

Seriously, as kids we do the weirdest things - I often wonder how so many people make it past 20.

They haven't banned Red Rover yet? Surely they've spared that as well as Wall Ball (usually involving throwing a ball at someone's ass if they fumble their catch)...

Back in the day when I attended elementary school, wall ball was banned because someone threw a football through a window. I don't think that decision stretched to any other schools though.

They banned bulldog in my old school, don't know if anyone remembers that game?

Things really are getting ridiculous aren't they? I oved plyin Tag and British Bulldog until they got banned. Thn came th Pokemon craze which as eventually banned because "kids got upset if they lost a card or game". Luckily my younger borther and sister and I have ignored all hese 'warnings' and continued regardless.

Best hing of school was in Yar 7 thoug. Amost everyday we'd have wrestlingmtches n our classroom nd I mean proper matches where we were slamming each othe into tables and whackin each other with books and stuff. Good times...

I have to wonder about sanity of the parents that complained about tag. What a bunch of stupid twits.

The school is even worse for enabling their stupidity. Kids without a means to blow off steam are much more likely to act out in class and start fights with each other.

Bulldog was banned at my secondary school though, but we still played it sometimes. the field that we played on had like a 50 degree incline so take downs were often spectacular.
...
Is that exaggeration for effect? Because it would be so awesome if true.
we just called that Knuckles at my school.

We used to play poker for raps. Raps being knuckles dealt with a deck of cards. Several of my friends now have mysteriously scarred knuckles...

It's remarkably simple, really.

There are two teams, of equal numbers.

The court is split in half, one team on one side, the other on the other side. You cannot cross the middle divide(Sometimes there are rules that you have to throw the ball behind a certain line, giving a good buffer zone, sometimes not).

There are a bunch of balls(Usually rubber balls filled with air, or for the "safe" version, those damnable foam ones). At the beginning of the game, the balls are placed on the divider line.

All players of each team must start the game at the very back of the court. When the game starts, the players rush to the center to grab the balls quickly.

Then, you throw the balls at players on the other team.

If it hits them, and the ball is not caught, that person is out.

If the balls is caught, you are out(And depending on the "home" rule either someone else of the players choosing comes in, or all player who were gotten out by the player who through the ball come in).

You continue throwing the balls back and forth until one team is entirely eliminated.

It really is a fun, but painful, game.

we play it almost just like that here, but if you are hit you have to join the other team and if you catch it whoever threw it has to join your team, at the end of the game the last kid on one team is the loser.

...
Is that exaggeration for effect? Because it would be so awesome if true.



i'm not sure, it was certainly very steep and in my mind's eye it's at least 45 degrees.

okay, i just looked up what 45 degrees actually looks like and i reckon it was probably nearer 35 degree slope. still, plenty scope for flying.

That's such bullshit. How can they get away with indoctrinating such bullshit into the next generation?

Sure, winning isn't always important, but it feels damn good when you win and it gives you that driving desire to try and accomplish something more difficult.

On any team, all players are important in their own way, but players who are good, let's face it, they are more valuable to their team than the snotty kid who trips over his own feet and cries a lot.
As I always tell kids...

It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether you win.

Ok, i have to ask: what actually is dodgeball? All I know about it is from American media, that it's a game that involves children throwing balls as hard as they can at each other. How on earth was that allowed in schools in the first place!?

Dodgeball is the sport of Gods.It is THE BEST GAME EVER!! At one school we used to play like every week.With rubberballs.Ah man the rush.It's so easy not to gat hit. The gym teacher just says hit above the wasit.Then I went to a new school were they had these crappy like foamish,cottonish balls.Meh.You couldn't get anyspeed. It is really just the best.You don't actually get hurt either as long as you don't get hit in the face or crotch.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

No tag or dodgeball should not be banned in schools.It's more overreaction.More obsessive-compulsiveness for safety.Wow one kid fell on the asphalt.Be a man use some disinfectant.God.One kid scrapes his hands and knees so adults to quote George Carlin "take all the fun out of being a kid."

Parents these days are totally tight over nothing. Let your damn kids grow up and stop complaining about bullying. We all went through it and it made us better people. To me (as both someone who has bullied and been bullied) bullying is a way of making people fit in better with the population of teens/children. I was bullied at the start of high school and looking back on it, though I hated it then, I'm better for it and I deserved it.

Bring back tag!

There are several pre-schools in our area that don't allow kids to play any games that involve "sides" or a "winner".

At my kids' elementary school, if they're playing softball or soccer, and it looks like one side is starting to win, the teacher changes who is on what team. Some of the time, a really good player is forced to play for both teams (softball is the example here - a good hitter is forced to hit for both teams).

They are constantly told not only that winning is unimportant, but that winning is actually bad, and that players who are good at something are not any more valuable in a game than anyone else.

Now derek Jeter is as good as the kid who holds the bat upside down and when he finally bunts a foulo ball runs to third base.Now they don't seem to do strikes anymore.You have to swing.You can't baseslide or steal.(Jackie Robinson cries) Not having sides is the worst thing.Winning isn't always important.But you need a little competitve spirit.Life is competitive.Just try getting into high school or college.Although it's not the worst to have a balaced team.A slaughterfest isn't good.But one is ocasionally needed because you just have to understand life is very competitive.

...man, some of you people were freaking violent little kids, weren't you?

Anyway, I'm not sure the article supports the righteous indignation some of you are expressing. From what I gather, the parents did not seem to be complaining because children were getting physically injured, being sad that they weren't winning, or anything resembling either of those, but because tag games were being used as a means to bully certain students. Whether those parents' complaints were justified, I obviously can't tell you, but banning tag as a way of cracking down on bullying doesn't exactly sound like a way of overprotectively coddling children.

We always played dodgeball slightly differently too. Just as a fun game, no way to keep score.

Basically, ~3/4 of the kids would be in a large circle, with ~1/4 running around inside it. We'd have 1-3 of the red rubber balls and the kids in the circle would attempt to throw it at the kids running around inside. If you hit someone, you switched places with them and got to try and avoid the balls yourself. No penalty for missing though.

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.

I know that one. It's fun.

I know at my school nither soccer nor dodgeball was allowed but games like Arms or six-inches were. we had fun times with those :)

After hearing that 'tag' has been banned. Not only am I happy of my decision to send any kids that I may have to Private School, but I may actually buy my kids lawn darts now. *nods*

ZOMG I WAS HARRASSED AGAISNT MY WILL WHAT EVER SHALL I DO?!?!?!? :sniper:

Right. This is beyond crap. This has reached into utter and total nonsense.IT'S ENOUGH!!!

Let's just ban football then! Afterall, some kid might be tackled agaisnt their will!

This is only more proof that nowadays the Bureaucracy would like to see kids organized to the point where they run to maximum, fun-killing, joy-resistant efficiency. Disgusting. Tag is the best game ever. God invented Tag as a way to toughen Kids into the kinds of people this world needs, not little wussies who grew up with the Man over their shoulder when they're trying to get out and pretty much beat the crap out of themselves like they normally would have been doing.

Anyone maybe want to consider a petition?

We are in the era of weak children and weaker parents. Parents are looking for scapegoats for their crap parenting because god forbid they took responsibility like adults should.

EDIT: There was a case where I live (Australia) where a little boy held a little girls hand and got suspended because she cried sexual harassment. They were year 2. And this was my old school.

here's a fun thought; if you're getting chased against your will, stop running! I mean, aren't they teaching kids to "walk away" these days? Seriously, it's not like they've been forced to play the game, unless they don't want to be chased while playing the game. So very stupid.

We used to play British Bulldog at school.

Fantastic game.

Basically you need to run from one point to another without being tagged by a defender. The rule was that a tagging meant 'taken to ground' not just 'touched'. The fun is that, at the start, there is just one defender against, often, up to 50-60 people.

Each time the defender successfully manages to wrestle someone to the ground, that person is converted to a defender. So the odds slowly change as more and more people become defenders.

There's a serious adrenaline thrill if you're among the last 5-10 facing up to 45 defenders.

There's serious pain when 20 defenders jump you and you're taken down.

Legs were broken.

It was banned by the school but prior to that there were some truly awesome games of up to 100 people participating.

I can see where injuries occur that a game should be banned and although we look at it nationally and call it stupid, at one school or region it can become a craze and, due to that craze, people are seriously hurt.


That game was amazing though we usually called it Pom Pom Pullaway but some people called it British Bulldog. However, I never played it at school, we always played after hockey practice. We'd just ditch our sticks in a corner and then play it with hockey equipment on. It was quite fun although there were some pretty nasty collisions a few times. Expecially the last few guys, they just got destroyed trying to skate across the rink. We had a few injuries that put guys out for a couple games.


Also dodgeball just got banned at the school I used to go to. When I went there they used soft balls that you couldn't throw hard even if tried to whip them your hardest. You'd barely feel it when you got hit but now they've banned it because kids may get hurt and it doesn't provide proper physical activity.

At the end of the day, this isn't a national ban. It's Principle's doing their job, assessing the risk of harm between certain students in their school. In most schools, I'm sure there isn't an issue, in this one, there has been, and for the immediate future, they've acted. If circumstances change, as they always do, these rules are often rolled back. We all remember these sorts of things happening as kids, and we just went on with our lives.

At the end of the day, this isn't a national ban. It's Principle's doing their job, assessing the risk of harm between certain students in their school. In most schools, I'm sure there isn't an issue, in this one, there has been, and for the immediate future, they've acted. If circumstances change, as they always do, these rules are often rolled back. We all remember these sorts of things happening as kids, and we just went on with our lives.

No, this is the sort of weak thinking the epitomizes the 'PC' world today. We never had a game banned. As someone else said, if you're getting chased, stop running away. It's probably some whiner kid who didn't like the fact he was slow and kept getting tagged more than everyone else. Have a tissue and go back out and play.

'We played this game alot in years 5 and 6. I remember at one stage we had an exchange teacher from Denmark. When he was first on playground duty he was horrified to see us playing this game and banned it. Of course we complained bitterly and explained to him that it was a game we played all the time before he came along. To our surprise he agreed to let us continue and decided to play for a few minutes to get a feeling for this strange Aussie game. Thank god he only played once because his brands were by far the worst I ever felt.'Wonder were in Denmark that teacher was from, as long as you didn't play violent games against younger kids they didn't care one bit at my school. Had a game that resembled Branding a bit, all you needed was a soccer ball(Hard leather ball of course), a few players and a wall. Coincidently, the game was called Wall. The point of the game was to hit the wall with the ball (only kicking), if you missed the wall you had go over to the wall and stand with your back against it while the other players had a chance to hit you. Being hit by a rebounding ball counted as a miss aswell, unless you lucked out and it touched the wall again. Hitting another player counted as a wall hit aswell, though you where only allowed to go for players that where between the wall and you. Kicking the ball as hard as you could, preferably at an angle that meant that the ball would end up in a really bad position was the prefered tactic, though someone walking infront of you while you where about to kick was so much more fun. When everyone were close to the wall it got really intense, people dodging balls and getting hit in the worst of places, good times. :p

When we got older, Wall of course became a childish game, and we developed the aptly named game Psycho instead. Our school had 2 school yards, one for the smaller kids(where we played Wall), and one for the older kids. The real difference between the two, apart from the size, was that the school yard for the older kids had lots of bamboo in it, which we of course took advantage of. The game was a bit like tag, you had a varying amount of people chasing, and then the people that where to be chased. The chasers(called psychos) each had a bamboo reed which they would use to whip the people that where being chased, a useful tool when they climbed onto the roofs of various gazebos. When a person was caught, the psychos would drag them off to the basement and either whoop them with the bamboo reed or punch them a bit, and then let them go when they felt like it. The captives where allowed to try and wriggle free, but they where not allowed to be violent themselves. Fun was had by all, despite how violent the game might seem. You could at any point decide you didn't want to participate anymore, though it was accepted you had to do it before you where caught.

Doubt that is allowed anymore though, the school became alot stricter the years after I left apparently, wonder how the kids are gonna funnel all that energy and aggresion now....

Pffft mercy was nothing compared to this game. At least with mercy you had to go all the way to breaking part of your arm to cause lasting damage. Blood was spilled in the knuckles game

Funny you mention that, it's Bloody Knuckles where I'm from.