Old Sports, New Rules: How sports are adapting for audience and inclusion

Table Cricket

Forget cricket whites and wickets, Table Cricket is played on a Table Tennis table and has been dreamt up by the Lord Taverner’s.

Using a ramp and ball and a small wooden bat, it can be played by those with severe impairments. There are six players per team and each player has the chance to bat, bowl and field.

Right across Wales, the Cricket Wales team have been busy delivering sessions in schools and running regional qualifier competitions. In a grand finals day, 12 schools – and 150 children – then battled for the Cup and Shield titles at the Sport Wales National Centre.

To appeal to as many people as possible, the rules of Table Cricket can be adapted.

Elis, a pupil from Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth says:

“My favourite part is hitting the ball, trying to get points. I like the sound when you hit the metal.”

3X3 Basketball

The three-side-a-game has proved so popular, it gained a slot at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and the 2022 Commonwealth Games. There’s also the FIBA 3X3 World Tour and World Cup.

It’s long been played though in streets and on local courts. And while we have always informally played ball in this way, there are now growing opportunities to play competitively with a smaller team size.

Basketball Wales’ 3X3 Summer Tour brings competition to Flint, Cardiff and Swansea with age categories starting from under 12s all the way to seniors.

To support the growing demand for 3X3, Sport Wales has helped fund court renovations across the country - including a £99,000 grant from Welsh Government capital funding for upgrades in the three tour locations.

Gavin Williams from Basketball Wales says: “The 3x3 game has exploded. You don’t need a team of 12, you rock up to the park with your mates and a game happens. It’s informal. It’s urban and its roots are in fashion and music. It’s why we always have a massive PA system at our Summer Tour events because it’s just part of the wider entertainment.”

Blitz Netball

Blitz Netball is the new kid on the block and can be played (almost) anywhere with very little equipment. It’s designed to break down cost barriers to participation — that’s why young people from low-income communities across Wales helped create it, alongside StreetGames and Wales Netball.

It’s a 3 v 3 fast-paced game with four goals. In a massive shake up to traditional netball, any player can shoot and from anywhere on the court. There are loads of ways in which you can adapt the game to suit all ages and abilities. There’s even the option for a rule-break zone where you can run with the ball.

Wales Netball’s Head of Participation Keira Edwards says: “Blitz Netball is a great new version of netball, which we hope will attract a more diverse crowd of people to our sport. It was codesigned with young people, for young people – and so we’re hopeful more people will get the chance to enjoy our wonderful sport, their way!”

Find out how Blitz Netball was created by young people.

Futsal

You could say that futsal is the grandmaster of short, sharp versions of traditional sports. It all started in the 1930s in Uruguay. It takes a five-a-side football team, puts 40 minutes on the clock and nicks its pitch size and goal from handball.

Futsal is fast, furious and super skilful. Just look at some of the world’s best football teams and most of them will have serious futsal game – like Brazil, Argentina and Portugal. 

Played indoors, it’s fantastic for winter training, offering an escape from bad weather. Plus, the smaller team size means you’re not struggling for numbers. 

There are 11 teams in the national league in Wales. Futsal Club Cardiff has just won the playoff final and will be facing European teams in the UEFA Futsal Champions League next season. The club has plans to set up a women’s team and to set up development sides to grow the game.

Chris Foot from the club says: “Futsal is a technical, tactical sport in which decision-making needs to be rapid. It’s a brilliant way to power up skills for the 11-a-side game especially during the winter as it’s played indoors.”

Sixes Lacrosse

Keep an eye out for four Wales lacrosse players - Tomos Rosser, Sophy Coombes-Roberts, Florence Taylor and Loulou Rowlands - who are aiming to compete at the LA Olympic Games in 2028.

The awesome foursome are in the British Lacrosse Sixes squad. Sixes is a shorter, faster version of the game. Shaking things up, it’s all about faster play and non-stop, high scoring action with a 30-second shot clock.

A traditional lacrosse game is 60 minutes long, but Sixes is done and dusted in 32. Specialist positions have been scrapped in favour of just runners and goalies, making the game accessible and easy to learn.

Touch Rugby and Walking Rugby

If we’re talking shorter, informal versions of the game that means smaller groups of people get to play, then we can’t not mention Touch Rugby and Walking Rugby.

Super popular, many of the nation’s rugby clubs have set up sides, encouraging former players back on the pitch. Many players hang up their boots in their 30s, but these accessible formats offer a way to stay in the game, with all the fitness and camaraderie, just without the full contact.

And the rules? Well, you can make them up! Decide your team-size and grab a rugby ball of any size. Check out the WRU’s Touch Rugby guidelines.

Bridgend Sports RFC have launched new teams so people can choose which variation of rugby to play. Their Chair, Justin Hostettler-Davies, said: “Traditionally, we only had our full-contact men's teams which saw players stop playing when the demands became too much for their bodies. 

“But now we’ve got our touch rugby and walking rugby teams, including a women’s team, which means we’re no longer just a rugby club for men up into their 30’s. Players can continue to enjoy rugby in a format that suits them for the rest of their lives.”

Flag Football

If you prefer your team sports with a Stateside flavour, then you’re in luck. In Wales, there are several Flag Football teams, a non-contact form of American Football which sees adult mixed sides remove a flag from the flag carrier, instead of tackling.

In fact, it is growing so popular, it is even set to feature at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

There are lots of teams across South Wales including Cardiff Hurricanes, Gwent Gators and Swansea Hammerheads.

The Cardiff Valkyries is a women’s side and they play a 7x7 contact version of the sport. 

From high-speed hockey to inclusive cricket and urban-inspired basketball, Wales is innovating and expanding the sporting landscape. 

Hoci Cymru’s CEO, Paul Whapham said: “"People have different backgrounds and needs, as well as having busy schedules. It's about finding ways to adapt our sports to make them more accessible and easier to fit in so more people can get involved."

These fast, flexible formats are making sport more accessible and more inclusive. Whether it's bringing back former players, drawing in new fans, or simply making it easier to squeeze a match with friends into a busy schedule, these adapted games are showing that sport can evolve and thrive in fresh, exciting ways.

Every community club and sports organisation has the power to grow the game. Explore how adapting your sport could open doors for new players and build a stronger, more inclusive community.