----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, 2004-04-09 12:27
Subject: Re: [USMA:29474] metric in
sports
Hello,
American baseball, football and basketball dimensions are not
standardized in metric. The sports were designed with non-metric
dimensions (feet, etc.) in mind and have remained consistent in that
respect since their inventions -- for the most part. Three-point lines in
basketball have varied in placement over the years and it's easy to find
slight-to-moderate variations on court size at high school and (occasionally)
collegiate levels.
How basketball courts are laid out outside North America I do not know,
except that there, as here, the basket is 10 feet high.
Metric conversions are easy enough.
Major League Baseball stadiums in Toronto and Montreal both display
outfield dimensions in metric as well as the other, but they are designed as
they are in America. I would imagine that ballparks outside North America make
metric dimensions more prominent in their display, but they, too, are based on
the perfect square -- 90 feet from first base to second, etc.
Every other sport is laid out with Olympic measurements, track and field
most noteably. Metric dimensions rule these sports in the States at virtually
every level, even youth sports; it's rare nowadays to find a 440-yard oval for
a high school track meet, but 400-meter ovals dominate.
Hope this helps.
Jim Long
Veteran sportswriter (among other silly things)
-----Original Message-----
From: Mighty Chimp
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Apr 9, 2004 7:25 AM
To: "U.S. Metric
Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [USMA:29474] metric in sports
Re: The olympics are
metric!
Posted By: Euuric
Date: Friday, 9 April 2004, at 8:15 a.m.
In Response To: Re: The olympics are metric! (Jeff)
> Hey Euric, what about basketball?
> The court is 94 FEET long, the basket is 10
> FEET high, the three point line is 25 FEET
> out, and the
free throw line is 10 FEET out.
> And the United States wins every
year bitch!
That may be the size of the courts in the US, but not
elsewhere.
> And then there is baseball.
american baseball is not an Olympic sport. If it was,
the size of the field would be metricated to conform to IOC standards.
> It is 90 FEET btween each base, 60 FEET from
> the pitcher's mound to home plate, and the
> the fence is
about 300 FEET out.
> And don't forget football.
> The field is 100 YARDS or 300 FEET long, and
> the goalposts are 10 FEET high.
> I think I've made my point- not everything
> in the Olympics is metric.
Does anyone know if any of these
sports have a metric version of their
dimensions? I do not mean a soft conversion. I mean an actual
metric playing field. Like football