Reaping balls

"She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper."

- Katniss Everdeen describing a name being picked out of a reaping ball during the reaping.

The Reaping Balls are what the slips of paper with all the names of children from age 12 to age 18 to be possibly reaped in a district are held. There are two reaping balls, one for boys and one for girls. During the reaping, the reaping balls are placed on a stage placed in front of the Justice Building for the district escort to choose a name from them.

The Hunger Games
During the District 12 reaping for the 74th Hunger Games, Effie Trinket was the escort who picked the tributes. She chose Primrose Everdeen from the girls' ball. However, her sister Katniss Everdeen volunteered for her. Effie then chose Peeta Mellark from the boys' ball.

Catching Fire
During the 75th Hunger Games, the third Quarter Quell, the twist was that only past Hunger Games Victors would be eligible to be reaped. In District 12, being that there were only three victors alive: Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch, Effie had to claw around the girls' ball for a few minutes to pick the single slip of paper in it. She then chose Haymitch out of the boys' ball but Peeta immediately volunteered in his place.