Tamburello, named Tambass in
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, is a
court game invented in the northern provinces of Italy during the 16th century.
It is a modification of the ancient game of
pallone col bracciale, bearing the same general relation to it as
Squash does to
Racquets. Tamburello is also similar in form to
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
.
Tamburello and its variations remain popular today in many nations of the world.
Forms
Open
This form is played at professional level in Italy where there are two varieties: the first kind taking place in a specialised sports venue called a
sphaeristerium (''sferisterio'' in
Italian), with a lateral wall which permits the ball to rebound; the second kind being played in an open playing field without a lateral wall. A full-sized tamburello court, which need not be as true and even as that for pallone, is long and half as wide, divided laterally through the middle by a line (''cordino'') into two equal spaces, the ''battuta'' and the ''rimessa''. Five players regularly form a side, each carrying in one hand an implement called a
tamburello (sports equipment), whence the sport name, which is a round frame of
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
over which a cover of
polymer
A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
is tightly stretched. A rubber ball generally larger than a
tennis ball
A tennis ball is a small, hollow ball used in games of tennis and real tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in Professional sports, professional competitions, but in Amateur sports, recreational play other colors are also used. Tennis bal ...
is used. One of the players opens the service (''battuta''), which begins from a small square called the ''trampolino'', situated at one corner of the ''battuta'' but outside the court. The service must be over the middle line. The ball must then be hit from side to side over the line, the side failing to return it or sending it out of court losing a point. The game is scored like
lawn tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
, four points constituting a game, counting 15+15+10+10.
Indoor
Tamburello Indoor is practiced in an enclosed space such as a sports hall or a school gym on a small field and each team has maximum 8 players of which 3 simultaneously in the field. The ball in this case cannot be made of rubber, because too fast, and then using the tennis ball type depressurized. This is the tamburello's form more prevalent among the world: they play at least in 20 nations.
Tambeach
Tambeach is played on sand so players must hit the ball in flight before it contacts the ground. Players stand on a field which is 24x12 metres split in half by a net high 2.15 m. They play in this manner: one player versus other one or two players versus other two like
beach tennis.
Tambutennis
In
tambutennis two players regularly stand in each side on a court split in half by a net like
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
. The ball, used in this game, is made with
terrycloth.
Tambourelli
Tambourelli is form which was started by Scottish players and it is similar to tambeach and
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
because they play with a
shuttlecock
A shuttlecock (also called a birdie or shuttle, or ball) is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape formed by feathers or plastic (or a synthetic alternative) embedded into a rounded cork (or ru ...
.
Notes
References
*
External links
Italian tamburello supplier
Catalan Tamburello Federation
Video
{{Team sports
Team sports
Ball games
Sports originating in Italy