Getting Started

Basketball was invented in the United States at what is now Springfield College, Massachusetts.  At the time Springfield College was the International YMCA Training School and the game was first introduced to a class of trainee YMCA Leaders.

At the time there was a need for a gymnasium activity to offset the flagging interest in apparatus work and freestanding exercise used during the winter months.  Canadian Dr. James Naismith, one of the staff at the college, in an effort to make his classes more appealing, introduced various recreational games, such as Association Football, American Football and Lacrosse but each game presented a problem in the confined space of the 65" x 45"(20m x 14m) Springfield YMCA gymnasium.

Naismith gave this problem a considerable amount of thought and decided that the solution lay in taking different factors from known games and combining them to produce a new game.  The main features of the game invented by Naismith were: -

•    a team game
•    a ball handling game without the use of any implement
•    the ball was easy to handle, round, light and difficult to conceal
•    a game played indoors
•    no tackling
•    to offset the no tackling, players were not permitted to run with the ball
•    skill required to score, therefore, the target was placed above head height
•    equal opportunity for each team
•    game that demanded skill rather than strength to succeed
•    game easy to learn
•    a game anybody could play

Kit you'll need

As long as you have a pair of training shoes your can get started.  Most indoor halls will require you to have non marking soles but that is about it.  Playing indoors you are going to sweat, so take a towel and some sweatbands are a good idea.
And don’t forget to take a drinks bottle!

What's Good

Basketball is a great team sport and to play at a good level you will need to be fit.  The sport has continued to grow in popularity worldwide because it is easily accessible to all and you don’t need lots of expensive kit to get started.  For players and spectators alike, Basketball is great to be involved in as games are dynamic and exciting to watch with the result often only being decided with the very last play.

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