1. Boomers
2. Opals
3. Rollers
4. Gliders
5. Gems
6. Emus
7. Crocs
8. Sapphires
9. Boomerangs
10. Pearls

Basketball consists of two teams of five players each trying to score by shooting a ball through the hoop. The game is played on a rectangular court, divided into two main sections by the mid-court line, with a hoop at each end. The ball is moved down the court toward the basket by passing the ball or dribbling. The team with the ball is called the offense and the team without the ball is called the defense. The defense tries to steal the ball, contest shots, deflect passes and collect rebounds. 

POINTS

When a team makes a basket, they score two points and the ball goes to the other team. If a basket or field goal is made outside of the three-point arc, then that basket is worth three points. A free throw is worth one point. Free throws are awarded to a team if the opposing team commits a type of foul. 

TIME

Each game is divided into sections and all levels have two halves. In college, each half is twenty minutes long, high school and below the halves are divided into six or eight minute quarters and in the pros quarters are twelve minutes long. There is a gap of several minutes between halves and quarters. If the score is tied at the end of the game, then overtime periods of various lengths are played until there is a winner.

Basketball was invented in 1891 at Springfield College by instructor and graduate student James Naismith, which has now grown into the worldwide phenomenon we know it to be today. Naismith was set a task to come up with a game that was easy to assimilate but complex enough to be interesting for the public. It had to be playable indoors or on any type of surface ground and by a large number of players all at once. James Naismith put much thought into his new creation, which became an adaptation of many games of its time. Naismith drew up the 13 original game rules, and later met with his gym class to trial the game. That was when basketball was born. 

Word of the new game spread like wildfire and it was an instant success. A few weeks after the game was invented, students introduced the game at their own YMCAs. The rules of the game were then printed into a college magazine, which was mailed to YMCAs across the country. High schools and colleges began to introduce the game and by 1905 basketball was officially recognised as a permanent winter sport. Although the rules have slightly changed, the game of basketball still remains vastly the same since Naismith’s original list. 

Basketball took off in Australia in 1897, just six years after it was invented. The very first game was held in South Australia on February 17 1897, between Our Boys Institute (OBI) and the Young Men’s Christian Association Training School (YMCA). Basketball then spread throughout the country and became a popular sport for everyone to play. Basketball is a sport played both indoors and outdoors in Australia. It is now the number two sport globally with over 200 countries participating and over 450 million players. The national basketball league began in 1979 and is the top level men’s basketball competition in Australia. The sport experienced rapid growth in the 1980s with an influx of American players. 

Basketball in Australia today is as prolific as ever. Many of Australia’s youth continue to practice their basketball skills in camps around the country. The sport teaches kids valuable life skills and enables them to make new friendships that will last a lifetime. Basketball has grown to become one of the most loved sports in the country and is a growing sport that people will enjoy for many years to come.