Sports and games

Britain is a country where leisure time and the sporting life are taken seriously. There is widespread interest in most kinds of sport throughout Britain. Television has helped to generate interest in a wide variety of sports including basketball, snooker, ice-skating, skiing and athletics. Millions of people all over Britain regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking, including rambling and hiking, is by far the most popular recreation, followed by swimming, football, golf, angling, badminton and cycling.

F ootball and Rugby Football. The game of football or soccer was first played in Britain and spread to other countries. There are plenty of amateur soccer players in Britain who enjoy playing the game on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Amateur clubs can compete against the professionals in the English Football Association Cup Competition.

The number of amateur football clubs in England is 40.000.

R ugby football or 'rugger' is another popular British sport. The story is told that, in 1823, boys at Rugby school in England were playing football in the normal way when suddenly one boy picked the ball up and ran with it. So a new game was born.

Cricket is sometimes called the English national game, having been played as early as the 1550s. It is usually played by men and boys though there are teams of women and girls as well. Players traditionally wear white clothes. A typical amateur cricket match takes place on a village green, an open grassy space in the centre of the village. It is played between two teams: the "home team" and "the visitors", who come from another village in a neighbourhood.

B owls is another outdoor summer game which has been played in Britain since the thirteenth century. Bowls is played on a specially prepared bowling green, a level piece of ground covered with grass. This grass surface is very carefully looked after. No one is allowed on the green except players wearing the correct kind of soft soled shoes.

The players roll large wooden balls towards a small ball and try to bring them as near as possible. The game has from two to eight players, each bowling two or more bowls.

Mountaineering and Rock Climbing are popular leisure activities. There are now more than 330 mountaineering clubs in Britain.

Horse Racing has a long history in Britain. It is sometimes called the sport of kings because it is an expensive hobby to own a racehorse, but interest in racing is not restricted to the rich. especially on. There are two kinds of horse racing, flat racing and steeplechasing. In flat racing, the horses run on level or flat ground. In Steeplechasing they jump over different obstacles such as hedges and water jumps.

Horse Riding. Riding a horse used to be a means of transport. Then it became a leisure occupation for the rich. Nowadays more people can afford to own a horse or to join a riding club so that they can ride at weekends.

Sailing. About three million British people go sailing in small boats every year. The number of small-boat owners has increased 1000% in 10 years.

Sailing in motor yachts, windsurfers, powerboats and cruisers takes place at clubs throughout Britain.

A school should not be a preparation for life.

A school should be life.

E.Hubbard