Instructions / Assembly
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3. Go Play!
Once the server serves to start the game, either player can hit the ball
from that point on.
Serves must be hit, not thrown.
Penalties in Tetherball are either intentional or unintentional.
Unintentional penalties include the following:
o Stepping on or crossing the center line;
o Touching the rope;
o Carrying or throwing the Tetherball (e.g., when hitting the ball back
against the direction which it comes, the ball should bounce off of
the hands immediately with no lingering contact); and
o Double hitting (e.g., a player can hit the ball only once per wrap
around the pole except if the Tetherball hits the pole between hits).
When an unintentional penalty occurs, the ball is stopped and returned
to the place it was wrapped before the penalty occurred. Both the
number of wraps and the height should be recreated. The player, who
did not make the penalty, gets to serve. Then either player can hit the
Tetherball from that point on. If the player commits any three violations,
in any combination, the opponent wins the game.
The only intentional penalty is grabbing the pole, which immediately
results in the loss of the game.
If both players commit a penalty at the same time, then they perform a
“pole drop.” Both players place one hand on the Tetherball, holding it
three feet out from the pole, directly above the center line. They
release the Tetherball at the same time. Once the Tetherball hits the
pole, either player can hit it and the play continues normally.
Game Variations
Removing Advantage From Server
In basic Tetherball, the server usually has an advantage because they start with
control over the Tetherball. To remove this advantage, require the server to wait
until either the opponent strikes the Tetherball or the Tetherball has wrapped four
times around the pole before the server can strike the Tetherball again.
Game Trivia
In the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder stars as an awkward teenager
who enjoys diversions such as drawing, hip-hop dancing, and playing Tetherball.