Figure 1.--Here a boys in a private prep school play rounders in their physical education (PE) class. They are wearing their school unifirms except that some boys have put on sneakers (trainers). Sneakers were not allowed with the school uniform except for sports.

Rounders might bebetter termed a game than a sport, although some girls do play it as a sport. For boys it is more of a game. There are some similarity to baseball, in fact early references to the gane used the term "baseball". Rounders became more common as baseball emerged as a major sport in America. The games appears to date back several centuries amd like many other teamsports, originated in England. Written references aee more modern. As in baseball, two teams take turns fielding and batting. The official ball is leather, but schools use a variety of balls depending on the field and age if the players. A small, short bat is used and swing with one hand. No gloves are used by the fielders. Home plate is called fouth base. It is sometimes played as a competitive sport by the girls. It is also used as a game activity for the younger children played during morning break, physical education (gym) or afternoon games. It was a sport that could be used for mixed groups. The skill sets are not as demanding as cricket whuch many of the younger boys have trouble with. In that sence it is used rather like kickball is used in American primary schools. The children have a good time with it and is a popular choice for a game activity. An American reader writes, "I had some friends in Nottingham whose kids played rounders at school . I taught one of them to play baseball when they were visiting the States and we played it at the local Rec. ground in Nottingham when I visited there. We got some strange looks from the kids playing cricket though when we hit the ball into their field."

Created: 8:56 PM 5/15/2009
Last updated: 8:57 PM 5/15/2009