TOUCH FOOTBALL

variant of American football in which an opposing ball carrier may be stopped by a touch, with one or both hands depending on the rules in effect, instead of by a tackle. In another form of the game, called flag, or tail, football, each player carries a handkerchief or towel dangling from his belt or hip pocket, and gaining possession of the flag is substituted for touching. Touch football may be played by varying numbers of players using little or no protective equipment. Either 6-man or 11-man rules may be followed generally, often with the following variations: The field may be marked into four zones, and a team receiving the ball in one zone is allowed four plays (downs) to move it into the next (in a more wide-open game, with passing allowed beyond the line of scrimmage, a team may be allowed only four downs to score). The ball becomes dead whenever it strikes the ground. A team that intends to punt must announce its intention before the down begins and must then actually punt the ball, neither team being allowed to cross the line of scrimmage until after the kick. If a game ends in a tie, the ball is taken to midfield and each team is allowed one series of four downs. One point is scored by the team making the longest total advance during this overtime series. Touch football has long been popular in the United States as a playground game and a school and college intramural sport.