ABSTRACT
Friendship is important and lack of it can be grounds for exclusion: The fact that by and large the sexes play separately may also be used to justify exclusion. Boys and girls of this age usually prefer companions of the same sex and if this were not the case, then 'boys can't play' would carry little weight. When refused a game of football by a group of nine-year-olds, a group of twelve-year-old boys took the ball away and since none of the younger ones dared retrieve it, the older ones were eventually allowed to join in. Although it is clear that there are rules for joining in a game and a variety of methods to achieve or counter exclusion, most teachers, parents and dinner-ladies would want to know why it is that some children come to be excluded and not others. Dipping provides ample opportunity to avoid being 'it'.
