User:LPreston97/sandbox

Flower Tennis
Flower Tennis is a sport that can be played either individually or in team form,originating in Emerald,Queensland. Players use their hands to hit a flower to one another over a wooden table. The sport is not currently recognised by any major organisations and was officially formed in July 2014. The sport takes inspiration from sports such as Badminton and Tennis, while players have observed similarities to volleyball also. The sport currently has six official players, with a number of other players on the sport's up and coming list for future potential, it has been subject to several rule changes since it's inception with the "out" and "home run" rules causing controversy. There have currently been two major Flower Tennis tournaments, the Birthday Tournament on the 8th of August 2014 and the Rain Tournament played on the 15th of August 2014, the sports first ever wet match.

History
Flower Tennis unofficially began in early 2014 when Emerald State High School Student Luke Preston hit a local flower to fellow student Kyle Carter in the style of a shuttlecock,using his hands as a racquet. The next period of Flower Tennis history is mostly unknown, however the sport officially began on the 28th of July 2014 when Preston hit another flower to student Saxon Belfield who returned the flower and a match erupted, with Belfield believed to be the winner, three days later on the 31st of July Preston and Belfield introduced fellow students Matt Wilesmith and Noah Davie to the sport, with the first doubles match taking place. Davie took the side of Preston, while Wilesmith lined up along side Belfield, forming two teams, the "Platipy" featuring Preston and Davie and the "Super Roundhouse Kick" featuring Wilesmith and Belfield. It is unknown who won this first doubles match, however the four continued to play the sport on a regular basis, with the teams variating between different partnerships. Eventually the game attracted more participants, with the four taking on four younger players in the inaugural "Birthday Tournament" in August 2014 with Preston,Wilesmith,Belfield and Davie claiming victory in the sports largest match to date. Since the tournament other players such as Kane Cross and Dion Oliver have begun playing, with the two becoming official players, while two other participants have been added to the up and coming list. The sport soon became recognised by teachers at the school who generally appreciated the innovative nature of the game. The sport's most recent tournament the "Rain Tournament" attracted just three players which is thought to be due to the adverse weather conditions faced on the day, the game was played in severely wet conditions with Preston and Wilesmith claiming victory over a moist Belfield.

Hands
One of the main attractions of Flower Tennis is that no major equipment is needed, although players have occasionally been known to use other objects to hit the flowers the sport's rules state that players may only use their hands as racquets, with several players facing punishments for using illegal objects.

Flowers
The sport officially recognises two variations of Flower as it's main ball which are: The Red Flower-The sport's most used variation of flower, the red flower is known for it's easiness to hit and density. The White Flower-The white flower is known as the sport's "Professional Ball" due to it's difficulty to hit and unpredictable nature.The white flower is only used rarely as it requires more power than the red flower.

Table
The sport is generally played over a rectangular wooden table, with players standing at opposite ends of the table. There are currently two officially used tables based in Emerald State High School.