Module 2B A World of Mystery The origin of sports dates back to Ancient Times There is evidence of their existence in places such as China, Egypt and Persia Early individual sports include swimming, wrestling and boxing, while early team sports include polo and games similar to hockey However, the activities were not regulated as today and many of them underwent several changes It was in 776 BC when Greece held the first athletic competition: the Olympic Games As years passed, more sports were added to the Olympics For instance, the pentathlon involved running, jumping, discus throw, javelin throw and wrestling Later, pankration, a type of wrestling combined with boxing and kicking, was introduced Another early sport is sumo wrestling, Japan’s national sport At first, it was an agricultural ritual in which they asked the gods for a good harvest Sumo was also present in imperial courts’ ceremonies and it was later used for military training When Japan was in peace, sumo finally became a martial art with its own rules and extended to the rest of society There are some sports that appeared in relation to the kings’ practices One clear example is royal tennis or court tennis Actually, the kings of France and their courtiers first played it in the 14th century And, by the 16th century, it was well-known and also the English aristocracy played it Similarly, horse racing —despite its early presence in chariot races— rapidly developed as a sport in its modern form in England because of the monarchs’ interest and support Two other contributing factors in the history of sport were English Public Schools and the Industrial Revolution Schools were effective in introducing students to many sports and led to the formulation of rules As regards the Industrial Revolution, it caused rural migration and middle and upper classes in the city adopted rural games and modified them, as well Besides, schools and universities could get in contact and compete with each other, unifying games and their regulations The resurgence of the Olympic Games in the 19th century also contributed to the expansion of sports and their principles Even when it is possible to trace the origins of sports, many practices underwent modifications or just disappeared New sports will probably emerge as a result of socio-economic events or technological development But it is almost certain that they will continue to form part of our lives as in their beginnings Activities 1 Read the text and correct the sentences a All sports originated in the same place b Sumo wrestling formed part of the first Olympic Games c Sumo wrestling always had the same function in Japan’s society d The English were the first to play tennis e Due to the Industrial Revolution, rural games disappeared English Toolkit - Sports Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A / Richmond 2011 The origin of sports Module 2B 2 Put the words in order to make questions in the Simple Past tense a did / start / sports / when ? b first / where / Olympic Games / the / were ? c kings / practise / what sports / did ? d influence / did / how / sports / schools ? 3 Now, read the text and answer the previous questions G S b J U M P I N G c N I L E V A J N U d W R K I C K I N G O M U S O X M A D 4 Find (eight) sports in the wordsearch They appear in any direction! 5 Write the sports in the correct category H O C K E Y B D P I G T G N I N N U R L M P O R A P Y a Sports related to wrestling: b Team sports: c Sports related to athletics: 6 Read about the origins of other sports Complete the blanks with the Simple Past tense a Dr James Naismith (invent) basketball so that young people (can) engage in an indoor activity during winter b It seems that the history of rugby ball in his arms instead of kicking it and c Volleyball Morgan handball and (start) when a football player (take) the (run) with it (originate) in the United States in 1895 William G (decide) to borrow elements from tennis, basketball, baseball and (create) this sport that was originally called mintonette 7 Group work: look for information about the origins of a sport or game played in your country For example, in Argentina pato, taba, sortija were popular activities How did they start? Write a paragraph about it English Toolkit - Sports Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A / Richmond 2011 a