Basketball birthday

December 21 is the birthday of basketball, which is believed to have appeared in an almost modern form in 1891 Of course, in fact, it existed before that, several centuries ago To be objective, its ancestors can be called the Indians of South America: the Mayans, the Aztecs It was they who created improvised balls from available natural materials and sought to throw them into recesses in stone walls The balls were made from rubber, from matted animal hair This improvised game can easily be called the prototype of modern basketball It is known that this idea began a truly grandiose march around the world in 1891, when in the state of Massachusetts, in one of the schools, a physical education teacher invited children to divide into two teams and train in the speed and accuracy of throwing balls They were supposed to be thrown into a regular box However, the caretaker of the local school could not find a box or box and brought a round basket of peaches It was there that the children threw the balls, competing in speed and dexterity Gradually this activity became more systematic and acquired clear rules By the way, these rules have been preserved in basketball almost unchanged to this day For example, it was forbidden to knock down and push an opponent, to run around the hall, to throw the ball not with your palms, but with your fist, and so on Such rules made it possible to focus specifically on dexterity and at the same time not prevent the players of the opposing team from fully demonstrating their dexterity and strength Within a few years, literally “basketball mania” began Not only schoolchildren played this game, but the idea was also liked by the military Basketball truly became an army game, because it allowed soldiers to keep themselves in shape, develop agility, and at the same time did not oblige them to wear any complex equipment or install additional equipment In addition, it was possible to play both indoors and outdoors under suitable weather conditions At the very beginning of the 20th century, basketball became popular in the Russian Empire; it spread especially actively throughout the world after the First World War Competitions were held between the soldiers in the ability to deftly throw a ball As it became apparent that the world took the game seriously, numerous international associations began to emerge And a little later, in 1936, the game became an Olympic sport, and since then it has not lost ground Yes, initially it was believed that white players could not play on the same team with blacks, but when it became obvious that in most cases black teams were among the leaders, it was decided to soften social segregation and allow players to form a team where people of all colors skins played together By the way, this approach served to unite It was through such innovations that society began to realize the futility of social and racial segregation The Soviet authorities were also very interested in the game of basketball, who set themselves the goal of proving that domestic athletes could also be winners, beating American teams in professionalism It was a serious struggle, since sports, and above all basketball, figure skating, and hockey, turned into sports of political significance Celebrating the birthday of basketball is customary in different ways But traditionally, various championships and friendly meetings between teams are most often organized Moreover, they occur not only in the capital’s large sports centers, but throughout Russia and around the world This day is celebrated in many countries as it has become international And, of course, it is actively celebrated in the homeland of basketball, that is, in the USA