July 4th – Time to Play 7-3-09
Maybe July 4th is unlike any other holiday. It’s as if the calendar pauses in the middle of the year and we are in summer and we are at the beach and we can all stop and play.
Families are together again. July 4th is the time for picnics and barbeques, family reunions and vacations together. Just a big pause from the hectic, ridiculous pace of life and a time to stop work for at least a weekend. A time to rest, relax, refresh with the kids, aunt and uncles and grandparents. Time to play.
This is the time of year that badminton and croquet sets emerge from dusty garage shelves. Lawns are dotted with colorful mallets that are meant to hit wooden balls through strategically placed hoops.
Croquet is played competitively and in the official game one side takes the black and blue balls and the other takes the yellow and red. In the United States there are specific rules for the game of croquet including variations that include mondo croquet, extreme croquet and bicycle croquet. This game is widely believed to be viciously competitive according to a Wikipedia article but when playing with children hopefully everyone will behave!
Badminton is a court game that lacks the rigor or dignity of tennis. It is played competitively but most people are recreational players either on turf or at the beach. This simple game allows totally unskilled people to hit a birdie, also known as a shuttlecock from side to side over a net. This can be played as singles or doubles with the object being never to let the shuttlecock hit the ground.
Another recently popular sport is beach tennis. This game takes the fast pace of tennis and combines it with the sun, sea and sand of the beach. It is played competitively also but most of the time non-athletes of all ages can be seen using tennis racquets to volley a slightly depressurized tennis ball back and forth over a net without letting it bounce on the sand. Points are scored when your opponent hits the ball outside the lines or you fail to lob it back.
Beach volleyball has enjoyed a significant rise in popularity and can be seen being played up and down the Rehoboth coastline. At the highest level, beach volleyball is an art form. Who can forget the Olympic teams that competed last summer in Bejing? Such agility, grace and teamwork! But beach volleyball can also be a fabulous multigenerational game that includes children, teens and adults. The Rehoboth Recreation department has nets set up for everyone to enjoy.
Many stores along the boardwalk sell paddles for paddle ball. The tiny black rubber ball is tossed back and forth by hitting it with a paddle. This game is especially good for families because it requires little skill and keeps active children engaged in for hours.
Cape Henlopen is lacrosse country. Just consider the Cape Henlopen women’s team and their shiny new State Championship trophy! In order for my list of games to be complete, I must mention that I have observed many girls and boys with lacrosse sticks in their hands at the beach tossing around a lacrosse ball. Maybe they will invent beach lacrosse? Maybe that is why Cape lacrosse players are so fierce!
Getting a tan, playing some games, having some fun together: that’s what a holiday is all about.
