All children love to play games, and ours are particularly fortunate to be growing up in a country where sporting achievement is publicly recognized and facilities are available for all to participate in an active way.
A difficulty which faces small children trying to emulate their sporting heroes, is that the skills required are too difficult. Many sports have recognised this and have solved the problem by creating a set of “modified” rules. No sport has achieved this better than tee-ball – a modified version of baseball. This fact is borne out by the explosive growth of the sport, which was introduced into Western Australia at the Perth Royal Show in September 1974, and the first season beginning in October of the same year with 8 teams totalling 96 boys playing between Teakwood Reserve in Woodlands and Emberson Reserve in Morley. Nowadays, there are thousands of children playing tee-ball each year, and the game has spread across the metropolitan area and into country towns all across Western Australia with 50+ clubs giving themselves over to the excitement of tee-ball.
The major modifications include no pitching, hitting the ball off a “tee” of adjustable height, a time limit of one hour and playing on a diamond which is only two-thirds of the senior size. It also incorporates an important rule on the length of an innings to prevent a stronger team monopolising the batting during a game.
Tee-ball caters for children from 4 to 12 years of age. The game provides a lot of fun, opportunity for rapid improvement in ball skills, hand-eye coordination and general confidence, as well as one hour of fast moving exciting involvement during the game itself. Parent and family participation as well as business sponsorship have reached unprecedented heights for children’s sport.
All activities are framed with the desire to achieve the philosophy of tee-ball.
The tee-ball philosophy is best remembered by the “Four F’s”:
FUN
FAIR PLAY
FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT