The Project Description of the 6th East Asian Games:Soft tennis

　　Soft tennis（软式网球）

　　History and Introduction of the Sport

　　Soft tennis is a sport event developed from tennis. Soft tennis was born in the period of Meiji Restoration in Japan. In 1878, Mr. Lillard from America was invited to Japan to give lectures by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Japan. Mr.Lillard was a tennis fan; he brought the equipment and rules of the lawn tennis to Japan and did some show-how and performed the competition. In 1889, Tokyo Advanced Normal School organized the first tennis club. Because all the tennis pats and balls were imported from foreign countries, students in poor economic conditions were limited to attend this interesting sport due to the high price. Later they used toy rubber ball to replace tennis ball which proofed to be effective and that was the beginning of the soft tennis.

　　In 6th, February, 1988, the first convention was held in Tokyo, Japan, and the convention announced the establishment of the Asian Soft Tennis Federation. In 1990, on the 11th Asian Games in Beijing, soft tennis was listed as a demonstration event of the convention. In 1994, the 12th Asian Games in Hiroshima also had the soft tennis competition. From the year 1975, the world’s soft tennis championships are held every two years, 10 championships in total have been held by 1993.Soft tennis became a competition event of East Asian Games in 1993.

　　Sport court and equipment:

　　Soft tennis court is rectangle in shape, 23.77 meters in length, 8.23 meters in width for singles and 10.97 meters in width for doubles. The soft court includes the indoor and outdoor court. The court can also be divided into four kinds according to the texture of the ground surface:

　　Turf tennis court: artificial turf, natural turf.

　　Hard tennis court: cement, pitch.

　　Plastic tennis court: multilayer bonding, whole bonding.

　　Soil texture tennis court: red clay.

　　As for the equipment, the ball used in soft tennis is an inflatable rubber ball, mainly white in color, 30-31 grams in weight, 6.6centimeters in diameter, with an error less than 0.1centimeters. The elasticity of the ball should be measured by the bouncing height after a free fall of 1.5 meters in the measurement of the competition court. The standard bouncing height is 65 to 80 centimeters. The pat of the soft tennis is lighter and smaller than that of the tennis, and the net is also a little higher.

　　Competition rules: The player can serve the ball higher or lower than his head. The attack can be forehand or backhand, or intercepting in front of the net. In one round, the players or teams who get 4 scores first win the competition. If the scores are tied in three rounds, the players of teams who get the 2 scores first win. Different from the regular tennis, the serve alternation of soft tennis goes in two rounds. The two sides should change ends when the singular round (such as the first, third and fifth round) in each set is concluded and when the sum of rounds played by both sides after each set is singular. In the deciding round that ends in a draw, the players should change ends every 6 scores. The soft tennis can be played indoor or outdoor, on hard ground, red soil or lawn. The participant players need to have 7 rounds for singles, 9 rounds for doubles. The single players who win 3 rounds first and the double players who win 4 rounds first win the competition.

　　Any of the conditions happens below will be judged as losing point.

　　(1) The ball doesn’t pass over the net before the second touchdown.

　　(2) The return ball hit the ground, object or other things that are out of the boundary line of the opposite side.

　　(3) Failure in hitting back the flying ball

　　(4) The player deliberately touches the ball more than once.

　　(5) The body of the player or the pat touches the net when serving the ball

　　(6) Over-net hit

　　(7) Throwing the pat to hit the ball

　　Spectators’ Manners

　　1. Soft tennis is a sport event that has relatively more requirements on the manners of the spectators, which is similar to that of the tennis. Only when the spectators understand the basic manners and the rules of soft tennis, can they appreciate the competition better. The manners for the spectators in watching the tennis competition are conventional. In order to let the athlete focus on the competition, and the spectators enjoy the game, the spectators should know something about the manners of watching this kind of game. Please pay attention to the following aspects:

　　2. The spectators should arrive at the court ahead of time, and be seated before the competition begins. Don’t stay in the passageway or sit on the railing while watching the game. When the competition begins, the spectators should keep in silence, turn off all the wireless communication devices, or turn to mute, and try not to receive phone calls in the court.

　　3. The spectators should avoid eating, making noises and walking in the court. They can have a rest when the players change courts and rest for 90 seconds. The players have right to stop or suspend the competition due to the uproar of the spectators.

　　4. During the competition, no flashlight is allowed in the photographing. It is best for the spectators to go to the washing room or buying drinks in the period of the 90 seconds’ rest and return to the seat when the ball is dead.

　　5. During the competition, when the spectators pick up the ball hit by the player, they should throw it back to the court when the competition is suspended; never throw the ball during the competition.

　　6. Don’t have any kind of conversation with the referee and the players during the competition, including inquiring the scores or having a disagreement with the judgment.

　　7. Mind the timing of the applause and cheers. Only when one side gets a score, can the spectators cheer for the winner but the cheers should stop as soon as the player starts to play. During the competition, don’t call the player’s name too often.

　　8. Avoid taking little children to the court whose voices are unmanageable and make you the focus of the court.