SPORTS

Sports are physical activities that people do. Games are forms of sport with rules. Fair play is
controlled by referees or umpires. A good performance is rewarded by scoring points or goals. Some players
try to be winners by breaking the rules. They are usually punished for it.
Sports and games can be divided into indoor and outdoor. Indoor sports can be practised all year
because they are done in gymnasiums. A centre where people can do indoor sports is called a sports centre or
a leisure centre. Typical indoor sport is gymnastics which includes apparatus training on uneven bars,
parallel bars, wall bars, horizontal bar, rings, balance beam, mat, springboard, climbing rope and pole. Other
typical indoor sports are aerobics and weight-lifting. Popular indoor games are bowling, boxing, wrestling,
martial arts (karate, taekwondo…), table tennis, darts and billiards.
Outdoor sports depend on the weather and therefore can be practised mostly in summer. Typical
outdoor sport is athletics which includes:
- track and field events: the Marathon race, long-distance run, cross-country run, relay-race
- sprinting events: a hundred metre sprint, hurdle-race
- jumping: high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole jump
- throwing: hammer, discus, javelin, shot put
Other outdoor sports are cycling, hiking, rock climbing, roller-skating, skateboarding, horse riding, water
sports: sailing, yachting, rowing, canoeing, water skiing, snorkelling, scuba-diving, wind-surfing. Some
outdoor sports can be done only in winter, such as skiing, skating, snowboarding and tobogganing. Skiers
can practise slalom, downhill race or ski jumps in ski resorts where there are good snow conditions. Skating
includes figure skating and speed skating which are practised on skating rinks.
Most sports can be done both indoors and outdoors, such as track and field events and swimming.
Swimming includes breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly stroke and crawl.

The British are sport-loving people. Some games (football, rugby, golf, cricket, tennis) originated in
Britain and spread all over the world. The most popular game is football – in the United States it is called
soccer. In this collective game two teams of eleven players play with a ball on a grass playing field. They
want to score or defend their goalkeeper. The purpose is to kick the ball into the opposite goal. In Britain
there are a great number of clubs. Football teams compete in different competitions such as the League
Championship or the World Championship. The Cup Final is the most important football match of the year
in England. It is played at Wembley Stadium near London – one of the world’s biggest football stadiums.
When there is a football match on, fans usually support their teams. They cheer, shout, applaud, boo or
swear. But many times hooliganism appears on the football field. It is often a serious problem because
spectators cause fights and throw things on the football field. A lot of young people travelling to support
their footballers cause vandalism during the journey. It is necessary to educate young people how to behave
and how to support their footballers in a polite way.
Rugby is also very popular. It started at Rugby School in England in the 18 th century when a sixteen-year-old
schoolboy simply picked up the football and started running with it during a football match. Rugby is played
with and oval ball and hands and feet can be used.
Cricket is considered to be the most typical English game. It has its roots in England and it has never become
popular in the world. It is a difficult game for foreigners to understand. The British love this game.
Another popular game is tennis. It is played on a tennis court. Rackets, ball and net are used. Wimbledon
tournament is played every year and it is watched by thousands of spectators and viewers all over the world.
Golf comes from Scotland. It is played by two, three or more persons on a golf course. The player tries to hit
the ball with a club into each hole in as few strokes as possible.
The Americans also pay attention to sports and games. The most popular games are baseball,
basketball, American football, tennis, boxing, wrestling and ice hockey.
Baseball was invented in the 18th century. It is played at large stadiums. There is no time limit, and maybe it
is one of the reasons of its popularity. High schools and colleges have their own baseball teams. Most of the
cities have at least one professional baseball team.
Tennis and squash are leading summer sports in the USA.
Squash is a game for two or four players. It is played in a four-walled court with a special racket and a soft
ball.
Slovaks are good at ice hockey. A lot of Slovak hockey players play in American and Canadian
National Hockey League (NHL). The Slovak team was the winner of the 2002 Hockey World Cup. Besides
that Slovaks are successful in many other sports. Sportspeople, like a swimmer Martina Moravcová,
sportspeople in water slalom Michal Martikán, Hochschorner brothers, a cyclist Peter Sagan, an athlete
Matej Tóth, skiers Veronika Zuzulová and Anastasia Kuzminová, tennis players Dominika Cibulková and
Dominik Hrbatý, football players Martin Škrteľ and Marek Hamšík are very successful and world-famous.

There are a number of different reasons why people do sports. Sports and games are popular leisure
activities. They help us to keep fit both physically and mentally. This form of relaxation is refreshing and
healthy. We usually exercise when we want to be healthy, to lose weight, to get rid of stress, to relax in an
active way or for pleasure. Some sporting activities, such as aerobics, jogging, swimming or bodybuilding,
are popular with those who want to lose weight. Many parents want their children to do a sport. They believe
that doing a sport is a good way for their children to spend their free time, for developing their character,
team building, learning to win and lose and cooperation. Doing a sport make us fit, active, goal-oriented and
ambitious. Some people regularly put on their sports clothes and go to playing fields, fitness centres or sports
centres. Some people prefer watching sports events and supporting their favourite teams. Nowadays more
and more people do some sports because a modern lifestyle expects people to be in good physical condition.
Some people like extreme or adrenaline sports because they are associated with danger, excitement and
adventure. Typical extreme sports are bungee jumping, hang gliding, parachuting, sky surfing, sky boarding,
skydiving and white-water rafting. Most of us are amateurs, doing sports for pleasure. Some people become
professionals, they have to work very hard because they attend many competitions and the main goal is to
win. Many of them dream of winning the world championships or an Olympic medal.

THE OLYMPIC GAMES / THE OLYMPICS

The Olympic Games are the most important sporting events. They started in ancient Greece and they were
renewed by Pierre de Coubertin. Since 1924 there are two parts – the winter part and the summer part. The
Winter Olympic Games are an international competition, held every four years in a different country. The
Olympic Rings are a well-known symbol of the Olympic Games. They represent the unity of the five
continents. They appear in the five colours of the Olympic Flag. Only the best sportspeople of each country
are chosen to take part in the Olympic Games. For them it is a great honour to represent their countries. The
first part of the Olympic creed is The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take
part…

Success in professional sport is nowadays connected with money and popularity. Successful
sportsmen or sportswomen usually become very famous. They become idols to young boys and girls. A lot
of articles about their lives and scandals appear in magazines and they lose their privacy. It is said that sport
is a huge business and sportsmen earn a lot of money. Besides that, some sportsmen take drugs. During
important competitions sportspeople are tested and may easily be disqualified. This may have a negative
impact on their career. There are some arguments against taking drugs. Firstly, sportsmen are idols to small
children and if they take drugs, it is a bad model for all young sportsmen. Secondly, it is unhealthy, in fact it
is very dangerous to the human body. And last – it is unfair to the other people who try to be the best without
any drugs. The point of sport is to do sport, not to take drugs. It is highly unfair and immoral. No reasonable
athlete should dope just because he wants to win. But there are people who cannot bear the fact that
somebody else is better than they are. They want to change it so much that they take drugs. But it is not an
excuse. Using illegal drugs, the athlete breaks the basic rule in sport, which says that every competition must
have equal requirements for everyone, it must be fair.
Many kinds of drugs are used by athletes all over the world. Some are used to build muscles, to give the
athlete extra energy, to kill the pain of injuries or to calm nerves. The majority of these drugs are very
dangerous for their health and they are illegal. But they are very frequent. One kind of drugs is the anabolic
steroids which are used by body-builders to build up muscles. They are also used in competitions to look
better and stronger. Other kinds of drugs are stimulants. They give you energy and confidence. And cocaine
has been abused by basketball players and footballers to make them more competitive. Some drugs are also
prescribed by doctors, for example beta-blockers. They help calm you down and relieve stress. For these
reasons, snooker players and archers take these drugs, because they need steady hands and cool nerves.
All of these drugs can cause health problems. Steroids can cause liver cancer and infertility in women, but
also people who take steroids can become very aggressive. Users of stimulants feel exhausted and washed-
out. When doing hard exercise, there is a danger of having a heart attack. People who take stimulants think
they can keep going and they push their bodies too far. In many cases drugs cause death.
QUESTIONS

1. Explain the difference between sports and games.

2. What is the difference between the following categories of sports: indoor and outdoor? Which
sports/games do they both include? Where can you practise them? What sports equipment do you
need to practise them?
3. Categorize sports according to the seasons of the year and give examples. Where can they be
practised and what sports equipment is needed?
4. Make comparison between collective and individual sports activities. What values can be learned by
playing team/individual sports?
5. Present typical British and American sports and games.
6. What is the importance of sport for development of physical and mental health? Does it also bring
any benefits to the society as a whole?
7. Name the most popular extreme sports and present their pros and cons. What are the main reasons
why people take up adrenaline sports? Would you like to take up an extreme sport?
8. Which sports or games do you practise on the regular basis? Is being a sports fan entertaining for
you? What sports and games do you like watching?
9. Describe sports facilities in your town.
10. What important sports events do you follow? What sports and games do the Slovaks excel in?
11. Talk about the Olympic Games, including the historical background, organization and symbols.
What is your opinion about the Olympics – what are the good and bad points?
12. Talk about the pros of doing sports professionally. How can sportsmen maintain a positive attitude
when the performance is not satisfactory?
13. What are the most important qualities for a good professional sportsperson to have? How does
professional sport affect the health of sportspeople over the years?
14. Present some world-famous sportspeople. Can they be role-models for young generation? Why?
Why not? Who is your favourite sportsman? What do you admire about him/her?
15. Talk about negative elements which appear in sport. Are there any sportsmen who destroyed their
reputation for illegal actions?
16. What do you think of the behaviour of sports fans? What kind of problems can they cause? How can
such behaviour be prevented?

ROLEPLAYS / SIMULATIONS

Practicing sport professionally requires a lot of time, money, hard physical training, stamina and sacrifice. If
you were a professional sportsperson, what advantages and drawbacks would there be for your personal and
professional life? What traits are necessary in order to be a successful sportsman/woman?

You are a sports journalist from a magazine called Sport. You want to write an article about a well-known
sportsman. Have an interview with him/her and find out about the beginning of his/her career, motivation,
the greatest successes and failures in life and future plans.

Your parents want you to study harder because your school results are not satisfactory. You used to be an
excellent student but since you took up sport you have been neglecting your studies. Talk to your parents and
try to solve the situation.
PICTURES

1 Categorize the sports depicted in the pictures. Find some similarities and differences
between them.
2 What are the sports the people in your country enjoy doing or watching?
3 Sport is important to adults, as is to children – express your opinion. Why should adults (and
elderly people) practise sports? What sports would you recommend them to do?
4 What are your favourite sports?