THE RULES OF THE GAME

EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN WITH OUR QUIZ ON SPORTS REGULATIONS

In this Olympic year, we focus our attention on sports and the ways they change.

In general, new technology is accepted when it can improve performance without
giving unfair advantage, decreasing safety, or altering the spirit of the game,
Occasionally, an advance is deemed too dangerous. For example, skiing outfits
made from certain heat- and pressure-treated synthetic fabrics cut down friction
with not only the air but also the snow: A fallen skier wearing one of these
suits keeps sliding until he or she hits something. Prohibited in Alpine skiing,
these super-sleek fabrics can be worn in luge and speed skiing.

Sometimes athletes themselves become so accomplished that they force a change in
the sport. In 1984, Uwe Hohn of East Germany set a new world record in the
javelin of 343 feet, 10 inches. In many track-and-field arenas, a throw like
that would come dangerously close to the running track, where a track event
would probably be held at the same time. So officials changed the javelin's
design in 1986, moving its center of gravity forward so that it can't be thrown
as far. Thus, the current record is only 318 feet, 1 inch.

Our quiz, split into two parts, tests your knowledge of the rules of both
Olympic and non-Olympic sports. For each example given below, circle either L
(legal) or I (illegal). Questions are listed in alphabetical order by sport.
The second half of the quiz will appear in next month's issue.

1. Badminton players use a plastic shuttlecock in tournament play. (L, I)

2. A college baseball player uses an aluminum or plastic bat. (L, I)

3. A bowler scratches his ball with steel wool before a game. (L, I)

4. An Olympic boxer is 38 years old. (L, I)

5. A boxer has a beard. (L, I)

6. An Olympic cyclist wears red pants. (L, I)

7. A cyclist attaches a tether between his chest and the bike's stem. (L, I)

8. A cyclist fills his bike's tires with helium instead of air. (L, I)

9. A discus thrower has a 10-mile-per-hour tailwind. (L, I)

10. A figure skater performs all spins clockwise. (L, I)

11. A female figure skater wears a sleeveless outfit. (L, I)

12. A freestyle Frisbee player wears a thimble on the end of a finger. (L, I)

ANSWERS

1. I. Only feathered birdies may be used in competitive badminton.

2. L. Aluminum bats are legal in amateur and college play but not in the pros.
They're lighter and can be swung faster than solidwood bats-about 4 miles per
hour faster, producing a 10-percent increase in the distance of hits, according
to one study.

3. L. Abrasives may be used on bowling balls before play begins.

4. I. Olympic boxers may be no younger than 17 and no older than 37. Boxing is
the only Olympic sport with a maximum age limit.

5. I. Boxing rules prohibit beards.

6. L. Until the last Olympics, cyclists had to wear black pants and either white
socks or no socks.

7. I. The cord transfers leg force away from lifting the cyclist up and instead
channels it into pressing the pedals down.

8. L. Cyclists may fill their bike tires with any gas.

9. L. While the rules of discus give no allowance for wind speed, a tailwind is
a definite disadvantage. By contrast, throwing into a headwind of 16 feet per
second can increase the distance of a throw by up to 10 percent because of the
disc's aerodynamics.

10. L. However, skaters seldom spin or jump clockwise.

11. L. Ladies may wear sleeveless costumes. However, men must still wear
sleeves.

12. I. Frisbee freestylers usually use plastic fingernails attached to their
real fingernails with superglue to reduce the friction on a spinning disc. Since
the sport's rules consider these prosthetic devices-they replace an existing
part-they are allowed while the nonprosthetic thimble is not.

REMAINING ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH'S PUZZLES

8. Move only one match to make the horse face another direction.

9. Tails. If you spin a shiny new penny very fast on a smooth, glass surface
and let it die down naturally, it will show tails far more often than heads. On
a new penny, the edge isn't quite flat: It's tilted slightly toward heads,
making the tail side just a bit larger.