
Sports are one of the most popular leisure-time activities.
Why do people do sports?
4 reasons why sports are important in our life
Usually, all sports and games are divided into several groups. We recognise:
Sports according to the PLACE where they can be practised
Sports according to the SEASON OF THE YEAR
Sports according to the NUMBER OF PEOPLE doing sports or playing a game
EXTREME SPORTS
People practise this kind of sports because they look for speed, excitement, danger, and fun but on the other hand they sometimes risk their lives. Some of the most popular extreme sports are bungee jumping, sky surfing, snow rafting, ice diving, or white water rafting.
COMBAT SPORTS
In this sport, two people are fighting. Here belong:
PLACES WHERE WE CAN PRACTISE SPORTS
EQUIPMENT OR WHAT WE NEED TO DO SPORTS AND PLAY GAMES
What can we do with a ball?
With a ball, we can do various things. We can kick it, head it, catch it, hit it, pass it, throw it.
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR SKIING
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR SWIMMING
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR GOLF
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR TENNIS
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR TABLE TENNIS
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR HOCKEY
EQUIPMENT/KIT FOR FOOTBALL
SPORTSPEOPLE
USEFUL VOCABULARY: FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL RULES
PROFESSIONAL SPORT
Playing sports professionally requires:
Unfortunately, professional sports are often connected with several negative sides. Top sportsmen and women try to be the best and it often leads to overtraining, and doping – taking steroids or growth hormones and it has a very negative impact on their health and career. Success in professional sport is nowadays connected with money and popularity, and for some people, it’s quite difficult to cope with being rich and famous.
POPULAR SPORTS IN SLOVAKIA, THE USA & BRITAIN
The Slovaks are good at hockey. A lot of Slovak hockey players play in American and Canadian National Hockey League teams. We keen on football, tennis and skiing as well.
Our top athletes are: Peter Sagan in cycling and Petra Vlhová in skiing.
As for the Americans, they like baseball, American football, basketball, tennis, ice-hockey and skiing.
The British are sport-loving people. Sports like cricket, rugby, golf, football and tennis originated in Britain and spread all over the world. The most popular game is football.
OLYMPIC GAMES
It is the greatest holiday for all sportsmen, women and sport fans.
There are Summer and Winter Olympic Games which are held every four years in a different country. The first Olympics took place in ancient Greece nearly 3000 years ago. Only men could compete and they were naked and barefoot. In 1894 a Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin started the modern Olympic games.
Symbol of the Olympics is: Five Olympic Rings in 5 different colours that represent the unity of the 5 continents:
MY ATTITUDE TO SPORTS
Sports and games play an important role in my life, and they are one of my hobbies. Some people take sports very seriously, which means sport is very important to them. When they play team games, they are very competitive (they try hard and always want to win). As for me, I am the complete opposite. I only play for fun/ for pleasure.
When I was younger, I learned to swim, ride the bike and play badminton. Later I started to play various ball games such as volleyball and basketball. (I also tried…)These days I go cycling, swimming and hiking and in winter skiing and snowboarding. As for watching sports, I love watching tennis tournaments and the matches of our ice-hockey team. I must say that I prefer active sport to passive sport.
WHAT DOES MY PE LESSON LOOK LIKE?
We have our physical education only twice a week. Before the lesson starts, we change into sportswear in a dressing room. We put on a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers/ trainers. If it is colder, we wear tracksuits and a sweatshirt. At the beginning of the lesson, we always do a little warm-up exercise. When the weather is good, we go out and run, jump into the sand or play games.
In winter or bad weather, we go to the gym, and there we do gymnastics, climb the rope or pole and play some games.
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