Module 3B Be a Sport! The Olympic Games, an international sports festival, occurs every four years in different places of the world Numerous athletes compete in team and individual sports for the gold, silver and bronze medals There are many rules for this event and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in charge of formulating them Concerning the location of the event, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city The selected place must follow the rules formulated by the International Committee for the organisation of the Olympic Games One requirement is that the Organising Committee must provide competitors and team personnel with accommodation For this reason, they stay together in an Olympic Village during the competition Regarding duration, the Games should last sixteen days but they may be extended with the approval of the IOC The Committee also decides which sports form part of the Olympic Programme Thus, if an activity is not included, those athletes will not have a chance of contending Otherwise, the Olympic Committee must send the invitations to the National Olympic Committees one year before the opening ceremony And each National Committee, in turn, must investigate the validity of the entries proposed by national federations One condition, for instance, is that a competitor who has two or more nationalities must choose only one of the countries to represent in the Olympics Since there is a limit on the number of participants, entrants must satisfy all the requirements if they want to be in the contest Thus, they must train an average of eight hours a day to be prepared for high level competition Moreover, they must pass a drug testing regime, established by the International Olympic Committee due to banned substance abuse in previous contests Failing these tests means disqualification Apart from the IOC’s regulations, competitors must obey the rules formulated by the International Federation of the specific sport in which they are involved One criterion which depends on each IF is age limit For example, FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, imposes an age limit of 23 with three over age players allowed in every team There are certainly many other regulations established by the International Committee and all the organisations that work for the Games Without these rules, it would be difficult to ensure fair play in the most outstanding sporting event Activities 1 Tick (3) the correct answer a The International Olympic Committee b Competitors must pass a drug test investigates the validity of the entries administered by chooses the host city the International Olympic Committee imposes age limit on competitors each International Federation each National Olympic Committee English Toolkit - Sports Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A / Richmond 2011 The Olympics Module 3B c Competitors d In relation to sports, may represent more than one country they are all included in the Olympics can’t represent only one country that appear in the Olympic Programme must represent only one country there have always appeared the same sports in the Olympic Programme there is a previous selection of those 2 Read the text and find synonyms for these words a rules: d place: b Olympic Games: e activity: c requirement: a Train hours a day: b Have a healthy diet: c Sleep well: d Add two more sentences using should 4 Olympic records! Read the sentences about the best athletes and complete them with superlatives a The (fast) man ran 100 metres in less than ten seconds b Yelena Slesarenko, from Russia, performed the c Andrei Ribakov lifted the (high) jump in 2004 (heavy) weight in his category in 2008 He lifted 394 kg! d Martina Hellman, from Germany, holds the record for the discus throw 5 In groups, write a report about the most recent Olympic Games These questions are given as a guide Which was the host city? What was the number of sports included in the Olympics? How many athletes were there in the Olympics? Was there a new rule? In which sports did athletes from your country compete? Did your country win any medals? Which one(s)? In which sports? English Toolkit - Sports (long) Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A / Richmond 2011 3 One of your friends wants to become a professional athlete What’s your advice? Use the information below and make sentences using should or shouldn’t