The Sport of Marbles makes a Comeback
Marbles is an extremely fun activity that children and adults play all over the world. The key to its popularity lies in its simplicity; anyone of any age can play this basic game which is both highly addictive and a lot of fun as well.
Having ancient origins, this game has evolved and changed over the years; it saw a decline in the 80s and 90s as children went to other sources of entertainment such as video games and the internet. In the last few years it has seen a revival of sorts, with people from all walks of life playing the game again. There is even a push to try and get the game featured in the Olympics by diehard fans. We will have to wait and see if it can become part of the Olympics or whether it declines into obscurity again.
The game of marbles has a very long history. Some sources claim that the game was invented by cavemen in prehistoric times who used to play the game with little clay balls. There is evidence that the game was played in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome as well. The modern history of marbles stretches back to 1815 when the first book on marbles was written in England. The modern way of making marbles was invented in 1848 when a German glass blower perfected the technique to make modern marbles. In 1922 an annual National Marble Tournament was held in Wildwood, New Jersey. It has been taking place every year since then.
In the years that followed, the sport saw a serious decline with children turning to video games, the internet and movies instead of fostering a passion for the game as youngsters which would then lead to (in some cases) pursuing it professionally as adults. Now a days it is seeing a sort of revival with the game coming back in vogue amongst children and adults.
A lot of fans of marbles say that it is a sport because of its competitive nature. The game’s rules are very simple, a circle is drawn and marbles are placed in the middle of the circle. Then each player takes turns to try and flick the marbles out of the circle and the first person to knock all of the opposing player’s marbles out of the circle wins the game. Even though some people think the game is not to be taken seriously, when a tournament is being played, and the level of intensity and competitiveness is witnessed, a lot of them change their mind.
The interesting thing about the game of marbles is the fact that it is open to all. Sports such as football and basketball rely on size and aggression most often, while marbles only relies on the skill of a person’s thumb.
The size of a person does not matter and it is an equal opportunity sport for the modern era. A few professional marble players or mibsters as they are known, would like to see the sport become part of the Olympics in the future. Whether it will get there or not we will have to see but it will not stop people trying to make it one any time soon.
All over the world, tournaments are taking place every year. Marble aficionados gather together to see who the greatest player amongst them is. The World Marble Championships take place every year in the UK and brings together some of the best marble players in the world.
The problem for the sport today is the fact that it has a serious image problem. People associate it with old world forgotten games and pastimes such as tiddly winks and Morris dancing, and others think it is only a children’s game. The sport will have to evolve further and find an innovative way to connect with people today who have many interesting things to keep them busy. Marbles will have to find a highly marketable champion to push the sport into the mainstream sports world.
The sport of marbles is in a strange place at the moment; either it can grow and become a mainstream sport or it can fade away and face a decline again as it did a few decades ago. We will have to see what the future holds for this interesting and obscure game and whether it can achieve widespread popularity and maybe make it to the Olympics one day.
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