New words – 21 March 2022

a sprinting man, lit dramatically on a black background
PhotoAlto / Milena Boniek / BrandX Pictures / Getty

Earthing noun [U]
UK /ˈɜːθɪŋ/ US /ˈɝːθɪŋ/
a sport that combines running and swimming, in which the competitor dives off the end of the running track into the swimming pool

Earthing has combined the two most popular Olympic sports, sprinting and swimming, into one explosive race. Earthing is the pursuit of the quickest human on the planet; running on the surface, flying in the air, and paddling through the water.
[gobeyondsports.com, 21 November 2021]

drone soccer noun [U]
UK /ˈdrəʊn.ˌsɒk.əʳ/ US /ˈdroʊn.ˌsɑː.kɚ/
a team game played between two teams of up to five people, in which each team tries to win by flying a drone into the other team’s goal

Sanders is keen to build up drone soccer both for participants and as a spectator sport. He says that the barriers for entry are much lower than the more elite-focused drone racing. He sees drone soccer developing over the next few years from a high school sport to university level and then a professional league.
[forbes.com, 30 July 2021]

wallball noun [U]
UK /ˈwɔːl.bɔːl/ US /ˈwɑːl.bɑːl/
a sport similar to squash in which players hit a ball against a wall using their hands rather than a racket

Now, “wallball’s” time may have come in the UK with the opening of what organisers believe is the country’s first community single-wall facility. Its backers are hoping hundreds more will follow. The court, in the shadow of the Shard tower in Southwark, London, is a passion project of NHS doctor Daniel Grant, who is running UK Wallball.
[theguardian.com, 8 April 2021]

About new words

8 thoughts on “New words – 21 March 2022

  1. Some great sports here.

    I know that at Eton the Wall Game is played.

    and in the engineering and electricity world earthing comes with a small letter.

    [one day I made an Earthing and Grounding list in StumbleUpon – early 2013].

    Why is there no poll for drone soccer?

    I think I would “wait for it to be used more”.

    I admire the dedication of the person who had developed drone soccer.

    1. Piers:

      Did you know that Varsity games of Rugby Fives are still played today between Oxford and Cambridge?

      And they also have been in Australia and New Zealand – which was a surprise to me until I read the Wikipedia article [which is what I do with most things I am curious about].

      Which version did you grow up with – the Rugby Fives or the Eton Fives?

      [and now I read about lots of other versions like the Winchester Fives].

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