Sports and games

1) kinds of sport (team, individual, summer, winter, attractive, recreation, professional)
2) the sport that I like (active, passive) and why?
3) importance of sport for personal development (physical and mental health, character)
4) competitions, Olympic Games, important sport’s undertakings
5) negative appearances in sport (honour, money, doping)

1) Sports are one of the most popular physical activities that people do for exercise to keep fit or because they enjoy them. Such a form of relaxation as sports is refreshing, can help take off some weight, and makes use of one’s skills and strength. Last but not least, during sports events one can meet a lot of new people and see how it feels to be a winner or a loser.
Usually all sports and games can be divided into groups according to different criterions.

a) The games are usually all- season activities, and they are practised both indoors and outdoors. Typical indoor sports are bowling, playing darts, snooker or billiards, table tennis, weight- lifting, aerobics or gymnastics. They are practised in gymnasiums or in sport centres. On the other hand, there is wide variety of outdoor sports like skiing, hiking, rock climbing, horse riding, golf, rowing or windsurfing.

b) The most popular team (collective) sports are football (AmE soccer), basketball, volleyball, handball, ice- hockey, cricket, rugby and baseball. From individual sports we can mention swimming, skiing, aerobics, jogging…

c) We can divide sports and games into summer (angling, golf, parachuting, water- skiing…) and winter sports (skiing, ski- jumping, tobogganing, figure- skating, speed- skating, bobsleigh…), but a lot of them can be practised all seasons because of a great number of gymnasiums, stadiums, courts, playgrounds, sport centres, swimming pools…

d) Some of the people do sports only for pleasure. They are amateurs or non- professionals. On the other hand, some people achieving excellent result stop being amateurs and become professionals, which means that they get paid to do a sport. They have to work very hard because they attend many competitions and the main goal is to win.

e) Ball games: tennis, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, football, baseball…
Water sports: angling, yachting, rowing, canoeing, water- jumping, sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, scuba diving, water polo, swimming (crawl, dolphin stroke, backstroke, butterfly stroke, breaststroke).

Athletics: high jump, pole- jump, long jump, triple jump, track and fields events, long- distance runs, marathon, hurdle- race, cross- country run, walking race, relay race, pentathlon, decathlon, javelin/ discus/ hammer throw.
Weightlifting and combat sports: karate, judo, boxing, power training and wrestling
Shooting and archery: shooting, fencing, archery
Dangerous and extreme sports: bungee- jumping, B.A.S.E. jumping, street luge, repelling, rock climbing, sky- surfing, sky- boarding, mountain biking, white- water rodeo, snowboarding, back- country endurance racing. In extreme sports the main idea is live and learn: learn or die. Thrills are addictive, but an adrenaline jones can be beaten.

Board games: billiard, chess, cards, scrabble…
Other sports and games: cycling, motorcycling, horse- riding, badminton, squash, mountaineering, roller- skating, car- racing, flying, gliding, hang- gliding…
2) I like to play…
I play with my friends…
I play on a team and we participate in various competitions…
We have training… a week. Our coach…(expects a lot, drives us hard, motivates us)
In spring I enjoy…
Over the summer I do…
In the autumn months I…
During winter I…
I would like to try… because…
I don’t like… because…
I like to play sport myself because…
I prefer watching sport on TV, especially…
I’m a fan of…
Sports can help develop (skills, strength, alertness…)
Sports also provide an opportunity for (teamwork, cooperation, goodwill…)
I like team sports such as…
My preference is for individual sports like…

3) It’s true that sports help us to keep our bodies in good physical condition. They keep us in good mental condition as well, because they offer us refreshment, relaxation and rest. There are also sports improving mainly logical thinking. Movement in the fresh air helps the blood circulation and cleans the lungs. Doing sports help us lose a few of our excess kilos and keep us fit and healthy.

Sport has a great importance for progress of personality, too. For some people it is not only the body movement or playing strategy but it’s a life philosophy. In the modern world a positive attitude to sports is becoming something of trend and a hit. Young people, and not just they, try to look sporty and dress in sporty clothes. Sport activity can cultivate also will and character qualities. Sportsmen are mostly directed to behave honestly and nobly because they are idols to small children. If you want to do some sport on higher level as it is usual you have to have a will something to attain. When we do sports recreationally, victory or lose doesn’t have to be of concern to us. It’s good to simply enjoy the fact that we are moving and thus contributing to our good health and physical condition.

4) The best sportsmen can take part in international competitions, in which they represent their country. There are many sports organizations that hold matches, inter-city competitions and friendly meetings of sportsmen.
Football teams compete for a cup in different competitions such as the League Championship or the World championship. Football or soccer is the most popular game in Britain and the Cup Final is the most important football match of the year. It is played at Wembley Stadium near London.

Once a year is organized a world championship in ice hockey. However it’s called world championship there are only European countries with Canada, USA and one Asian team. North America has its National Hockey League (NHL), which pays the best players in the world and has great level of quality.
The best tennis champions of the world meet every year at Wimbledon (the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament). These championships are watched by thousands of spectators.

Rugby is an old game that started in the 18th century at Rugby School, the famous English Public School. Spectators and TV viewers watch it all over the world.
Quite interesting is road cycling with its world most popular competition Tour de France. Some people say it is the hardest race at all.
In Britain are very popular the British Open Golf Championship and the Grand National (it is the best known horse-race), too.

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in USA, where is the competition of National Basketball Association held. The very best players of this sport are black men.
The most talented sportsmen can even take part in the Olympic games, which is an international competition and a great event on the world of sports.
The first Olympic games were realized in 776 B.C in Greece and they were based on the customs of the ancient Greeks. They were held for more than 1,000 years but the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius abolished them in 394 A.D.
The Games were renewed in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin to promote understanding and friendship among nations. The first modern games were held in Athens, Greece. Young men and women come from all over the world to compete in various sports and represent their country. They live in an Olympic Village at the site of the games.

Since 1924 there are two parts to the games- the winter and the summer part-, which alternate once every two years and they take a place in different country.
The Olympic games are organized and governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It sets the general program, chooses the city where the games are to be held, and determines the standards of amateurism. The opening ceremony of each Olympic games is held in a major stadium. The president of the host nation usually officiates. Led by athletes from Greece, all athletes march around the stadium in the parade of Nations. Then, facing the Olympic Flag, the athletes take the Olympic Oath: We swear that we will take part in these Olympic Games in the true spirit of sportsmanship, and that we will respect and abide by the rules that govern them, for the glory of sport and the honour of our country.

The Olympic Flame is light with a torch that is brought by a relay of athletes from the ruins of ancient Olympia in Greece. When the Games are completed, the flag is lowered and the flame extinguished. As reward for victory a sportsman may obtain bronze, silver or gold medal.

5) There are also some negative effects related to sport activity. Although is the fairplay controlled by referees or umpires (tennis, cricket...), some players try to be winners by breaking the rules in a game, which they are usually punished for.
Sport games and events around can also develop negative qualities those people taking part in. For example in Britain hooliganism at matches is often a serious problem because unruly spectators cause fights and throw things on the pitch.

Sport fame may be a good thing but some persons cannot get on with their popularity very well. They earn much money and then sometimes don’t know what to do with them. For example if they lost their interest in sport they can fall for drugs, alcohol. Their lives are trashed out in gutter press. It is sometimes very similar as with actors or other famous people. But of course this is not case of everyone. There are also rich people who got their money from sport career and than dedicate them for humanitarian targets or sport increase in their country. For example some Slovak ice-hockey players who play NHL gave some money for hockey youth in Slovakia.
The biggest negative influence on sportsmen has doping. Doping is the use of a substances or method that is potentially dangerous for the health of sportsmen but is able to improve their performance.

Many kinds of drugs are used in sports all over the world. Some are used to build muscles or give extra energy. Others kill the pain of injuries or calm nerves, but many are illegal.

Anabolic steroids – are used to build up muscles, they resemble male hormones.
Bodybuilders use anabolic steroids to look good in competitions. These drugs can cause health problems: liver cancer in men and infertility in women. You can become very aggressive.

Stimulants – make you feel full of energy and confidence, and you have the bigger stamina. It’s amphetamines and cocaine; cyclists, basketballers and footballers use them. Problems: they don’t create energy – they take it from your body. Users feel exhausted and washed-out. There is a danger of having a heart attack (collapse).
Beta-blockers – are drugs, which are normally prescribed by doctors for people with high blood pressure or heart problems. They help calm you down and relieve stress.
Users: snooker players and archers – who need steady hands and cool nerves. Problems: with heart and blood pressure.

Except these stuffs exist also mild drugs which are accepted.
Doping affair can also harm sportsman’s good reputation and it can make his further career impossible for a few months or years. Some scandals are not based on real facts. People or press can only increase someone’s negative popularity.
Using drugs is prohibited for many reasons. Firstly, sportsmen are idols to small children and if they take drugs, it certainly is a bad role model for young sportsmen and sportswomen. Secondly, it is not healthy; in fact it is very dangerous to human body when abused. And last but not least- it is unfair to the other people who try to be the best without any "support" of drugs. The point of sport should still be to DO sport, not to take drugs, to prove you are the best, not to prove which kind of drug is the best.