| 5th
May, 2007
DAVID
ADAMS
Where
did hopscotch come from? - Kyle
 |
PICTURE:
Adrian (www.sxc.hu)
"Some
of the original hopscotch courses were more than 30
metres long and Roman soldiers would apparently complete
them in full kit - that’s carrying armour, weapons
and field packs."
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Hopscotch
is a childrens' game based on people hopping and jumping their
way through a “court” which consists of lines
drawn or scratched on the ground, often with chalk and often
in a pattern of adjoining squares (although the pattern can
vary widely).
Participants
throw a stone or marker of some sort onto the court's first
square and then hop their way through it without touching
lines and avoiding the marker square. They then must travel
in reverse, stopping to pick up the stone before finishing.
The marker is then thrown onto the next square and the person
continues. Losing their balance, stepping on a line or completing
the sequence out of order forfeits the turn.
Hopscotch
apparently began life in Roman Britain when it was used by
Roman footsoldiers as a training exercise, in an idea similar
to that of the tyre courses we see used by soldiers in training
today.
Some
of the original hopscotch courses were more than 30 metres
long and Roman soldiers would apparently complete them in
full kit - that’s carrying armour, weapons and packs.
Children,
seeing the activity, imitated what the soldiers were doing,
created a scoring system and so the game of hopscotch was
born.
The
word itself comes from “hop” meaning to jump”
and escocher, an Old French word meaning ”to cut”
or “scratch” (as in “scotch a rumour”).
The
game, and variations of it, is known by different names around
the world, including “marelles” in France, “pico”
in Vietnam and “rayuela” in Argentina.
SOURCES
AND FOR MORE:
~ www.streetplay.com/thegames/hopscotch.htm
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopscotch
~ www-cs.canisius.edu/~salley/Articles/hopscotch.html
If
you have a word you'd like to know the origins of, simply
send an email to origins@sightmagazine.com.au.
What's your
favorite childhood game? Have Your Say below...
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