Women's basketball has been around since 1891. The game was invented by a male teacher who taught at the Young Men's Christian Association in Springfield, Massachusetts. His name was James Naismith. Sendra Berenson, however, was the woman who introduced basketball to young women. Berenson changed the rules of Naismith's game to better fit the standards of female athletes. She called this version of basketball the "three court game". This game caught on throughout the United States.
The three court game was a much slower paced game than the basketball the men played. The court was divided into three sections, instead of two. Each woman was assigned to play in one section of the court for the whole game. When a player possessed the ball, she only had it for three seconds. The woman had to pass the ball without handing it off. Only three consecutive dribbles were allowed. After each basket the girls would line up and start the game back up with a tip off.
The uniforms consisted of knicker-style bloomers, long woolen socks as well as short cut socks, shoes the ancestor of today's sneakers, and the option of knee pads. The uniforms worn in the early ages of basketball are much different than today's.
In the 1920's city officials, physicians, and educators belittled women's organized sports. Physicians feared women weren't capable of competing due to their smaller bones and hearts. Doctors had thought that playing would only cause fatigue, fainting, and diseases. Back then, women who played sports were thought of as unladylike women. The game, on the other hand, only got more popular through the critics' rage of women's basketball.
The three court game was a much slower paced game than the basketball the men played. The court was divided into three sections, instead of two. Each woman was assigned to play in one section of the court for the whole game. When a player possessed the ball, she only had it for three seconds. The woman had to pass the ball without handing it off. Only three consecutive dribbles were allowed. After each basket the girls would line up and start the game back up with a tip off.
The uniforms consisted of knicker-style bloomers, long woolen socks as well as short cut socks, shoes the ancestor of today's sneakers, and the option of knee pads. The uniforms worn in the early ages of basketball are much different than today's.
In the 1920's city officials, physicians, and educators belittled women's organized sports. Physicians feared women weren't capable of competing due to their smaller bones and hearts. Doctors had thought that playing would only cause fatigue, fainting, and diseases. Back then, women who played sports were thought of as unladylike women. The game, on the other hand, only got more popular through the critics' rage of women's basketball.
Women's three court game.
River Falls Women's Basketball Team 1964
