Runner-up; Hon Yen marine ecosystem. Phu Yen, Vietnam. Every year between May and August, the coral of this rich and diverse ecosystem becomes exposed at low tide. (Photo by Truong Hoai Vu/Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition)

A demonstrator takes part during a rally against Chile's government on the second anniversary of the protests and riots that rocked the capital in 2019, in Santiago, Chile, October 18, 2021. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

Participants climb a 10km muddy obstacle course during the “Run Mud” race, on March 29, 2019 in the Israeli mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv. Over 6,000 participants took part in the obstacle race, with up to 18 artificial obstacles on three tracks (10 km, five km or two km). (Photo by Jack Guez/AFP Photo)

The sun rises behind The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, Merseyside on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

Nigel Cox and Kevin Jay paint with light using fibre optic whips on the beach at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, United Kingdom on July 25, 2023 with a superhero fighting theme. (Photo by Kevin Jay/Picture Exclusive)

Muay Thai participants, fight during the Kibra Youth Initiative boxing exhibition at the Kibera Fort Jesus grounds in Nairobi on December 23, 2024. The purpose of the boxing exhibition is to promote boxing and Muay Thai in the local communities and help prevention of crime and substance abuse among the growing youth within the area and surrounding communities. (Photo by Simon Maina/AFP Photo)

A French bulldog named Rocket takes part in the annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon in Del Mar, California, on Sunday, September 7, 2025. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/Getty Images)

In a simpler time all a child or an adult needed to enjoy the outdoors was a ball and a stick. Or maybe an old tire tied to a high branch to fashion a swing. And the only instruction given to children was to “be home before dark”. Now there are iPads and computers and television screens and shrinking safe public spaces. But despite the distractions and limitations of space, these images show the charm of kicking a ball or skipping rope endures. Sometimes with modifications as a nod to changing times. Here: in this Saturday, June 20, 2015 photo, a boy runs while playing with a motorcycle wheel in Samugari, Ayacucho, Peru. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)