Sports (0)

Sports .
Sports has a very old history. The ancient Olympic Games were the first big sports competitions. The history of the Olympic Games is linked with many myths referred to in ancient sources , but in the historic years their founder is said to be Oxylos whose descendant Ifitos later rejuvenated the Games.
According to the tradition , the Olympic Games began in 776 B.C. when Ifitos made a treaty with Lycourgos the king and famous legislator of Sparta and Cleisthenes the king of Pissa. In this treaty that was the decisive event for the development of the sanctuary as a Panhellenic centre , the “ sacred truce” was agreed. That is to say ceasing of fighting in all of the Freek world for as long as the Olympic Games were on.
The Olympic Games were held , after the completion of four years during the month of July or August. The time between two competitions was called the Olympiad. In the beginning the games lasted for only one day and comprised only one event, the running of one Stadion, but gradually more events were added resulting, towards the 5th century B.C., in the games lasting for 5 days .
In total the Olympic Games consisted of 10 events: running, the pentathlon (viievõistlus), jumping, discus, “ekebolon” javelin, wrestling, boxing , the pancration, chariot racing and horse racing.
All Greeks who were not criminals had the right to take part in the games. Women were not allowed to compete , they could not even watch the competition .
The athletes presented themselves 1 moth before the games began at Elis, the organising town. The athletes had to swear that they would compete with honour and respect the rules .
The victors enjoyed great honours and on returning to their cities their compatriots pulled down part of the walls for them to enter. They were also given special privileges and high office.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin ( January 1, 1863-September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Frédy, was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. He was born in Paris into a French aristocratic family. As a young man he was an avid sportsman with rowing being one of his favourites, also practicing the sports of boxing, fencing and horse-riding. Influenced by the social , political and scientific events of the late 19th century and his substantial education, Coubertin developed a passionate belief that sport possessed a power to benefit humankind and encourage peace among the nations of the world. He refused the military career planned for him by his family, as well as renouncing a promising political career.
De Coubertin was inspired by his visits to British and American colleges and universities , and set out to improve education. He thought part of this improvement should be sports education, which he considered an important part of the personal development of young people.
He conceived of an international competition to promote athletics. A growing international interest in the ancient Olympics , fed by recent archaeological finds at Olympia , De Coubertin devised a plan to revive the Olympic Games at the age of 31.
To publicize these plans , he organised an international congress on June 23, 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. There he proposed to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games. The congress led to the establishing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which De Coubertin became the general secretary. It was also decided that the first modern Olympics would take place in Athens, Greece and that they would be held every four years. These Games proved a success . Paradoxically, the first president of this non-commercial and non- governmental organization was not Coubertin himself , but Demetrius Vikelas from Greece. Still Coubertin was the driving force behind the Olympic movement. Vikelas stepped down after the games had been held in his own country and then Coubertin became the president.
Despite the initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times , as the 1900 (in De Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both swallowed by international fairs, and received little attention .
This changed for the better after the 1906 Summer Olympics, and the Olympic Games grew to become the most important sports event. De Coubertin stepped down from his IOC presidency after the 1924 Olympics in Paris, which proved much more successful than the first attempt in that city in 1900. He was succeeded as president by Belgian Henri de Baillet-Latour.
After he had withdrawn himself from the IOC he devoted himself to pedagogical work . At the age of 69 he published his book “Olympic Memoirs” in which he said that he enterprise was more than just a sports competition.
De Coubertin remained Honorary President of the IOC until he died in 1937 in Geneva, Switzerland. He was buried in Lausanne (the seat of the IOC), although his heart was buried separately in a monument near the ruins of ancient Olympia.
The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi- sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. The Olympics are the most prestigious of such events in the world. Olympic victory is widely considered to be the most prestigious achievement in sports. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition which started in 1904.
Competitors are entered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to represent their country of citizenship. National anthems and flags accompany the medal ceremonies, and tables showing the number of medals won by each country are widely used. In general only recognised nations are represented, but a few non-sovereign countries are allowed to take part. The special case of Taiwan was handled by having it compete as Chinese Taipei , to avoid the issue of Taiwanese independence.
Though the most diverse sporting event in the world, the Olympics are perhaps not the most popular . The football World Cup attracts more global interest, as measured by the larger television audience .
In ancient Olympic Games the Olympic flame was ignited and it burnt until the end of the games. In modern Olympics the flame appeared in 1928. The flame represents purity, endeavor of perfection etc. In 1936 Carl Diem suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch Relay. It is lit in Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes using a curved mirror and the sun. It is given from runner to runner until the games have begun .
The Olympic flag was created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914. There are five rings on a white background. The rings are blue , white, yellow , green and red. They represent the five continents of the world.
The motto of the Olympic Games is “citius, altius, fortius” which means “swifter, higher , stronger”.
Olympic oath: “In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules the govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams .
Olympic hymn was first played in 1896. Medals were made from pure gold until 1912. They are designed by the host city. Nowadays the medals are only covered with gold.
The Winter Olympics are held after every four years like Summer Games but they are in different time. 2 years are between the different Olympics. The next Winter Olympics are held in Torino in 2006. The most important event in these Olympics for Estonians is cross -country skiing . It is the art of gliding over snow . There are three types of it – alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and cross-country skiing. Alpine skiing is downhill skiing. Skiing has been popular in Nordic countries for a long time. Finns used ski patrols in World War II.
Skiing is also popular in Estonia. Especially cross-country skiing. We have some very good skiers. There are three good men who are Jaak Mae, Andrus Veerpalu and Raul Olle who skis longer distances. We also have a world- class female skier Kristina Šmigun. They have won many medals.
Football and basketball are also popular sports among Estonians. Many children go to football trainings but there are no world-famous footballers in Estonia. Mart Poom is the most well-known because he plays in the English Premiership and that league has very many viewers and fans . The best players go to play in foreign countries because our league level is quite low. They need to go elsewhere to improve as players and the salaries are also low. People don’t go to watch the league games but Estonians love to watch the national team games. The ones who don’t go to the stadium watch the games on TV. The Estonian team hasn’t got any medals and they haven’t even reached the World Cup or Euro Cup finals but still they can sometimes compete against the big countries.
Basketball is also popular. People come to watch the national team games but our league level is much better in basketball than in football so they come to watch the league too. Over 8000 people came to watch the finals last year . A former NBA star Rodman played in Finland a few games and even then there wasn’t so much public. It shows the popularity of the sport among Estonians. The best player is Martin Müürsepp who has even played in NBA and at the moment he plays for Unics Kazan in Russia . He is the key player in the national team too. The biggest achievent of the national team is their 6th place in the European Championship.
Sports are very important in Britain . It has been a staple of life there. Many millions do some kind of sports at least once a week. Many millions more are regular spectators. Every newspaper devotes several pages to sports. Organized sports have been a part of the school curriculum since the 19th century. Rugby, cricket and football are believed to foster the values of co- operation and fair -minded competition. The Derby drew large crowds even in 1780 when is started. The banks or the Thames are always lined when the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge takes place. It started in 1829. Cricket is quite popular in Britain. It has spread only to the former colonies of Britain. One season lasts for 4 months and one game may last from 1 to 5 days. Rugby football is played with an egg-shaped ball. There are some professional clubs in the north but most of the players are amateurs. The most popular sports is football. On season lasts for 8 months. The Cup Final is an event of national importance. Tennis is played everywhere around England . The Wimbledon championship are famous all over the world. The British sportsmen won 17 gold medals from Athens. They have won 171 gold medals from 1896-2002.
Benjamin Gordon (born April 4, 1983 in London, England) is an NBA basketball player. Following his college years Gordon declared himself eligible for the 2004 NBA Draft and was selected third overall by the Chicago Bulls. He became the first rookie in NBA history to be selected winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award . Ben has also received the NBA's East Rookie of The Month Honours 3 times (January, February , and March ). Ben made the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Currently gearing up for his second NBA season, Ben Gordon has proved that he can play on the professional level. Ben Gordon has become one of the premier clutch performers in the game, leading the league in double digit points in the fourth quarter for most of the season (including a 22 point fourth quarter performance against the Charlotte Bobcats) until Lebron James overtook him near the end of the regular season. His weakest links are his stamina and that he makes quite a lot of turnovers.
Extreme sport (practically synonymous with the term action sport) is a general term for sports featuring speed , height , danger or spectacular stunts.