Metric in Sports: Summer Games Fast Facts

Basketball is a sport played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s basket. International competition follows the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) governing body rules and regulations. 

The floor surface is required to be a minimum of 32 000 mm in length and 19 000 mm in width. The basketball court measures 15.2 m by 28.7 m. The basket ring has a minimum inside diameter of 450 mm and is positioned 3 050 mm above the floor. The basket net may be no more than 450 mm long and gaps must be less than 8 mm. The game clock is required to indicate time in minutes (m) and seconds (s), including 0.1 s increments during the last minute of the quarter and overtime. The shot clock counts down time in seconds (s). 

The spherical basketball is inflated so that when it’s dropped on the court from 1 800 mm, the underside of the ball rebounds to between 1 035 mm and 1 085 mm. Women’s competitive basketball circumference range between 715 mm to 730 mm and 510 g to 550 g in mass. Men’s competition basketballs are between 750 mm to 770 mm in circumference and 580 g to 620 g in mass.  

Return to Top of Page

The modern Pentathlon is a sport consisting of five events: pistol shooting, fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, and cross-country running.  

Soccer

Credit: Adobe Stock

Soccer is a game in which two teams of 11 players, use any part of their bodies except their arms and hands to move the ball  into the opponents’ goal post. The ball is about 68 cm to 70 cm in circumference and 410 g to 450 g in mass. A soccer game lasts 90 minutes and is divided into two halves. The pitch is 90 m to 120 m long and 45 m to 90 m wide; for international matches, it is 100 m to 110 m long and 64 m to 75 m wide. Fun Fact: It is known as “football” internationally. 

Table tennis is a sport played by one or two players at each end of a flat table divided into equal halves by a net. The aim is to hit the ball with rackets so that it goes over the net and bounces once on the opponent’s side so that the opponent cannot return the ball. The table playing surface is 76 cm from the ground, is a rectangle shape (2.74 m long by 1.53 m wide) and is surrounded by a 2 cm thick perimeter border. The net is 8 m long and stands at a height of 15.25 cm. The ball has a diameter of 40 mm and weighs about 2.7 g. The paddle (or racket) is about 15 cm wide and 17 cm long. 

Return to Top of Page

Tennis is a sport in which two opposing players or pairs of players use rackets to hit a ball to bounce it over a net on a rectangular court. Points are awarded to a player (single) or pair of players (doubles) whenever the opponent fails to correctly return the ball within the dimensions of the court.  In international competition, balls range between 6.54 cm to 6.86 cm and 56.0 g to 59.4 g in weight. An international tennis court is 23.77 m long. The singles tennis court width measures 8.23 m, while a doubles court measures 10.97 m. The net is 1.07 m in height. Tennis balls can reach impressive speeds during a serve, toping over 210 km/h. The game is governed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Track and Field 

Credit: Adobe Stock

Track and field events are a major part of both international and high school games. They encompass a variety of races that test the speed, endurance and agility of athletes. Delve into the Track and Field Webpage to learn more about track and field. 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Top of Page

Volleyball

Credit: Adobe Stock

Volleyball is a sport played by two teams with six athletes each in which the players hit the ball back and forth using their hands over a high net, with the aim of making the ball touch the surface of the court on the opponent’s side. Volleyballs used in the international games have a circumference of between 65 cm to 67 cm and weigh between 260 g to 290 g.The court is rectangular (18 m long and 9 m wide) split equally into two halves by a net that is 4.43 m (men’s) or 2.24 m (women’s) in height. All court lines are 5 cm wide. The attack line is located 3 m from the net. The game is governed by the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB). 

Credit: Adobe Stock

Weightlifting is a competitive sport where individual athletes lift weights attached to barbells. Athletes focus on maximizing the weight they can lift, squat, or bench press in kilograms (kg). The combined weight of the bar, discs, and collars are recorded for a lift. The women’s bar is 2.01 m long and weighs 15 kg, while a men’s bar is 2.2 m long and weighs 20 kg. Weight discs range from 0.5 kg (white) up to 25 kg (red) and are located on opposite sides of the bar to balance the lift load. A collar that weights 2.5 kg is placed at each end of the bar to secure the weight plates. Two primary lift techniques include the “snatch” and the “clean and jerk.” An athlete has 3 lift attempts. The highest combined total weight lifted is designated the winner. When attempting a lift, athletes are required to stay within the 4 m by 4 m (16 m²) lifting platform. Athletes compete within 5 weight categories: