Swing Ball

It was my daughters birthday a few weeks back and, as usual, her grandparents went over the top in buying her presents. One of the presents they bought her in fact really brought back a few memories of my childhood as I had had a similar version of it when I was about her age. The present in question was the good old fashioned swing ball, the only tennis game you could play if you only had a small garden to play it in. The version I remember having was dull metal poles with a silver, and pretty sharp spiral for the string of the ball to swing around. Then there was the flimsy plastic bats that ... more

If simple ideas are always the best, Swingball has all the makings of a classic toy. It was voted outdoor toy of the year 2003 by the Toy Retailers Association. ~What is it?~ *************** A tennis ball is attached to the end of a piece of string, the other end being loosely affixed to a post, which in turn is fitted into a base filled with sand, gravel or water to weigh it down. The game also comes with a set of of 2 tennis style rackets, only made of plastic and very sturdy. That's it! ~How do you play it?~ ************************* Again, simplicity is the key here. Two players stand ... more

Swingball is a tennis ball on a line looped to a pole at the top end where there is a spiral. The pole is then put in the ground with the spike at the bottom (the old version) or put into a base, weighted with water, sand or other ballast, as you would with a garden parasol (the new version). Depending on whether you hit the ball backhand or forehand, the line will travel up or down the spiral. If it is attached to the middle of the spiral to start with, you can play competitively, with each of the two opponents trying to drive the loop up to the top or down to the bottom of the spiral to ... more

Charlottes 7th birthday fell slap bank in the middle of the heatwave in August so we decided to buy her an outdoor toy that we could all use. I remembered when I was small I had a Swingball but didn't for one minute think they made them, so when I spotted one while I was browsing through the Argos book I had a brainwave and brought it. For those of you who don't know, a Swingball is basically a long metal pipe with a coil at the top connected to which is a nylon line with a tennis ball attached to the end. The metal pipe stands in a plastic base which you fill with sand or water to keep it ... more

It's weird - you can buy your children the latest games console, a television to accompany it and a lifetime's supply of games, and yet they'll say they're bored. And yet you can present the with a metal pole with a tennis ball attached and you won't hear a peep from them for hours. I know this due to the fact that I was bought one when I was at the grand old age of nine. I remember it was my birthday and I was most excited when I tore away the packaging to reveal a Swing Ball: ***Packaging*** Now, Swing Ball's have been made by hundreds of varying manufacturers, and therefore you will ... more