Archaic women's variant of basketball
Six-on-six basketball or basquette is a largely archaic variant of basketball, usually played by women and girls. It is played with the same rules as regular basketball, with the following exceptions:
Today, nearly all women's basketball leagues (pro, college, and high school) play by the same basic five-on-five rules as men, with only minor differences such as size of the ball and the distance of the three-point line. In the United States, the last major sanctioning bodies to abandon the six-on-six variant were the high school state athletic organizations of Iowa and Oklahoma. The sport is still occasionally seen at the recreational level, such as during physical education classes; in these cases, both boys and girls play the game.
Last six-on-six games played.
Beginning in 1958 the Office of Civil Rights started looking at banning six-on-six high school girls basketball. It would take 37 years to phase it out.
New Jersey variation.
Until 1975, New Jersey also played 6-on-6 for girls High School basketball, however the rules were slightly different. In New Jersey, two players were offense only, two defense only and two were able to move freely on both offensive and defensive ends. Defense or offense only players could not move beyond their respective midcourts. In general, the best athletes were those playing both ends of the courts, while offense would usually have both an inside (big) player and an outside shooter type. Defense only players were usually taller players and used for rebounding purposes only.
At the time New Jersey played 6-on-6 basketball, the game was primarily played in parochial schools. Among the powerhouse teams of the 1960s and early '70s were Mother Seton, Paramus Catholic, St. Vincent's Academy, St. Aloysius, Benedictine Academy and East Orange Catholic High Schools
Legacy.
Six-on-six basketball has been chronicled in such media as the 2004 book "The Only Dance in Iowa: A History of Six-Player Girls' Basketball" by Max McElwain, and in the 2008 Iowa Public Television special "More Than a Game: Six-on-Six Basketball in Iowa". "Six-On-Six: The Musical", a show by Robert John Ford celebrating the sport's popularity in Iowa, debuted in 2009 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines.
The format is currently in use by the Granny Basketball League. Formed in Iowa in 2005, the league consists of women aged 50 and older who play by 1920s rules and wear 1920s-style uniforms.
Six-on-six women's basketball was dramatized in the 2021 film, "New Providence" directed by Thor Moreno.
In January 2023, six-on-six basketball was the focus of an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible.
References.
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