Pitch (sports field)

Surface on which a sports game takes place

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A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For most sports the official term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside refereeing/umpiring circles.[citation needed] The field of play generally includes out-of-bounds areas that a player is likely to enter while playing a match, such as the area beyond the touchlines in association football and rugby or the sidelines in American and Canadian football, or the "foul territory" in baseball. The surface of a pitch is most commonly composed of sod (grass), but may also be artificial turf, sand, clay, gravel, concrete, or other materials. A playing field on ice may be referred to as a rink, for example an ice hockey rink, although rink may also refer to the entire building or, in the sport of curling, to either the building or a particular team. In the sport of cricket, the cricket pitch refers not to the entire field of play, but to the section of the field on which batting and bowling take place in the centre of the field. The pitch is prepared differently from the rest of the field, to provide a harder surface for bowling. A pitch is often a regulation space, as in an association football pitch. The term level playing field is also used metaphorically to mean fairness in non-sporting human activities such as business where there are notional winners and losers.[1]

## Fields of play in various sports

[edit]

Pitches

* American football field

* Association football pitch,
surrounded by running track

* Australian rules football playing field

* Gaelic, hurling, and camogie pitch

* Rugby league playing field

* Rugby union pitch

* Baseball field

* Cricket field (with the cricket pitch in the centre)

* Bandy field

* Field hockey pitch

* Ice hockey rink

* Basketball court

* Olympic swimming pool

* Speed skating rink

* Tennis court

* Velodrome (track cycling)

## Field sizes

[edit]

Sport  | Regulated by | Shape | Field
length | Total
length | Width | Total
width  | Depth/height | Surface  | Diagram

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Basque pelota (Jai-Alai)  | FIPV | Rectangular cuboid  | 54 meters  | \-  | 10 meters  | \-  | 10 meters  |  |
Bowling | IBF | Oblong rectangle  | 754.1875 inches (19.15636 m)  |  | 41–42 inches (1.0–1.1 m)  |  |  | wood or synthetic material  |
Canoe polo | ICF | Oblong rectangle  | 35 meters  |  | 23 meters  |  |  | water  |
Dodgeball | WDA | Oblong rectangle  | 17 meters  | \-  | 8 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Goalball | IBSA | Oblong rectangle  | 18 meters  | \-  | 9 meters  | \-  |  | wood, plastic or synthetic  |
Korfball | IKF | Oblong rectangle  | 40 meters  | \-  | 20 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Netball | World Netball | Oblong rectangle  | 100 feet (30 m)  | \-  | 50 feet (15 m)  | \-  |  | wood  |
Sepak takraw | ISTAF | Oblong rectangle  | 44 feet (13 m)  | \-  | 20 feet (6.1 m)  | \-  |  |  |
Shinty | Camanachd Association | Oblong rectangle  | 140–170 yards (130–160 m)  | \-  | 70–80 yards (64–73 m)  | \-  |  |  |
Aquatics
Swimming (Olympic)  | World Aquatics | Cuboid  | 50 meters | \-  | 25 meters | \-  | 2-3 meters  |  |
Swimming (short course)  | 25 meters | \-  | 20 meters | \-  | 2-2.5 meters  |  |
Waterpolo | 25 meters  | \-  | 20 meters  | \-  | 1.8 meters  |  |
Basketball
3x3 | FIBA | Oblong rectangle  | 11 meters  | \-  | 15 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Basketball | 28 meters | - | \-  |  |  |
NBA | 94 feet (29 m) | \-  | 50 feet (15 m) | \-  |  |  |
Bat and ball sports
Baseball | MLB |  | 250–400 feet (76–122 m)[2] (distance from home plate apex to nearest center field fence) | \-  | 446.9–492.9 feet (136.2–150.2 m)[3] | \-  |  | grass  |
WBSC |  | 400 feet (120 m) (distance from home plate apex to center field fence)  | \-  | Distance between foul poles (each one are 275 feet (84 m) or more from home plate apex)  | \-  |  |  |
Baseball5 | Square  | 18 metres (59 ft) | 21 metres (69 ft)  | 18 metres (59 ft) | 21 metres (69 ft)  | 1 metre (3.3 ft) (fence)  |  |
Softball[4] | Circular quadrant  | 220–250 feet (67–76 m) (radius)  | \-  | 220–250 feet (67–76 m) (radius)  | \-  |  |  |
Vitilla |  | Circular sextant  | 100 feet (30 m) (radius)  | \-  | 100 feet (30 m)  | \-  | \-  |  |
Pesapallo | Finnish Pesäpallo Association  | Irregular hexagon  | 315 feet (96 m)  | \-  | 138 feet (42 m)  | \-  | \-  |  |
Rounders | GAA | Square  | 70 meters  | \-  | 70 meters  | \-  | .  |  |
Cricket | ICC | Oval  | 130–180 yards (120–160 m) | \-  | 130–180 yards (120–160 m) | \-  | \-  |  |
Indoor cricket | WICF | Rectangular cuboid  | 28-30 meters | \-  | 10.5-12 meters | \-  | 4-4.5 meters  |  |
Stoolball | Stoolball England  | Circle  | 90 yards (82 m) (diameter)  | \-  | 90 yards (82 m) (diameter)  | \-  |  |  |
Lapta | Russian Lapta Federation  | Oblong rectangle  | 40-55 meters  | \-  | 25-40 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Oină | Romanian Oină Federation  | Oblong rectangle  | 70 meters  |  | 32 meters  |  |  | grass  |
Schlagball |  | Oblong rectangle + trapezium  | 70 meters  | plus an area between divergent diagonals of 140 meters behing rear flags  | 25 meters  | plus an area between divergent diagonals of 140 meters behing rear flags  |  |  |
Boules
Boccia | BISFed | Oblong rectangle  | 12.5 meters  | \-  | 6 meters  | \-  | \-  | polished concrete, wooden, natural or synthetic rubber.  |
Bocce volo | WPBF | Oblong rectangle  | 27.5 meters  | \-  | 2.5-4 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Petanque | 15 meters  | \-  | 4 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Raffa | 6.5 meters  | \-  | 4-4.5 meters  | \-  |  | natural ground or synthetic material  |
Combat sports
Amateur wrestling | UWW | Circle  | 9 meters (diameter)  | \-  | 9 meters (diameter)  | \-  | \-  |  |
Fencing | FIE | Oblong rectangle  | 14 meters  | 17–18 meters  | 1.5 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Karate | WKF  | Square  | 8 meters  |  | 8 meters  |  |  |  |
Kickboxing (ring)  | WAKO | Rectangular cuboid  | 5.2 meters  | \-  | 5.2 meters  | \-  | 1.32 meters  | felt, rubber  |
Mixed Martial Arts | UFC[5] | Octagonal prism  | 30 feet (9.1 m)  | \-  | 30 feet (9.1 m)  | \-  | 69 inches (1.8 m)  |  |
Taekwondo | WT | Octagon  | 8 meters  | \-  | 8 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Cue sports
Carom | WCBS | Oblong rectangle  | 2.79-2.89 meters  | 3.065-3.115 meters  | 1.37-1.47 meters  | 1.6245-1.695 meters  | 0.787-0.837 meters  |  |
Pool | Rounded rectangle  |

* 100–100.125 inches (2.5400–2.5432 m) (9 feet)
* 92–92.125 inches (2.3368–2.3400 m) (8 feet)

* 107.875–115.125 inches (2.7400–2.9242 m) (9 feet)
* 98.875–107.125 inches (2.5114–2.7210 m) (8 feet)

* 50–50.125 inches (1.2700–1.2732 m) (9 feet)
* 46–46.125 inches (1.1684–1.1716 m) (8 feet)

* 57.875–65.125 inches (1.4700–1.6542 m) (9 feet)
* 53.875–61.125 inches (1.3684–1.5526 m) (8 feet)

| 29.25–31 inches (0.743–0.787 m)  |  |
Snooker | Oblong rectangle  | 140–141 inches (3.6–3.6 m)  |  | 69.5–70.5 inches (1.77–1.79 m)  |  | 33.5–34.5 inches (0.85–0.88 m)  |  |
Cycling
Artistic | UCI | Oblong rectangle  | 12-14 meters  | \-  | 9-11 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Cycle ball |  | wood, parquet, chipboard, triplex, synthetic  |
Equestrian
Dressage | FEI | Oblong rectangle  | 60 meters  | \-  | 20 meters  | \-  |  | sand  |
Polo | FIP | Oblong rectangle  | 250–300 yards (230–270 m)  | \-  | 160–200 yards (150–180 m)  | \-  |  | grass  |
Snow polo  | 170 yards (160 m)  | \-  | 80 yards (73 m)  | \-  |  | snow  |
Football codes
Soccer | FIFA | Oblong rectangle  |

* 100–130 yards (91–119 m)
* 110–120 yards (100–110 m) (international)

| \-  |

* 50–100 yards (46–91 m)
* 70–80 yards (64–73 m) (international)

| \-  |  | grass, artificial  |
Beach soccer | 35–37 meters  | \-  | 26–28 meters  | \-  |  | sand  |
Futsal |

* 25-42 meters
* 38-42 meters (international)

| \-  |

* 16-25 meters
* 20-25 meters (international)

| \-  |  | wood, artificial  |
American | IFAF | Oblong rectangle  | 100 yards (91 m) | 120 yards (110 m)  | 160 feet (49 m) | \-  |  | grass, artificial  |
Flag[6] (standard)  | 50 yards (46 m)  | 70 yards (64 m)  | 25 yards (23 m)  | \-  | \-  | solid, sand  |
Indoor |  | Rounded rectangle  | 50 yards (46 m) | 66 yards (60 m)  | 28 yards (26 m) | \-  |  | artificial  |
Canadian | Football Canada | Oblong rectangle  | 110 yards (100 m) | 150 yards (140 m)  | 65 yards (59 m) | \-  |  | grass, artificial  |
Rugby union | World Rugby | Oblong rectangle  | 94-100 meters | 106-144 meters  | 68-70 meters | \-  |  | grass, sand, clay, snow, artificial  |
Rugby league | IRL | 100 meters | 112-122 meters  | 68 meters | \-  |  | grass  |
Australian rules (professional)  | AFL Commission | Oval  | 135-185 meters | \-  | 110-155 meters | \-  |  | grass  |
International rules | AFL Commission and GAA  | Oblong rectangle  | 145 meters  | \-  | 90 meters  | \-  |  |
Gaelic | GAA | 130–145 meters  | \-  | 80–90 meters  | \-  |  |
Gymnastics
Artistic (floor)  | FIG | Square  | 11.97-12.03 meters  |  | 11.97-12.03 meters  |  |  |  |
Artistic (vault)  | Oblong rectangle  | 32.2 meters  |  | 2.5 meters  |  |  |  |
Rhythmic | Square  | 12.97-13.03 meters  |  | 12.97-13.03 meters  |  |  |  |
Handball
Indoor and wheelchair | IHF | Oblong rectangle  | 40 meters | \-  | 20 meters | \-  |  |  |
Beach | 27 meters  | \-  | 12 meters  | \-  |  | sand  |
Hockey
Bandy | FIB | Oblong rectangle  | 100-110 meters | \-  | 60-65 meters | \-  |  | ice  |
Rink bandy | 45-60 meters  | \-  | 26-31 meters  | \-  | Boards: 15-122 centimeters height  |  |
Field | FIH | Oblong rectangle  | 100 yards (91 m) | \-  | 60 yards (55 m) | \-  |  |  |
Indoor | 36-44 meters | \-  | 18-22 meters | \-  |  |  |
Beach  | 30-35 meters  | \-  | 20-25 meters  | \-  |  | sand  |
Ice | IIHF | Rounded cuboid  | 61 meters | \-  | 30 meters | \-  | Boards (1.07-2.4 meters height) + protective glass (1.8-4 meters height) + protective net  | ice  |
NHL | 200 feet (61 m) | \-  | 85 feet (26 m) | \-  |
Inline | World Skate | Rounded cuboid  | 131–197 feet (40–60 m)  | \-  | 66–98 feet (20–30 m)  | \-  | Boards: 40–48 inches (1.0–1.2 m) height  | sport tile, wood, asphalt or cement  |
Quad | 34-44 meters  | \-  | 17-22 meters  | \-  | Boards: 1 meter height  | wood, cement  |
Unicycle | IUF | Rounded rectangle  | 35-45 meters  | \-  | 20-25 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Underwater | CMAS | Rectangular cuboid  | 21-25 meters  | \-  | 12-15 meters  | \-  | 2-3.65 meters  |  |
Ice skating
Ice dance | ISU | Oblong rectangle  | 50-60 meters  | \-  | 26-30 meters  | \-  |  | ice  |
Speed skating (Short track)  | Stadium[7] | 60 meters | \-  | 30 meters | \-  | \-  |
Spped skating (Long track)  | 178 meters | \-  | 66 meters | \-  | \-  |
Lacrosse
Field (men)  | World Lacrosse | Oblong rectangle  | 110 meters | \-  | 60 meters | \-  |  |  |
Women | 100 meters  | \-  | 50-60 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Box | 55-61 meters | \-  | 24-28 meters | \-  |  | artificial turf, concrete  |
Sixes | 70 meters  | \-  | 36 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Intercrosse |  | Oblong rectangle  | 40 meters  | \-  | 20 meters  | \-  |  | wood  |
Racquet sports
Badminton | BWF | Oblong rectangle  | 44 feet (13 m) | 17.4 meters  |

* 17 feet (5.2 m)
* 20 feet (6.1 m) (doubles)

* 8.18 meters
* 9.1 meters (doubles)

|  |  |
Padel | FIP | Rectangular cuboid  | 19.9-20.1 meters  | \-  | 9.95-10.05 meters  | \-  | 4 meters  |  |
Squash (singles)  | WSF | Cuboid  | 9.75 meters  | \-  | 6.40 meters  | \-  | 4.57 meters  |  |
Squash (doubles)  | 9.75 meters  | \-  | 8.42 meters  | \-  | 4.57 meters  |  |
Table tennis | ITTF | Oblong rectangle  | 2.74 meters  | \-  | 1.525 meters  |  | 76 centimeters

91.25 centimeters (including net)

|  |
Tennis | ITF | Oblong rectangle  | 78 feet (24 m) | 37 meters  |

* 27 feet (8.2 m)
* 36 feet (11 m) (doubles)

| 18 meters  |  | clay, grass, hard  |
Beach tennis | 16 meters  |  |

* 4.5 meters
* 8 meters (doubles)

|  |  | sand  |
Tag games
Kabaddi (standard)[8] | IKF | Oblong rectangle  | 13 meters  | \-  | 10 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Kabaddi (circle-style)[9] |  | Circle  | 44 meters  | \-  | 44 meters  | \-  | \-  |  |
Kho kho | IKKF | Oblong rectangle  | 27 meters | 30 meters  | 16 meters | 19 meters  | \-  |  |
Kho kho (Ultimate)[10] |  | 22 meters | 26 meters  | 16 meters | 20 meters  | \-  |  |
Tchoukball
Tchoukball | FITB  | Oblong rectangle  | 26-29 meters  | \-  | 15-17 meters  | \-  |  |  |
Beach  | 21-23 meters  | \-  | 11-13 m  | \-  |  | sand  |
Track and field
Indoor  | World Athletics | Stadium  | 90.03 meters | \-  | 45.78 meters | \-  | \-  |  |
Outdoor  | 176.91 meters | \-  | 92.52 meters | \-  | \-  |  |
Ultimate
Ultimate | WFDF | Oblong rectangle  | 64 meters | 100 meters  | 37 meters | \-  | \-  |  |
Beach  | 49 yards (45 m)  | 82 yards (75 m)  | 27 yards (25 m)  | \-  | \-  | sand  |
Volleyball
Volleyball | FIVB | Oblong rectangle  | 18 meters | 24-31 m  | 9 meters | 15-19 meters  |  | wooden, synthetic  |
Beach | 16 meters  | 20-28m  | 8 meters  | 18-20 meters  |  | sand  |
Snow | 16 meters  | 22 meters  | 8 meters  | 14 meters  |  | snow  |

Different sports

Basketball

Football codes

Association football

Soccer and Polo

Ice hockey

Field size comparisons

## Game court

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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Game court is one of the names for a multi-sport athletic space, typically constructed outdoors, where such games as basketball, volleyball, paddle tennis and other racquet sports, and up to a dozen more games and activities can be played. They are usually smaller than a regulation tennis (120' x 60')or basketball (84'x50')court, although there is no set dimensions or size for a game court. The game-court concept was popularized by Sport Court in the 1970s, and some generic references are made to game courts as 'sport courts', although that is a trademark of Connor Sport Court International, LLC. Game courts are often found in residential backyards, giving families and children opportunities for healthy recreation close to home. Game courts are usually constructed using a rectangular sub-base made from concrete or asphalt, then covered with an open-grid modular polypropylene (or similar) sports surface to improve safety. Most feature athletic equipment such as basketball goals, net systems for racquet sports, volleyball and badminton, lights for nighttime play, fencing or ball containment netting, hockey/soccer goals, lines or markings for various sports, and practice or training components can also be incorporated into the design.

### Surface

[edit]

The surface of a game court—as opposed to simply playing on concrete or asphalt—is designed for safe play and to reduce injury. Many people have started to use suspended athletic courts to cover old athletic courts like tennis courts and basketball courts. The surface should provide appropriate traction for various types of sports and activities, as well as shock or force reduction to minimize overuse and stress injuries. Game courts are typically custom-designed to the interests of the family or organization, and are versatile in enabling a wide variety of sports to be played in a relatively small space. Some activities played on a game court are enjoyable modifications of other sports (such as short-court tennis) that allow for similar skills to be developed as the 'regulation' game, but on a reduced-scale court size. A typical game court of 50 by 30 feet (15.2 m × 9.1 m) might include a basketball key and 3-point line arranged around a hoop, overlaid by short-court tennis or pickleball lines (which can also be used for volleyball or badminton) along the longer dimension.

### Ball containment

[edit]

Game courts for private use will frequently be built with a high fence surrounding the surface to allow for containment of the ball used in play, and, if required, to prevent people from entering. Any of several materials have been used, including chain-link fencing, welded wire mesh fence, and fabric mesh or netting.

## See also

[edit]

* Goal
* Ice rink
* Line marker (sports)
* Running track
* Sports venue

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kapstein, Ethan B (16 Dec 2010). Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field. Princeton University Press.
2. ^ "OFFICIAL BASEBALL RULES - 2024 Edition" (PDF).
3. ^ http://web.mit.edu/~xsdg/Public/papers/himcm-2003.pdf "The width is the distance between foul poles... the Twins’ field width (473.9 ft) and the Braves’ field width (470.2 ft) is not significant. However, the difference between the Rockies’ and Yankees’ field widths (492.9 ft and 446.9 ft, respectively) is very significant."
4. ^ "Official rules of Softball - Fast pitch" (PDF).
5. ^ "The Octagon | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
6. ^ "International Flag Football - Rules 2023" (PDF).
7. ^ Weisstein, Eric W. "Stadium". mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
8. ^ "Kabaddi: Origin, rules and the Pro Kabaddi League". Khel Now. Retrieved 2021-09-27. "The dimensions of the playing area vary for men and women. It is 33ft x 43ft for the former"
9. ^ "Standard style and circle style - the two variants of Kabaddi". SportsAdda. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-07. "In the circle style format, the field is a circle with a radius of 22 meters [i.e. diameter of 44 meters] which is divided into two equal halves by a mid-line."
10. ^ "rules-season1.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2022-08-14.

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