Sport games and types

SPORT GAMES AND TYPES

The word's greatest international sports games are known as the Olympic Games. They are held once every four years.

The Olympic Games began in Olympia nearly 1,200 years ago  
in Olympia. They were for men only. In 1896 the first International Olympic Games were organized in Olympia.

The Games opening ceremony is celebrated by lighting a flame called the "Olympic flame". The Olympic motto is "Faster, Higher, Stronger." The Olympic symbol is five interlocking circles colored blue, yellow, black, green and red.

In 1980 the Olympic Games were organized in the Moscow. The first Winter Olympic Games were hold in France in the city  
Shamoni in 1924.

Sport is a very important part of life. The most popular of the  
team games are football and cricket, and the most popular individual game is lawn tennis.

Rugby. One type of football, in which the players carried the oval ball in their hands, appeared 140 years ago at Rugby School.  
That is why the game took the name of Rugby, or "rugger".  
The rules of the game are different from football, and there  
are 15 players instead of 11, in a team.

Cricket. Cricket is England's national summer game. Nobody knows exactly how old the game is. Most matches last one day, but important matches (such as international ones) can last six days.  
In England cricket is played in schools and universities, and almost  
all villages and towns have their cricket teams which play regularly  
at least one match a week during the season - from May to September.

Lawn tennis. The number of people who can play lawn tennis  
is great. The tennis championships held at Wimbledon.

Swimming. Many children in Britain learn to swim at school,  
or during holidays at the seaside, and swimming as a summer pastime  
is enjoyed by millions of people. There are also indoor swimming  
pools, which makes swimming possible all-the-year-round.

All kinds of sports and games are cultivated in our country as well as in England, the USA and other countries of the world. Tennis, hockey, volley-ball and football have become very popular in Russia.

Football is my favourite sport. The term "football" is understood differently in the US and Britain. For a Britisher "football" is the  
same as what is known to be "футбол" in our country.

For an American "football" means "rugby", while the game usually played here in Russia is known as "soccer". Soccer is played by two teams, equal in number, each consisting of eleven players.

Tills is, properly speaking, genuine football, the ball being driven only by the feet. The eleven players take up their position on the field. The centre forward stands at the centre. On the right are the inside right and the outside right, on the left are the inside left and the outside left. The three half-backs are stationed behind the forward line.

The goal is protected by the right back, the left back and the goalkeeper. No handling is allowed except by the goalkeeper. Excellent technique, flexible modern tactics and good teamwork are characteristic features of modem football.

Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people. Many people do morning exercises, jog in the morning, train 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 sportsground near our school and school-children go in foi 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.