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117-723: Austin Lightning was an amateur American soccer team. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid , until 2007, when the team left the league and the franchise was terminated. Austin Lightning was founded in 2001, originally with the name Lafayette Lightning. The team played as the Lafayette Lightning for

234-570: A British Isles team visited Australia and New Zealand—although a private venture, it laid the foundations for future British and Irish Lions tours; and the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team brought the first overseas team to British spectators. During the early history of rugby union, a time before commercial air travel, teams from different continents rarely met. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by

351-497: A haka before each match, leading Welsh Rugby Union administrator Tom Williams to suggest that Wales player Teddy Morgan lead the crowd in singing the Welsh National Anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau , as a response. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in: the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event. In 1905 France played England in its first international match. Rugby union

468-655: A ban for fielding a contracted professional was Brighouse Rangers who were expelled from the National Conference League during 2007–2008 season, and the player handed a sine die ban (though in part for gouging ), although the club itself has since been admitted to the Pennine League. Also, some rugby unions have amateur rules, most notably the Argentine Rugby Union , where all member clubs are amateur. The Campeonato Argentino ,

585-422: A century ago was commonly applied to the aristocratic patrons of sports, some of which, such as pugilism , are not now the fashion." The "Corinthian ideal" of the gentleman amateur developed alongside muscular Christianity in late Victorian Britain, and has been analysed as a historical social phenomenon since the later 20th century. The Corinthian Football Club founded in 1882 was the paragon of this. In

702-479: A distinction between amateur and professional status with separate competitive leagues. The most prominent of these are golf and boxing . In particular, only amateur boxers could compete at the Olympics up to 2016. Problems can arise for amateur sportsmen when sponsors offer to help with an amateur's playing expenses in the hope of striking lucrative endorsement deals with them in case they become professionals at

819-501: A factory or a government agency which was represented in competition with its team. In this way athletes were officially getting paid as workers or officials. Athletes of the Soviet Armed Forces Sports Society or Dynamo Sports Club ( NKVD sports society) carried a rank and a uniform. The difference between the teams of masters and other teams was the fact that the first competed at all-Union level and

936-468: A game. Sometimes payments were substantial. Barry John was once asked why he hadn't turned professional and responded, "I couldn't afford to." Rugby union was declared "open" in August 1995 - almost exactly 100 years after the original split occurred - meaning that professionalism has been permitted in both rugby codes since that date. However, while the professional-amateur divide remained in force, there

1053-499: A later date. This practice, dubbed " shamateurism ", a portmanteau of sham and amateur , was present as early as in the 19th century. As financial and political stakes in high-level were becoming higher, shamateurism became all the more widespread, reaching its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, when the International Olympic Committee started moving towards acceptance of professional athletes. The advent of

1170-594: A limited number of games, and Cambridge and Oxford continued their annual University Match . The first officially sanctioned international rugby sevens tournament took place in 1973 at Murrayfield, one of Scotland's biggest stadiums, as part of the Scottish Rugby Union centenary celebrations. In 1987, the first Rugby World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand, and the inaugural winners were New Zealand. The first World Cup Sevens tournament

1287-415: A lineout throw is generally awarded to the opposition at the spot on the sideline where they left the field. Exceptions include a kick out "on the full" (i.e. the ball did not land in the field-of-play before going into touch) in which case the lineout would still take place on the sideline but back in line with where the ball was kicked, or when a team takes a free kick from a penalty where they would retain

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1404-401: A new coach. Amateur sports Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports and monetisation of amateur and collegiate sports, and is now strictly held as an ideal by fewer and fewer organisations governing sports, even as they maintain

1521-419: A notional amateur status. Women's cricket has always been almost entirely amateur; however, the recent popularity of women's sport has seen many top-level female cricketers become fully professional, with top international players earning up to $ 300,000 before endorsements and franchise contracts. Boot money has been a phenomenon in amateur sport for centuries. The term "boot money" became popularised in

1638-533: A part of." Some have criticized this system as exploitative; prominent university athletics programs are major commercial endeavors, and can easily rake in millions of dollars in profit during a successful season. College athletes spend a great deal of time "working" for the university, and earn nothing from it at the time aside from scholarships sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars; basketball and football coaches, meanwhile, earn salaries that can compare with those of professional teams' coaches. Supporters of

1755-513: A player rejoining the national team after the end of the Second World War applied to be issued with a new shirt and was reminded that he had been supplied with a shirt prior to the outbreak of hostilities . In Wales the position was more equivocal with clubs attempting to stem the tide of players going north with boot money , a reference to the practice of putting cash payments into player's footwear whilst they were cleaning up after

1872-534: A preferred or standard 68 metre width, this is often used unless a ground has been specifically designed to accommodate a 70-metre rugby field. 100 metres is the typical length, with a line (see below) often marked at halfway with "50" on it, representing 50 metres from each goal line. The variations have been allowed in the Laws, possibly to accommodate older grounds (perhaps even pre-metrification when yards and feet were specified) and developing nations. The field of play

1989-414: A quality education. Also, most sports other than football and men's basketball do not generate significant revenue for any school (and such teams are often essentially funded by football, basketball, and donations), so it may not be possible to pay athletes in all sports. Allowing pay in some sports but not others could result in the violation of U.S. laws such as Title IX . Through most of the 20th century

2106-609: A rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby , previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been

2223-434: A self-interest in blocking the professionalization of sport, which threatened to make it feasible for the working classes to compete against themselves with success. Working class sportsmen didn't see why they shouldn't be paid to play. Hence there were competing interests between those who wished sport to be open to all and those who feared that professionalism would destroy the 'Corinthian spirit'. This conflict played out over

2340-422: A similar situation. Professionals were often expected to address amateurs, at least to their faces, as "Mister" or "Sir" whereas the amateurs often referred to professionals by their surnames. Newspaper reports often prefaced amateurs' names with "Mr" while professionals were referred to by surname, or sometimes surname and initials. At some grounds amateurs and professionals had separate dressing rooms and entered

2457-470: A successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points. The values of each of these scoring methods have been changed over the years. According to World Rugby's Laws of the Game, a typical rugby ground, formally known as the "playing enclosure", is formed by two major zones: The referee (and their assistants) generally have full authority and responsibility for all players and other officials inside

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2574-413: A week for a player with no outside employment lingered until the 1960s, even as transfer fees reached over a hundred thousand pounds; again, "boot money" was seen as a way of topping up pay. Today, the most prominent English football clubs that are not professional are semi-professional (paying part-time players more than the old maximum for top professionals). Until 2019, when it abandoned amateur status,

2691-538: Is Chatswood Oval in Sydney, Australia, an elliptically shaped cricket ground which is the home of Gordon rugby club, that has curved dead-ball lines to maximise the available in-goal space. Where multiple sports share a field (e.g. a rugby league and a rugby union club sharing one field), lines may be overlaid on top of each other, sometimes in different colours. However, particularly for television, rugby union line markings are generally painted white. Some exceptions include

2808-839: Is allowed to touch the tiller or in any way assist in steering." Although the RCYC website derives the name Corinthian from the Isthmian Games of ancient Corinth , the Oxford English Dictionary derives the noun Corinthian from "the proverbial wealth, luxury, and licentiousness of ancient Corinth", with senses developing from "a wealthy man" (attested in 1577) through "a licentious man" (1697) and "a man of fashion about town" (1819) to "a wealthy amateur of sport who rides his own horses, steers his own yacht, etc" (1823). Dixon Kemp wrote in A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing published in 1900, "The term Corinthian half

2925-408: Is considered "out-of-bounds" for the ball and the players, normally resulting in the non-infringing team receiving possession of the ball at a restart. The perimeter area can be divided into two areas: For the purposes of determining if a ball is "out-of-bounds" (i.e. has left the playing area), the perimeter area extends indefinitely away from the playing area. When a ball or player goes into touch,

3042-445: Is divided by a solid "halfway" line, drawn perpendicular to the sidelines at their midpoint. A 0.5m line is marked perpendicular to the halfway lines at its midpoint, designating the spot where the kickoffs shall be taken. The areas between each goal line and the halfway line are known as "halves" as in other football codes. A pair of solid lines are also drawn perpendicular to the sidelines, 22 metres (formerly 25 yards) from each end of

3159-556: Is strictly forbidden by the ISU is participating in unsanctioned "pro" competitions, which the ISU uses to maintain their monopoly status as the governing body in the sport. Many people in the skating world still use "turning pro" as jargon to mean retiring from competitive skating, even though most top competitive skaters are already full-time professionals, and many skaters who retire from competition to concentrate on show skating or coaching do not actually lose their competition eligibility in

3276-440: Is the third and final row of the forward positions, who are often referred to as the loose forwards. The three positions in the back row are the two flankers and the number 8 . The two flanker positions, known as the blindside flanker and openside flanker, are the final row in the scrum. They are usually the most mobile forwards in the game. Their main role is to win possession through 'turn overs'. The number 8 packs down between

3393-609: The 2001 PDL season , finishing 2nd in the Mid-South Division. When the Austin Lone Stars were relegated from USL D3 Pro League in 2000 season and subsequently folded before the 2001 season started.Austin had no major soccer team in the city. This allowed the Lightning to transfer from Layfayette to Austin under the leadership of player/coach Chris Veselka . The team played their home games at St. Stephen's Episcopal School (Austin, Texas) . After two years as

3510-605: The American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) and Major League Ultimate (MLU). Rugby union Rugby union football , commonly known simply as rugby union or often just rugby , is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on

3627-963: The Bunnings NPC in New Zealand, the League One in Japan and the Currie Cup in South Africa. Other transnational club competitions include the United Rugby Championship of club teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales, European Rugby Champions Cup in Europe, and Super Rugby in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Primitive forms of football included harpastum , played by

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3744-713: The International Olympic Committee (IOC). At the IIHF Congress in 1969, the IIHF decided to allow Canada to use nine non-NHL professional hockey players at the 1970 World Championships in Montreal and Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada. The decision was reversed in January 1970 after IOC President Avery Brundage said that ice hockey's status as an Olympic sport would be in jeopardy if the change

3861-456: The 1830s, "running in" with the ball in hand was allowed but subject to hacking and "collaring". Former Rugby School student Albert Pell is credited with having formed the first "football" team while a student at Cambridge University . Major private schools each used different rules during this early period, with former pupils from Rugby and Eton attempting to carry their preferred rules through to their universities. A significant event in

3978-444: The 1880s when it was not unusual for players to find half a crown (corresponding to 12½ pence after decimalisation ) in their boots after a game. The Football Association prohibited paying players until 1885, and this is referred to as the "legalisation" of professionalism because it was an amendment of the "Laws of the Game". However, a maximum salary cap of twelve pounds a week for a player with outside employment and fifteen pounds

4095-624: The 1972 retirement of IOC President Avery Brundage , the Olympic amateurism rules were steadily relaxed, amounting only to technicalities and lip service, until being completely abandoned in the 1990s (In the United States , the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 prohibits national governing bodies from having more stringent standards of amateur status than required by international governing bodies of respective sports. The act caused

4212-462: The 19th century were arranged and led by professional cricketer-promoters such as James Lillywhite , Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury , a more pragmatic approach generally prevailed. In England the division was reflected in, and for a long time reinforced by, the series of Gentlemen v Players matches between amateurs and professionals. Few cricketers changed their status, but there were some notable exceptions such as Wally Hammond who became (or

4329-461: The America's Cup, this amateur spirit has given way in recent years to large corporate sponsorships and paid crews. Like other Olympic sports, figure skating used to have very strict amateur status rules. Over the years, these rules were relaxed to allow competitive skaters to receive token payments for performances in exhibitions (amid persistent rumors that they were receiving more money "under

4446-485: The First World War due to his 'defection' to the league code. One Member of Parliament , David Hinchliffe , described it as "one of the longest (and daftest) grievances in history" with anyone over the age of 18 associated with rugby league being banned forever from rugby union. The Scottish Rugby Union was a particular bastion of amateurism and extreme care was taken to avoid the 'taint' of professionalism:

4563-513: The Laws: Generally, points where the dashed lines intersect other lines will be marked with a "T" or cross shape, although the extensions of dashed lines are generally not drawn within 5 metres of the goal lines or sidelines, to allow a clear demarcation of the field of play's boundaries. The Laws require the playing area to be rectangular in shape, however variations may be permitted with the approval of relevant unions. A notable example

4680-534: The NRFU in the first few years of its existence. Rugby football in Britain therefore became subject to a de facto schism along regional - and to some extent class - lines, reflecting the historical origins of the split. Rugby league - in which professionalism was permitted - was predominant in northern England, particularly in industrial areas, and was viewed as a working class game. Rugby union - which remained amateur -

4797-820: The New Zealand team touring Europe. Traditionally the most prestigious tours were the Southern Hemisphere countries of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa making a tour of a Northern Hemisphere, and the return tours made by a joint British and Irish team. Tours would last for months, due to long traveling times and the number of games undertaken; the 1888 New Zealand team began their tour in Hawkes Bay in June and did not complete their schedule until August 1889, having played 107 rugby matches. Touring international sides would play Test matches against international opponents, including national, club and county sides in

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4914-465: The Olympics allowed only amateur athletes to participate and this amateur code was strictly enforced - Jim Thorpe was stripped of track and field medals for having taken expense money for playing baseball in 1912. Later on, the nations of the Communist bloc entered teams of Olympians who were all nominally students , soldiers , or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by

5031-627: The Olympics, because of the unwillingness of the NHL to take a break mid-season and the IOC's amateur-only policy. Before the 1984 Winter Olympics, a dispute formed over what made a player a professional. The IOC had adopted a rule that made any player who had signed an NHL contract but played less than ten games in the league eligible. However, the United States Olympic Committee maintained that any player contracted with an NHL team

5148-504: The RFU. A similar interpretation was applied to all players who played either for or against such clubs, whether or not they themselves received any compensation. Such players were effectively barred sine die from any involvement in organised rugby union. These comprehensive and enduring sanctions, combined with the very localised nature of most rugby competition, meant that most northern clubs had little practical alternative but to affiliate with

5265-476: The Romans, where two opposing teams competed to throw a large ball into an opposition net, fighting for possession of the ball. Medieval Irishmen played caid , carrying an inflated bladder and using arched trees as goals. The Welsh played an inter-parish game using a wooden ball called cnapan . Frenchmen played soule and Georgians played lelo. "Football" as a game was well established by 1803 at Rugby School and by

5382-679: The Soviet Union which had Soviet-type economic planning in the country and no non-state enterprises were permitted. Existence of professional sports in the Soviet Union was considered to be amoral because no one must be involved in profiting from their body and/or skills and instead dedicate those to the state. In 1936 the government agency for sports adopted a decision to form competitions for "teams of [football] masters", while at republican level ( union republics ) there were organized separate competitions among teams of factories and government agencies. Football players were officially on payrolls of

5499-764: The UK, the Factory Act of 1844 gave working men half a day off, making the opportunity to take part in sport more widely available. Working class sportsmen found it hard to play top level sport due to having to turn up for work. On occasion, cash prizes, particularly in individual competitions, could make up the difference; some competitors also wagered on the outcomes of their matches. As professional teams developed, some clubs were willing to make "broken time" payments to players, i.e. , to pay top sportsmen to take time off work, and as attendances increased, paying men to concentrate on their sport full-time became feasible. Proponents of

5616-537: The United States , Canada and Eastern Europe , its growth occurring during the expansion of the British Empire and through French proponents ( Rugby Europe ) in Europe. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji , Georgia, Madagascar , New Zealand, Samoa , Tonga , and Wales . International matches have taken place since 1871 when the first game

5733-540: The United States, "Corinthian" came to be applied in particular to amateur yachtsman, and remains current as such and in the name of many yacht clubs ; including Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (founded 1874, added "Corinthian" to the name in 1881) and Yale Corinthian Yacht Club (likewise 1881 and 1893). By the early 21st century the Olympic Games and all the major team sports accepted professional competitors. However, there are still some sports which maintain

5850-480: The Wallabies (Australia's national team) who often have yellow markings. Local clubs may use black, yellow, or other colours on grass, with other surfaces possibly requiring different marking techniques. Unlike association football, where on-field advertising is strictly forbidden in the laws, World Rugby allows sponsors logos to be painted on the playing surface. This is another way in which clubs can make money in

5967-451: The amateur ideal deplored the influence of money and the effect it has on sports. It was claimed that it is in the interest of the professional to receive the highest amount of pay possible per unit of performance, not to perform to the highest standard possible where this does not bring additional benefit. The middle and upper-class men who dominated the sporting establishment not only had a theoretical preference for amateurism, they also had

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6084-625: The amateur policy of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Following a lengthy dispute on this point during the early 1890s, representatives of more than 20 prominent northern rugby clubs met in Huddersfield in August 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU), a breakaway administrative body which would permit payments to be made to players. The NRFU initially adopted established RFU rules for

6201-584: The amateur-professional division was rarely noticed in the years before World Series Cricket , as many top-level players expected to receive something for their efforts on the field: before World War I profit-sharing of tour proceeds was common. Australian cricketers touring England were considered amateurs and given the title "Mr" in newspaper reports. Before the Partition of India some professionalism developed, but talented cricketers were often employed by wealthy princely or corporate patrons and thus retained

6318-431: The backs and the forwards is that the backs are expected to have superior kicking and ball-handling skills, especially the fly-half, scrum-half, and full-back. The half-backs consist of two positions, the scrum-half and the fly-half , also known in the Southern Hemisphere as half-back and first five-eighth respectively. The fly-half is crucial to a team's game plan, orchestrating the team's performance. They are usually

6435-422: The ball is kicked into touch by a player who had at least one foot on or behind their own 22-metre line, the line-out formed at the spot where the ball crossed the touch-line instead of being taken in line with the spot from where it was kicked. Additional broken or dashed lines (of 5 metre dash lengths, according to the Laws ) are drawn in each half or on each side of, the field, each with specific purposes under

6552-417: The ball. Forwards play a vital role in tackling and rucking opposing players. Players in these positions are generally bigger and stronger and take part in the scrum and line-out. The forwards are often collectively referred to as the 'pack', especially when in the scrum formation. The front row consists of three players: two props (the loosehead prop and the tighthead prop) and the hooker . The role of

6669-576: The breakup of the Amateur Athletic Union as a wholesale sports governing body at the Olympic level). Olympic regulations regarding amateur status of athletes were eventually abandoned in the 1990s with the exception of wrestling, where the amateur fight rules are used due to the fact that professional wrestling is largely staged with pre-determined outcomes. Starting from the 2016 Summer Olympics , professionals were allowed to compete in boxing, though amateur fight rules are still used for

6786-591: The case of Northern Hemisphere rugby, or provincial/state sides in the case of Southern Hemisphere rugby. Between 1905 and 1908, all three major Southern Hemisphere rugby countries sent their first touring teams to the Northern Hemisphere: New Zealand in 1905, followed by South Africa in 1906 and Australia in 1908. All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. The New Zealand 1905 touring team performed

6903-468: The clubs that had favoured the Rugby Rules formed the Rugby Football Union in 1871, and their code became known as " rugby football ". In 1895, there was a major schism within rugby football in England in which numerous clubs from Northern England resigned from the RFU over the issue of reimbursing players for time lost from their workplaces. The split highlighted the social and class divisions in

7020-644: The cost of food, housing, tuition, and other university-related expenses. In order to ensure that the rules are not circumvented, stringent rules restrict gift-giving during the recruitment process as well as during and even after a collegiate athlete's career; college athletes also cannot endorse products, which some may consider a violation of free speech rights. Former NBA player Jerome Williams says, "For years, student-athletes, especially those from minority communities, have been disadvantaged from monetizing their image, or what we call 'player intellectual property.' There's an ongoing revenue stream college athletes are not

7137-471: The course of more than one hundred years. Some sports dealt with it relatively easily, such as golf , which decided in the late 19th century to tolerate competition between amateurs and professionals, while others were traumatized by the dilemma, and took generations to fully come to terms with professionalism even to a result of causing a breakdown in the sport (as in the case of rugby union and rugby league in 1895). Corinthian has come to describe one of

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7254-496: The early development of rugby football was the production of a written set of rules at Rugby School in 1845, followed by the Cambridge Rules that were drawn up in 1848. Formed in 1863, the national governing body The Football Association (FA) began codifying a set of universal football rules. These new rules specifically banned players from running with the ball in hand and also disallowed hacking (kicking players in

7371-486: The field are divided into eight forwards (two more than in rugby league ) and seven backs . There are typically significantly more forwards on the bench than backs with, for example, South Africa having a 7-1 split in favour of forwards in their August 2023 match against New Zealand in Twickenham. A 6-2 or 5-3 split is more common. The main responsibilities of the forward players are to gain and retain possession of

7488-401: The field of play and called the 22-metre lines, or "22"s. An area at each end, also known as the "22", is bounded by, but does not include, the sidelines, goal line and 22-metre line. In this area, a defensive player who cleanly catches a ball kicked by the other team, without the ball having already touched the ground after the kick, is entitled to claim a free kick, or " mark ". Additionally, if

7605-425: The first to receive the ball from the scrum-half following a breakdown, lineout, or scrum, and need to be decisive with what actions to take and be effective at communicating with the outside backs. Many fly-halves are also their team's goal kickers. The scrum-half is the link between the forwards and the backs. They receive the ball from the lineout and remove the ball from the back of the scrum, usually passing it to

7722-537: The fly-half. They also feed the scrum and sometimes have to act as a fourth loose forward. There are four three quarter positions: two centres (inside and outside) and two wings (left and right). In the Southern Hemisphere, the inside centre is commonly referred to as the second five-eighth, while the outside centre is simply known as the centre. The centres will attempt to tackle attacking players; whilst in attack, they should employ speed and strength to breach opposition defences. The wings are generally positioned on

7839-464: The game is to score points by passing the disc to members of your own team, on a rectangular field, 120 yards (110m) by 40 yards (37m), until you have successfully completed a pass to a team member in the opposing team's end zone. There are currently over five million people that play some form of organized ultimate in the US. Ultimate has started to be played semi-professionally with two newly formed leagues,

7956-541: The game itself, but soon introduced a number of changes, most obviously a switch from 15 to 13 players per side. It became the Rugby Football League in 1922, by which time the key differences in the two codes were well established, with the 13-a-side variant becoming known as rugby league. The RFU took strong action against the clubs involved in the formation of the NRFU, all of whom were deemed to have forfeited their amateur status and therefore to have left

8073-414: The goal lines, equivalent to American football's "end zones". The in-goal areas must be between 6 and 22 metres (6.6 and 24.1 yards) deep and cover the full width of the field. A ball grounded in this area by an attacking player will generally result in a try being awarded, unless there has been a previous infringement, or the player has gone out-of-bounds whilst in possession of the ball. The perimeter area

8190-422: The governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 116 countries as full members and 18 associate members. In 1845, the first laws were written by pupils at Rugby School; other significant events in the early development of rugby include the decision by Blackheath F.C. to leave The Football Association in 1863 and, in 1895, the split between rugby union and rugby league . Historically rugby union

8307-486: The most commercialized college sports, such as NCAA football and basketball , do not financially compensate competitors, although coaches and trainers generally are paid. College football coaches in Texas and other states are often the highest-paid state employees, with some drawing salaries of over five million US dollars annually. Athletic scholarship programs, unlike academic scholarship programs, cannot cover more than

8424-414: The most important attributes of a good full-back are dependable catching skills and a good kicking game. Rugby union is played between two teams – the one that scores more points wins the game. Points can be scored in several ways: a try , scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area (between the goal line and the dead-ball line), is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points;

8541-703: The most prominent true amateur men's club was probably Queen's Park , the oldest football club in Scotland, founded in 1867 and with a home ground ( Hampden Park ) which is one of UEFA's five-star stadia. They have also won the Scottish Cup more times than any club outside the Old Firm . Amateur football in both genders is now found mainly in small village and Sunday clubs and the Amateur Football Alliance . A peculiar situation took place in

8658-532: The most virtuous of amateur athletes—those for whom fairness and honor in competition is valued above victory or gain. The Corinthian Yacht Club (now the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club , RCYC) was established in Essex in 1872 with "encouragement of Amateur Yacht sailing" as its "primary object". To that end, club rules ensured that crews consisted of amateurs, while "no professional or paid hand

8775-468: The national championship for provincial teams, does not include players contracted to the country's Super Rugby side, the Jaguares . Alternative sports, using the flying disc, began in the mid-sixties. As numbers of young people became alienated from social norms, they resisted and looked for alternative recreational activities, including that of throwing a Frisbee . What started with a few players, in

8892-594: The only team in town, Jonathan Langer was looking to bring a professional team back to town in the form of Austin Posse, but the team ceased operation after three exhibition games. The team played its home games for their final seasons at the Tony Burger Center in the city of Austin, Texas . The team dissolved in 2007 and were reborn as the Austin Stampede under some of the same management and with

9009-414: The outside of the backline. Their primary function is to finish off moves and score tries. Wings are usually the fastest players in the team and are elusive runners who use their speed to avoid tackles. The full-back is normally positioned several metres behind the back line. They often field opposition kicks and are usually the last line of defence should an opponent break through the back line. Two of

9126-440: The playing area and perimeter area, although depending on how large the perimeter is, other surfaces such as dirt, artificial turf, etc. may be used outside of a "sliding" perimeter from the bounds of the playing area. For the most part, the "playing area" is where the majority of play occurs. The ball is generally considered live whilst in this area, so long as players do not infringe, with special rules applied to specific zones of

9243-442: The playing area. The playing area consists of: A typical "field of play" is generally 100 metres long by 68–70 metres wide for senior rugby, depending on the specific requirements of each ground. The Laws require the field of play to be between 94 and 100 metres (103 and 109 yards) long, with a width of between 68 and 70 metres (74 and 77 yards). As other football codes, such as association football and rugby league, have specified

9360-413: The playing arena through separate gates. An anecdote narrated by Fred Root epitomises the difference between amateurs and professionals: In a match against Glamorgan , the batsmen, Arnold Dyson and Eddie Bates , had collided mid-pitch, and the ball was returned to Root, the bowler. Root didn't break the stumps as both batsmen seemed injured. An amateur repeatedly shouted "Break the wicket, Fred, break

9477-432: The playing enclosure. Fences or ropes (particularly at amateur clubs) are generally used to mark the extent of this area, although in modern stadia this may include the entire arena floor or other designated space. The Laws, above all, require that the playing enclosure's surface be safe, whilst also permitting grass, sand, clay, snow or conforming artificial turf to be used; the surface would generally be uniform across both

9594-664: The pre-1995 period of rugby union was marked by frequent accusations of " shamateurism ", including an investigation in Britain by a House of Commons Select committee in early 1995. Following the introduction of professionalism trans-national club competitions were started, with the Heineken Cup in the Northern Hemisphere and Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tri Nations , an annual international tournament involving Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, kicked off in 1996. In 2012 , this competition

9711-616: The process. Rugby has provided one of the most visible and lasting examples of the tension between amateurism and professionalism during the development of nationally organised sports in Britain in the late-19th century. The split in rugby in 1895 between what became rugby league and rugby union arose as a direct result of a dispute over the pretence of a strict enforcement of its amateur status – clubs in Leeds and Bradford were fined after compensating players for missing work, whilst at

9828-415: The professional era and is also often used by host nations, professional leagues and tournaments as additional revenue streams, particularly when games are broadcast. In recent years, augmented reality technology has been used to replace painting to protect the surface or save costs on painting fields, producing a similar effect for broadcast albeit sometimes with poorer results. The in-goal areas sit behind

9945-574: The professional game with many league players joining union to take a slice of the larger amounts of money available in the sport. Nowadays, while rugby union no longer makes the professional-amateur distinction, the professional-amateur split still exists within rugby league with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) strictly amateur, though it allows some ex-professionals to play provided they are no longer under contract. The most recent club to get

10062-606: The recent Team Racing Worlds, and the American Team Racing Nationals, most of the sailors competing in the event were amateurs. While many competitive sailors are employed in businesses related to sailing (including sailmaking, naval architecture, boatbuilding and coaching), most are not compensated for their own competitions. In large keelboat racing, such as the Volvo Around the World Race and

10179-668: The reinstatement rule to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics . However, when all of these skaters promptly returned to the pro circuit again, the ISU decided the reinstatement policy was a failure and it was discontinued in 1995. Prize money at ISU competitions was introduced in 1995, paid by the sale of the television rights to those events. In addition to prize money, Olympic-eligible skaters may also earn money through appearance fees at shows and competitions, endorsements, movie and television contracts, coaching, and other "professional" activities, provided that their activities are approved by their national federations. The only activity that

10296-425: The right to throw-in. The perimeter area should be clear and free of obstructions and heavy, solid objects which could pose a danger to players for at least 5 metres from the playing area, according to the Laws. Players often leave the playing area whether accidentally or due to being forced off of the field, sometimes sliding or needing to slow down from a sprint. Many venues at elite levels leave larger spaces around

10413-572: The rule was only applied to the NHL and that professionally contracted players in European leagues were still considered amateurs. Murray Costello of the CAHA suggested that a Canadian withdrawal was possible. In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988, but let the individual sport federations decide if they wanted to allow professionals. After

10530-484: The same time the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was allowing other players to be paid. Rugby football, despite its origins in the privileged English public schools , was a popular game throughout England by around 1880, including in the large working-class areas of the industrial north. However, as the then-amateur sport became increasingly popular and competitive, attracting large paying crowds, teams in such areas found it difficult to attract and retain good players. This

10647-590: The shins), both of which were legal and common tactics under the Rugby School's rules of the sport. In protest at the imposition of the new rules, the Blackheath Club left the FA followed by several other clubs that also favoured the "Rugby Rules". Although these clubs decided to ban hacking soon afterwards, the split was permanent, and the FA's codified rules became known as " association football " whilst

10764-600: The sixties, like Victor Malafronte, Z Weyand and Ken Westerfield experimenting with new ways of throwing and catching a Frisbee , later would become known as playing freestyle . Organized disc sports, in the 1970s, began with promotional efforts from Wham-O and Irwin Toy (Canada), a few tournaments and professionals using Frisbee show tours to perform at universities, fairs and sporting events. Disc sports such as freestyle , double disc court , guts , disc ultimate and disc golf became this sports first events. Two sports,

10881-427: The sport in England. Although the rules of the game were not a factor in the split, the breakaway teams subsequently adopted some rule changes and this became the separate code of " rugby league ". The RFU's code thereafter took on the name "rugby union" to differentiate it from rugby league, but both versions of the sport are known simply as "rugby" throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international

10998-654: The state to train on a full-time basis. Near the end of the 1960s, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) felt their amateur players could no longer be competitive against the Soviet team's full-time athletes and the other constantly improving European teams. They pushed for the ability to use players from professional leagues but met opposition from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and

11115-607: The state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. All North American university sports are (generally) conducted by amateurs. Even

11232-467: The system say that college athletes can always make use of the education they earn as students if their athletic career doesn't pan out, and that allowing universities to pay college athletes would rapidly lead to deterioration of the already-marginal academic focus of college athletics programs. They also point out that athletic scholarships allow many young men and women who would otherwise be unable to afford to go to college, or would not be accepted, to get

11349-670: The table"), then to accept money for professional activities such as endorsements provided that the payments were made to trust funds rather than to the skaters themselves. In 1992, trust funds were abolished, and the International Skating Union voted both to remove most restrictions on amateurism, and to allow skaters who had previously lost their amateur status to apply for reinstatement of their eligibility. A number of skaters, including Brian Boitano , Katarina Witt , Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean , and Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov , took advantage of

11466-432: The tallest players in the team and specialise as line-out jumpers. The main role of the lock in line-outs is to make a standing jump, often supported by the other forwards, to either collect the thrown ball or ensure the ball comes down on their side. Locks also have an important role in the scrum, binding directly behind the three front row players and providing forward drive. The back row, not to be confused with 'Backs',

11583-488: The team sport of disc ultimate and disc golf are very popular worldwide and are now being played semi professionally. The World Flying Disc Federation , Professional Disc Golf Association , and the Freestyle Players Association, are the official rules and sanctioning organizations for flying disc sports worldwide. Disc ultimate is a team sport played with a flying disc . The object of

11700-457: The tournament. English first-class cricket distinguished between amateur and professional cricketers until 1963. Teams below Test cricket level in England were normally, except in emergencies such as injuries, captained by amateurs. Notwithstanding this, sometimes there were ways found to give high performing "amateurs", for example W.G. Grace , financial and other compensation such as employment. On English overseas tours, some of which in

11817-424: The two locks at the back of the scrum. The role of the number 8 in the scrum is to control the ball after it has been heeled back from the front of the pack, and the position provides a link between the forwards and backs during attacking phases. The role of the backs is to create and convert point-scoring opportunities. They are generally smaller, faster and more agile than the forwards. Another distinction between

11934-453: The two props is to support the hooker during scrums, to provide support for the jumpers during line-outs and to provide strength and power in rucks and mauls. The third position in the front row is the hooker. The hooker is a key position in attacking and defensive play and is responsible for winning the ball in the scrum. Hookers normally throw the ball in at line-outs. The second row consists of two locks or lock forwards. Locks are usually

12051-460: The wicket!" until Root said: "If you want to run him out, here's the ball: you come and do it." The amateur responded with the words "Oh, I'm an amateur. I can't do such a thing." After the Second World War the division was increasingly questioned. When Len Hutton was appointed as English national cricket captain in 1952 he remained a professional. In 1962 the division was removed, and all cricket players became known as "cricketers". In Australia

12168-525: The word " amateur " in their titles. Modern organized sports developed in the 19th century, with the United Kingdom and the United States taking the lead. Sporting culture was especially strong in private schools and universities, and the upper and middle-class men who attended those institutions played as amateurs. Opportunities for working classes to participate in sport were restricted by their long six-day work weeks and Sunday Sabbatarianism. In

12285-530: Was a professional and therefore not eligible to play. The IOC held an emergency meeting that ruled NHL-contracted players were eligible, as long as they had not played in any NHL games. This made five players on Olympic rosters—one Austrian, two Italians and two Canadians—ineligible. Players who had played in other professional leagues—such as the World Hockey Association —were allowed to play. Canadian hockey official Alan Eagleson stated that

12402-530: Was allowed to become) an amateur in 1938 so that he could captain England. Hammond was an example of "shamateurism", in that he was offered a "job" which paid more than he earned as a professional cricketer to act as a company's representative and play cricket. Amateurs touring abroad could claim more in expenses than professionals were paid. M.J.K. Smith was a well-salaried secretary - and an amateur captain - of Warwickshire County Cricket Club . Trevor Bailey at Essex and Reg Simpson at Nottinghamshire were in

12519-738: Was an amateur sport, but in 1995 formal restrictions on payments to players were removed, making the game openly professional at the highest level for the first time. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of the United Kingdom and Ireland , with other early exponents of the sport including Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and France . The sport is followed primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Pacific Islands - Fiji , Tonga , Samoa , Georgia , Oceania , Southern Africa , Argentina , and in recent times also, Italy , Japan , South America ,

12636-403: Was because physically fit local men needed to both work to earn a wage – limiting the time that they could devote to unpaid sport – and to avoid injuries that might prevent them working in the future. Certain teams faced with these circumstances wanted to pay so-called 'broken time' money to their players to compensate them for missing paid work due to their playing commitments, but this contravened

12753-463: Was extended to include Argentina , a country whose impressive performances in international games (especially finishing in third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup) was deemed to merit inclusion in the competition. As a result of the expansion to four teams, the tournament was renamed The Rugby Championship. Each team starts the match with 15 players on the field and typically seven or eight substitutes but this varies at amateur level. The 15 players on

12870-588: Was held at Murrayfield in 1993. Rugby Sevens was introduced into the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and was added to the Olympic Games of 2016. Both men and women's Sevens took place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Rugby union was an amateur sport until the IRB declared the game "open" in August 1995 (shortly after the completion of the 1995 World Cup), removing restrictions on payments to players. However,

12987-467: Was included as an event in the Olympic Games four times during the early 20th century. No international rugby games and union-sponsored club matches were played during the First World War, but competitions continued through service teams such as the New Zealand Army team . During the Second World War no international matches were played by most countries, though Italy, Germany and Romania played

13104-412: Was known as non-amateur sports, while others at republican was considered to be amateur sports. The preceding football competitions among cities and regions were phased away. Around the turn of the 20th century, much of sailing was professionals paid by interested idle rich. Today, sailing, especially dinghy sailing, is an example of a sport which is still largely populated by amateurs. For example, in

13221-509: Was made. In response, Canada withdrew from all international ice hockey competitions and officials stated that they would not return until "open competition" was instituted. Günther Sabetzki became president of the IIHF in 1975 and helped to resolve the dispute with the CAHA. In 1976, the IIHF agreed to allow "open competition" between all players in the World Championships. However, NHL players were still not allowed to play in

13338-416: Was originally very limited crossover between the two codes, the most obvious occasions being when top-class rugby union players 'switched codes' to rugby league in order to play professionally. Welsh international Jonathan Davies was a high-profile example of this switch. Since professionalism has been allowed in rugby union the switches have started to come the opposite way. Union has swiftly grown to embrace

13455-632: Was played between Scotland and England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh. The Rugby World Cup , first held in 1987, is held every four years. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are other important international competitions that are held annually. National club and provincial competitions include the Premiership in England, the Top 14 in France,

13572-652: Was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England in Edinburgh . Scotland won the game by one goal and one try to one goal. By 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby sevens tournament, the Melrose Sevens , which is still held annually. Two important overseas tours took place in 1888:

13689-612: Was predominant in the rest of England, as well as in Wales and Scotland . Rugby union also had a more affluent reputation, although there are areas - notably in South Wales and in certain English cities such as Gloucester - with a strong working-class rugby union tradition. Discrimination against rugby league players could verge on the petty - former Welsh international Fred Perrett was once excluded in lists of players who died in

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