Tetherball is a North American game for two opposing players. The equipment consists of a 10 ft (3 m), stationary metal pole, from which is hung a from a rope, or tether. The two players stand on opposite sides of the pole. Each player tries to hit the ball one way; one , and one . The game ends when one player manages to wind the ball all the way around the pole so that it is stopped by the rope.
A similar game called Swingball (also totem tennis) uses a smaller, softer ball that the players strike with . It is more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, in all of which tetherball (both as described above and as a name) is virtually unknown.
Swingball has a shorter pole (usually some 1.5 metres in height), is portable and the ball flies around the pole at a constant distance from the pole (usually also about 1.5 metres) on a screw; the game ends when the ball reaches the top or bottom of the screw. Generally the ball used for these games is either a or a softer, sponge-rubber ball. The racquets are usually the size of tennis racquets but constructed of hard plastic. The game is played informally, usually with the pole being driven into a lawn or other grassy area, or as a holiday game on a flat stretch of sandy beach.
Tetherball/Swing ball/totem tennis