Boy, Put Down That Stick Online Quiz | Wide World of Sports

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Used to hit a leather ball called a sliothar or a puck, a hurley stick was given to U.S. President Barack Obama by Taoiseach Enda Kenney on a visit to Ireland in 2011. In what Irish sport would you use this axe-shaped stick?

Answer: hurling

Called "the fastest game on grass" the sport of hurling combines skills used in numerous sports: hockey, lacrosse, baseball, and rugby to name a few. (http://www.ydtalk.com/hurley/2011/05/23/why-is-obama-holding-a-hurley-stick/) Wielding the hurley stick for the camera, President Obama implied that he might use it to keep Congress in line.

2. Traditionally crafted from the wood of hickory trees native to Canada and the USA, this stick has strings reinforced with resin in a triangular shape at its head. A ball may be "cradled" in this crossed netting as the player moves down the field or may be caught in it or propelled from it. What sport, played by both men and women, uses this sort of stick?

Answer: lacrosse

Lacrosse was played by many Native American tribes in North America. In the Mohawk language it was called by a word meaning "little brother of war"--reflecting the reality that lacrosse competitions were sometimes used to settle disputes and cement alliances through rituals and community activities surrounding several days of games. Early sticks were strung with the sinews of animals like deer.

3. What Olympic sport uses an epee, a foil, and another specific piece of equipment to attack, feint, lunge, or parry?

Answer: fencing

The three types of swords used in Olympic fencing are the foil (a light thrusting weapon), the epee (a heavier thrusting weapon), and the sabre (a light cutting and thrusting weapon). Each of these weapons is allowed to target only certain parts of the opponent's body (different for the different weapons). Clothing is tough and reinforced to protect the body. Masks and helmets are also worn. Both men and women participate in fencing as an Olympic sport, and many boys and girls are learning its moves and rules.

4. In what sport does a batsman wield a bat with a flat blade, traditionally made from willow wood, attempting (among other things) to prevent a bowler from hitting a wicket?

Answer: cricket

The cricket bat, often decorated with colorful designs, more resembles a boat paddle or a piece of wooden sculpture than a baseball or softball bat. In cricket, a bowler tries to hit the wicket behind the batsman with the ball, bowling/bouncing it down a rectangular strip on the field called the pitch.

The batsman attempts to hit the ball in a way that protects the wicket and prevents the ball's being caught by the opposing team. Runs are scored when the batsman runs to the other end of the wicket (without a fieldsman throwing the ball there first).

5. In what team game does the player propel a ball down the field toward a goal, or defend their own goal, using a stick with a head that may be a shorti, a midi, a maxi, or a J hook?

Answer: field hockey

The type of field hockey stick a player uses depends on the position he or she plays. The J hook is good at stopping the ball, so it is used primarily by defenders. Defenders usually wield a longer stick than attackers, because they need greater reach, while attackers need more strength and maneuverability.

6. While its modern equivalents have less colorful names, what sport once used brassies, cleeks, spoons, rakes, jiggers, mashies, niblicks, and (in Scotland) Sunday or Sabbath sticks?

Answer: golf

Today's golf clubs are classified broadly as woods, for distance; irons, for various other purposes; and hybrids, which combine qualities of the other two. Special clubs--such as putters, wedges, and chippers--are designed for specific purposes, but the colorful old names for many of the clubs have been replaced with numbers. Sunday or Sabbath sticks were golf clubs disguised as walking canes to circumvent strict church laws against playing on Sunday in Scotland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsolete_golf_clubs#Sabbath_sticks
A golfer may have no more than 14 clubs on the course during play.

7. Baseball at the professional level once used bats made of hickory, but later came to use the lighter weight but strong wood from ash and maple trees. What sport similar to baseball often uses bats of composite construction, with a metallic handle and a wooden barrel?

Answer: softball

Wooden bats are the standard in professional baseball, although bats made of aluminum or other materials are allowed at nonprofessional levels. In softball play, wooden bats are more likely to splinter; therefore, a mixture of materials may be used. Slowpitch and fastpitch softball bats are designed differently to adapt to the differences in impact. Because the smaller baseball can be pitched at greater velocities (reaching 100 miles per hour), baseball bats are more lightweight than softball bats, because they must be swung quickly.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/25093-kind-wood-were-baseball-bats/ and
http://www.livestrong.com/article/279938-softball-bats-vs-baseball-bats/

8. In what sport does equipment include brooms and stones or rocks, rather than balls and sticks?

Answer: curling

In curling, players slide granite stones (also called rocks) across a smooth sheet of ice into a "house"--a target area. The broom is used to control the movement of the stone and to reduce friction so that the stone can move rapidly across the ice. Much strategy is involved to get the stones in the most advantageous place for scoring, and curling has been called "chess on ice".

9. What sport uses a stick (sometimes called a mallet) that has a shaft made of manau-cane; a head made from hardwood called tipa; and a webbed thong, called a sling, that wraps around the thumb?

Answer: polo

Polo players tend to prefer traditional, natural materials for polo sticks (called mallets in the United States) because they absorb vibrations better than synthetic materials. The weight and length of polo mallets vary, based on the size and preference of the player and the height of the horse. Played on horseback, polo began in ancient Persia and was further developed in India and Pakistan. Play lasts around two hours, divided into periods called chukkas.

10. Which sport, with origins in the Basque country of Spain, uses a fast-moving hard ball called a pelota and a scoop called a cesta, made of wicker or other basketry materials, which is strapped to the player's arm?

Answer: jai alai

Called "jai alai" in the Americas, the game is called "pelota vasca" in Spain, acknowledging its Basque origins. It is called "xistera" in Basque.

Source: Author nannywoo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Boy, Put Down That Stick Trivia Quiz

For girls as well as boys, this quiz is about sticks, bats, foils, stones, etc., wielded in sports around the world. See if you can match the stick (or other equipment) with the sport.

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