Sport and Games – maturitná téma

Sport and Games

Sport is very good for active relaxation and it is important for our physical and mental health or just for keeping fit. There are lots of types of sports and games. Sports can be generally divided into:

Outdoor sports are the following: athletics (including running, jumping and throwing), then golf, skiing climbing, hiking, mountaineering, horse riding, rally etc.

Indoor sports include: table-tennis, gymnastics, bowling, darts, billiards and chess.

There are also some sports which could be played both indoor and outdoor such as: tennis, ball games (basketball, volleyball), ice-hockey etc.

Water sports are: swimming (breaststroke, backstroke, crawl, and butterfly), sailing, water-skiing, diving, water polo, and yachting, canoeing or rowing. 

We can also divide sports according to the season they are practiced:

Summer sports: swimming, ball games (football, cricket, golf), athletics

Some sports can also be practiced in summer or in winter, too.

Winter sports: All sports connected with snow. Skiing (slalom, downhill, cross-country), sledge, bobsleigh, biathlon, skating, snowboarding, speed skating, ice-hockey, competitive figure skating (single skating, pairs or ice-dancing).

People all around the world are interested in sports.

Sport in the USA: The most popular games are baseball, American football, basketball, tennis, boxing, wrestling and ice-hockey. There are many sport centers. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in USA. The very best players of this sport are black men and we can find here many basketball clubs in USA (NBA, Chicago Bulls, L. A. Lakers). Millions of people like to attend matches, watch them on TV or listen to them on radio and cross their fingers for their favorite team.

Another popular game in USA is ice-hockey. The NHL (National hockey league) consists of many ice hockey clubs such as Pittsburgh Penguins. In NHL we can find many Czech players, because they are very well- paid here.

Sport in GB: Many sports have their origins in GB that is why Britain is sometimes called the cradle of sports. Two types of rugby, modern game of hockey, cricket, darts, tennis and boxing were invented there. The very national sports in GB are cricket, golf, soccer or lawn tennis. We can find some major sport events in Britain: Wimbledon (the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament), The British Open Golf Championship, The Grand National (it is the best known horse-race).

Sport in Slovakia: In our country mostly football and ice-hockey have their traditions. We can find football stadium in almost every town or village. Both sports are played professionally and they have many fans of all generations.

Drugs in sport

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.
Professional sport is connected with overtraining and doping, money and popularity.

Sport events

There are also very important world’s sport events. The most famous are The Olympic Games (the Olympics), which are held every four years and have got its summer and winter part, which change once every two years. The first recorded O.G. took place in Olympia in Greece in the year 776 BC. There exist many legends about the origin of the games. They were so important to Greeks, that even the wars were stopped during they took place.

Symbol of the Games is The Olympic Flag - there are five connected circles, each symbolized one continent (blue - Europe, black - Africa, red - America, yellow - Asia, green - Australia); and The Olympic Fire - it is traditionally lighted in Greek Olympia and moved to the city in which the Games are taking place, it burns during the OG.

Other important events (which are held annually or every two years) are Football World Cup, The Wimbledon Tennis Championship, The Formula One Championship and Hockey World Championship.