Not Tennis

The week and a half have been great. No work means no getting up early, no deadlines, and plenty of time to invent new games with other people who also have nothing better to do. I also feel I have also achieved something by participating in a sporting activity for more than one consecutive day. I present to you, the reader, the wonderful world of... NOT TENNIS.

A brief history

The game of Not Tennis was invented on a sunny Sunday afternoon when tennis racquets were half price in Tesco and there were no free tennis courts in all the land (i.e. Chalkwell and Hadleigh). It was founded by myself, Ben, Charlotte and Gareth, after we were forced to play in the park instead. Many arguments ensued as rules were made up and contested, and so the game of Not Tennis was born.

The rules of Not Tennis

1) The court must be around twice the size of a normal tennis court, both in width and length (in other words, HUGE). Serves must be taken on the back line.

2) There is no actual net, only a boundary which is referred to as the net.

3) The ball is allowed to bounce a total of twice on each side of the court, allowing time for running.

4) If you hit the ball and it does not go over, you may not have another go... instead it is up to your partner to rescue the situation.

These rules are set in stone. It all sounds rather ridiculous in written form, but it really is a lot of fun to play, especially for people who are awful at actual tennis, as you can just whack it and there is no net to stop it! We have recruited a number of people over the last couple of weeks, including Chris Carter, Will Still, Faye Ivory (not quite so enthusiastic, but it was raining) and Heather Orford, and our aim is to get everyone involved at some point over the summer! So if you fancy a game, come on down...