Topic. National Sports in Great Britain

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National Sports in Great Britain
National sports in Great Britain... It is a very interesting question, because many kinds of sport have taken the origin in England.
The Englishmen love sports, they are called sports-lovers in spite of the fact that some of them neither play games nor even watch them. They only like to speak about sports.
Some kinds of sport are professional in England. Popular and famous players have a lot of money.
Many traditional sporting contests take place in England, for example, cricket. It is played from May till September. This game is associated with England. There are many cricket clubs in this country. English people like to play cricket. They think that summer without cricket isn't summer. Cricket is the English national sport in summer. If you want to play cricket you must wear white boots, a white shirt and white long trousers.
There are two teams. Each team has eleven players. Cricket is popular in boys' schools. Girls play cricket too.
Football. It Has got a long history. Football was played by the whole village teams in the middle ages in England.
Now football is the most popular game in Britain. It is a team game. There are some amateur teams but most of the teams are professional ones in England. Professional football is a big business. Football is played at schools too. If we speak about football we can mention an interesting fact in American football, called soccer. The captain of the team must be the oldest or best player.
Rugby football. You can see a ball in this game, but it is not round. It is oval. This is a team game. There are fifteen players in each team. It is a popular game in England. There are many amateur rugby football teams.
Table tennis. Englishmen heard about table tennis in 1880. Then
Many people like to play table tennis. This game is played by men and women too. There are some tennis clubs in England, but if you go and play there it is necessary to pay money for it.
Englishmen like playing tennis but many of them prefer to watch this game.
Wimbledon. It is the centre of lawn tennis. Some years ago Wimbledon was a village, now it is a part of London and you can see All-England Tennis Club there.
Englishmen pay much attention to swimming, rowing and walking. Usually the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race takes place at the end of March or at the beginning of April. It is an interesting contest between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. It is usually held on the Thames River. The first such race was held in 1820. There were a lot of people watching this race.
There are some racing competitions in England. They are motor-car , racing, dog-racing, donkey-racing, boat-racing, horse-racing. All kinds of racings are popular in England. It is interesting to see the egg-and- spoon race. The runner, who takes part in this competition, must carry an egg in a spoon. It is not allowed to drop the egg.
We must speak about the Highland Games in Scotland. All competitors wear Highland dress. There are such competitions as putting the weight, tossing the caber and others. The English are great lovers of sports.

 
Sports in Great Britain
Britain doesn't often produce sportsmen or sportswomen who are successful in the world sporting championships but it has been good at inventing sports and writing the rules of games.
Golf was first played in Scotland in the fifteenth century and the most famous golf club, Saint Andrews in Scotland, is still the most respectable authority on golf in the world.
Cricket was first played in England in the sixteenth century and its rules were written in the eighteenth century.
The nineteenth-century team sports, such as football, rugby and hockey, were first played in Britain public schools. The rules for all of those games were written between 1870 and 1890. The rules for lawn tennis were written in England in 1875.
Britain's national sport is football. During the football season (August to May) most professional footballers play two matches every week. Many people say this is too many because the players cannot devote enough time and energy to international games.
The 22 best English teams play in the Premier League, run by the Football Assosiation (the FA). The other professional teams play in three divisions run by the Footbal League. Liverpool is the most successful team and have won the most games and tournaments.
The most exciting games are often between teams from the same city: Manchester United and Manchester City; Arsenal and Chealsea from London; Celtic and Rangers from Glasgow. The highlight of the football season is the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. Eighty thousandfans fill the stadium and there is usually a very good at- mosphere. The most successful FA Cup team is Tottenham Hotspur They have won the cup eight times.
Most people think of cricket as a slow sport, but the ball can be bowled at speed of 85 miles per hour.
Cricket is a popular summer sport in England. It is not played mucl in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but it is played in the Common wealth countries of Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies.
Every year there are test, matches between all these countries, A test match can last for up to five days. Usually the Commonwealth countries play much better and faster cricket than in England.
Rugby is a type of football. It is played with an oval ball and players can both kick and run with it. There are two types of rugby: in Rugby Union there are 15 players, who are amateurs, and it is played by England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland (a joint team from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland), South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. There are regular matches between these countries. In Rugby League there are 13 players in a team, the players are all professionals and rugby is mostly played in the North of England and Australia.
 
The Olympic Games in Atlanta
The Olympic Games — four years of preparation, hard training, anticipation and sixteen days of athletic endeavour, triumph and defeat, tears of joy and despair for sportsmen from 197 countries and millions and millions of sport fans all over the world.
The centennial Olympiad in Atlanta was called by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the President of the International Olympic Committee, "most exceptional." At the closing ceremony Samaranch thanked Atlanta for their efforts, but declined to use the words "the best ever," which have been his traditional seal of approval for every Summer and Winter Olympics since 1984.
Referring to the tragic explosion at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta as well as to the tragedy in Munich in 1972, Samaranch also said, "No act of terrorism has destroyed the Olympic movement, and none ever will. More than ever, we are committed to building a better, more peaceful world in which all forms of terrorism are eradicated."
The organizers of the closing ceremony tried, however, to make it a real celebration and to remind the spectators of the brilliant sports victories (mainly those of American athletes). During the three-hour presentation, highlights of gold-medal winning moments were flashed on stadium video-screens. We could only wish that at least one or two Russia's achievements (the second after the USA in medals) could be added to these:
Michael Johnson becomes the first man to win both the 200- am 400-meter sprints in the same Olympics.
Carl Lewis wins the long jump at age 35 for his 9th gold medal in 4 Olympiads.
Kerri Strug lands a final vault through tears and pain to help th women's gymnastics team win their first-ever Olympic gold medal.
Canadian Donovan Bailey beats the star-studded field and th world record with a 100-meter run of 9.84 seconds.
Irish swimmer Michelle Smith raises her arms triumphantly after winning the women's 400-meter medley for her first of three gold medals — and has to spend most of the Games defending herself against charges of performance-enhancing drug use.
The fantastic achievement of US women's teams in basketball gymnastics, soccer, softball.
With music playing and fireworks cracking, the Olympic flame was extinguished and the Olympic flag handed to Frank Sartor, mayor о Sydney, Australia, host country of the 2000 Summer Games.

 
Olympics in Atlanta
The History of the Olympic Games
The first games which later were called "the Olympics" were held about a thousand years before our era.
In those times numerous states on the territory of modern Greece often waged wars. The ruler of one of these, Elis, wanted to live in peace in a neutral state. He succeeded in his negotiations and to celebrate this achievement, he organized athletic games.
From that time all the games were held every fours years in Olympia on the territory of Elis. All wars and feuds were stopped by special heralds who rode in all directions. Best athletes arrived from many Greek states to Olympia to compete in running, long jumps, throwing of discus and javelin and wrestling. Fist fighting (boxing) and chariot races were included in the Games. Only men could take part in the Olympics. Women were not allowed anywhere near them.
All the athletes took an oath that had been preparing well for the Games, promised to compete honestly and keep the rules of the sacred Olympics. Winners were called "olympionics," they were awarded olive wreaths and cups of olive oil.
The Olympic Games were accompanied by arts festivals. Singers sang hymns, poets recited poems, orators made speeches — all this in honor of the sacred Games.
The Olympic Games have been held for about eleven hundred years, until the Emperor Theodosius banned them for religious reasons in 394 A. D.
The revival of the Olympics began in 1892, when a young French teacher Pierre de Coubertin made a public speech before the Union of French sports clubs in Paris. In his speech he emphasized the importance of sports in uniting peoples of the world and serving the cause of peace, as in ancient times. On the 23rd of June, 1884 the International Congress of Amateur Sportsmen made a historic decision to revive the Olympic Games. The first Olympics of modern times were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece.
Winter sports made their Olympic debut in 1908, when ice figure- skating was included in the Olympic programme among summer sports. In 1925 the International Olympic Committee decided to consider the International Winter Sports Week that had taken place in 1924 in Chamonix, France, as the first Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," — "Faster, Higher, Stronger." The Olympic symbol is five interlocking circles colored blue, yellow, black, green, and red, on a white background, representing the five continents. At least one of these colors appears in the national flag of every country.

 
Sports in Russia and in My Life
Sport helps people to stay in good shape, keeps them fit, healthy and makes them more organized and better disciplined in their daily activities.
Many sports are popular in Russia. They are: hockey, soccer, weightlifting, track and field, tennis, basketball, volleyball, boxing, figure-skating, cross-country skiing, swimming, judo and shooting. All these sports have their strong supporters.
The Russians are not only sports fans. They take an active part in all sports and sports activities. It's been a tradition in this country to divide sport into professional and amateur. There are different sporting societies and clubs in Russia. Many of them take part in different inter lifters, tennis players, swimmers, figure-skaters, runners, high jumpers. The former Soviet Union, which relied heavily on Russian athletes, has won more medals than any other team in all but two Summer Olympics since 1956.
In our country much attention is paid to organized sports and this shouldn't overshadow the many sporting activities which are a part of daily Russian life. Most Russians who grow up in the North, grow with outdoor winter sports and activities. Skating is a wide-spread activity. There are many skating-rinks in the cities.
There are many stadiums and public sports facilities in Russia. Numerous national and international matches and competitions are regularly held in Russia. They attract large numbers of fans. Most of the important games are televised alive. Thousands of people go to the stadiums to support their favourite team and many thousands more prefer to watch the games on TV. But watching sports events and going in for sports are two different things.
My favourite kind of sport is tennis. I've been playing it since I was eleven years old, and the more I play it the more I like it. There is a good tennis court not far from my house and whenever I have a chance I go there with a friend of mine.
Now I go to the stadium to play volleyball. I began to train with a coach. He says I'm good at volleyball and soon I'll be a member of the volleyball team of our city.

Olympic Games
Olympic Games are the greatest international sports games in the world.
The Olympic Games have an interesting and long history. The competitions of athlets took place in Greece. They were only for men. It was twenty eight centuries ago in 776 B.C.
The most important competition in Olympia were named the Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games were a holiday. They were held every four years (through 1417 days). The Olympic Games included events in racing, boxing, jumping, horse-racing and wrestling.
The Olympic Games became the symbol of peace and friendship. In 1896 we again heard about the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee was set up and began to work in 1896. There were competitions in many kinds of sports: jumping and running, boxing and swimming, athletics, football, basketball and others.
Summer and Winter Games are held separately. Winter Olympic Games first took place in 1924. There were competitions in skiing, skating, ice hockey and etc. Since 1936 the opening ceremony is celebrated by lighting a flame, which is called "The Olympic Flame".
Many people want the Olympic Games to be held in their cities, but it depends on the decision of the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic Games were held in the cities of Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Our country joined the Olympic Movement in 1952.
The 22nd Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow in 1980 (from July 19 to August 3). Many athletes, guests, journalists came to Moscow, it was for the first time that the Olympic Games were held in our country. Our Russian sportsmen won 80 gold, 69 silver and 46 bronze medals during these Games.
The 22nd Olympic Games were the holiday of health, peace and friendship.

 
The History of the Olympic Games
The first games which later were called "the Olympics" were held about a thousand years before era.
In those time numerous states on the territory of modern Greece often waged wars. The ruler of one of these, Elis, wanted to live in peace in neutral state. He succeeded in his negotiations and to celebrate this achievement, he organized athletic games.
From that time the Games were held every four years in Olympian on the territory of Elis. All wars were stopped by special heralds who rode in all directions. Best athletes arrived from many Greek states to compete in running, long jumping, throwing of discus and jevelin and wrestling. First fighting (boxing) and chariot races were also included in the Games. Only men could take part in the Olympics.
All athletes took an oath that they had been preparing well for the Games, promised to compete honestly and keep the rules of the sacred Olympics. Winners were called "olympionics" and they were awarded olive wreaths and cups of olive oil.
The Olympic Games were accompanied by art festivals.
The Olympic Games had been held for about eleven hundred years, until the Emperor Theodosius banned them for religious reasons in 384 AD.

 
The Olympics
The Olympics have a very long history. They began in 776 В. C. (до нашей эры) and took place every four years for nearly 1200 years at Olympia, in Greece. They included many kinds of sports: running, wrestling, the pentathlon (five different sports) and chariot-racing.
In 394 A. D. (нашей эры) the Games stopped. Fifteen hundred years later, in 1894, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, persuaded people from fifteen countries to start the Olympic Games again. The first of the modern series of games took place in Athens two years later, in 1896.
At the IV Olympics, in 1908, in London, there were more than two thousand competitors, from twenty-one countries. Since then, the number of athletes competing has increased each time. The International Olympic Committee at Lausanne, in Switzerland, decides where each Olympics will take place.
Nearly 150 countries are represented in the International Olympic Committee. After the Second World War the modern Olympic Games were resumed in London in 1948. They were the XIV Olympic Games.

 
Sports in Our Life
Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people.
Many people do morning exercises, jog in the morning and train I themselves in clubs in different sections and take part in sport competitions.
Other people like sports too, but they only watch sports games, listen to sports news. They prefer reading interesting stories about sportsmen. But they don't go in for sports.
Physical training is an important subject at school. Pupils have got physical training lessons twice a week. Boys and girls play volley-ball and basket-ball at the lessons. There is a sports ground near our school  and schoolchildren go in for sports in the open air.
A lot of different competitions are held at schools, a great number of pupils take part in them. All participants try to get good results and become winners. Sport helps people to keep in good health. If you go in  for sports, you have good health and don't catch cold.
Children and grown-ups must take care of their health and do morning exercises regularly.
There are some popular kinds of sports in our country: football, volley-ball, hockey, gymnastics, skiing, skating. Athletics is one of the most popular kinds of sports. It includes such kinds of sports as: running, jumping and others. Everybody may choose the sport he (or she) is interested in.
There are summer and winter sports.
My favourite sport is swimming. I go to the swimming-pool twice a week. I prefer to rest by the lake or the river and swim there.
My friend Kostya goes in for boxing. He is a good boxer and he is a brave and courageous boy. His hobby helps him in his everyday life.