Basketball is a popular form of team sports. It is played by millions of people around the world. The main task of the players is to achieve a greater number of goals scored in the ring, which is installed on the backboard.
History of the game
In 1891, an ordinary physical education teacher, Disames Naismith, came up with a new game for students: he invited the wards to compete in accuracy by throwing the ball, and to complicate the task and interest young people, he attached fruit baskets to the balconies of the gym. It was necessary to get into the baskets that hung directly over the heads of the students.
In team competitions, balls were thrown into baskets not only by the players, but also by the fans who were on the balconies. In order to prevent the balls flying into the opponent's basket from flying further than the target, Disemes Naismith installed shields behind the baskets.
The homeland of basketball is Massachusetts, known for its erratic weather. Naismith focused on the weather when designing the game: he needed dynamic competitions that could be played indoors.
The students liked the game so much that a year later it became the center of attention at sports competitions. However, the wicker fruit baskets clearly did not cope with the onslaught of the players and often treacherously fell apart after the next ball. Already in 1893, they were replaced by rings, which were made from metal hoops with a coarse mesh.
Features of rings
Each playing area requires two rings (baskets). They must be identical in size. The thickness of their hoop should not exceed two centimeters. The diameter of the basketball hoop is suitable for a fairly large basketball ball to pass through. The traditional basket diameter is 45 centimeters. In some cases, an increase in size up to 45.7 centimeters is permissible, this is the largest of the permissible ring diameters.
Basketball rings have a net that is equipped with twelve loops so that it can be securely fastened. The "ring-grid" structure is fixed on the shield, which is located at a distance of two meters from the front line, on a special stand. The first rings were welded to the rack, but in the heat of excitement, players often jump and even hang, pull themselves up on the ring. Therefore, the organizers of the games have to resort to various methods of strengthening the baskets on the backboard, so that they do not break from the player's weight.
Each ring is colored bright red to make it easier for athletes to orient themselves when throwing the ball. On average, the rings can withstand loads of up to 82 kilograms.
Basketball players are quite tall. This is no coincidence, because it is customary to hang a basketball hoop at the level of three meters, it is very difficult to get into the hoop from under it, even having an average height. However, for schoolchildren, stands are made that allow you to adjust the height of the ring. In addition, in special situations, it is possible to use rings with shock-absorbing functions for a basketball game. It depends on the parameters of the ball, because it can have different rebound forces, which are taken into account when organizing a particular basketball match.
