11. Athletics

"Light athletics" is sometimes used instead of simply "athletics" (легкая атлетика). However, "light" is not essential, because there is no heavy athletics. Тяжелая атлетика is translated as "weight-lifting".

"Track" and "field" are used to distinguish between activities such as running and races, which take place on a track, and those such as jumping and throwing the discus, which take place on a field.

c. g. Britain succeeded on the track but lost points heavily in the field (speaking of an in­ternational competition).

"Track/field event" is used in such sentences as:

a) The track events will be held on Monday.

b) The Soviet Union won most of the field events.

Strictly speaking, "event" means a single contest (соревнование) in a competition or champion­ship, a part.

e. g. The first event was the men's hundred meters.

However, "track/field events" is also used in a wider sense, to mean the activities them­selves.

e. g. I'm very keen on athletics, especially track events.

"Track-and-field events" as a collective expres­sion is not usual, at least in Britain. When both types are included, "(light) athletics" is used. School children often do athletics instead of gymnastics in the summer term, and some continue after they leave school. Here are the names of some of the most well-known types of athletics and athletic events:

sprinting — running short distances at speed — бег на короткие дистанции sprint — a race of this type — соревнование на короткие дистанции, спринт long-distance running — бег на длинные дистан­ции

long-distance race hurdle-racing — барьерный бег hurdle-race, or hurdles

e. g. Jones won the (men's) hurdle-race. Jones won the (men's) hurdles.

relay-racing — бег с эстафетой

relay (-race) — эстафета

e. g. France won the women's relay(-race).

high jump — прыжок в высоту long jump — прыжок в длину pole vault — прыжок с шестом throwing the discus/hammer/javelin — метание диска/молота/копья putting the shot — толкание ядра In the case of races, the distance is often spe­cified, and the word "race" omitted. e. g. a) Williams won the hundred meters.

b) The two hundred Kretre(s) hurdles was won by Dixon.

12. Boxing, Wrestling, Judo

Boxing is fairly popular in Britain, mainly as a spectator sport. Wrestling is less popular. Judo has become rather popular in recent years as a recreation, especially among young people. It is defined by A. S. Hornby as: "... the Japanese art of wrestling and self-defense in which the opponent's own weight and strength are used against him." It is not a spectator sport.

13. Swimming

Swimming is popular in Britain and most people learn to swim at school. As most schools do not have a swimming-pool, the children go to the local swimming-baths.

The difference between "swimming-pool" and "swimming-baths" is as follows: A swimming-pool is generally one which belongs to a particular house, club, school or other in­stitution. It may be indoors or outdoors, although in Britain the climate is not really suitable for outdoor pools.

A swimming-bath(s) is not attached to a parti­cular house or institution, but is built and run by the local authority, and is open to the public. 'Public baths" is also used in this sense. The word "bath(s)" is used because in the same building there are also facilities for -having a bath, although they are now less important than the swimming facilities. (It is therefore бассейн and баня combined.) The plural form "baths" is usual even in a singular sense.

e. g. There's a swimming-public baths near us.

If the local authority has a place for swimming only, especially if it is out of doors, it is called a swimming-pool, not baths. Therefore a swim­ming-pool may be open to the public. In England most people swim either at a swimming-baths or in the sea, which is never much more than 150 kilometers away. There are not many lakes in England, and the rivers are often too swiftly flowing for swimming, or have steep banks. The most common strokes in swimming are:

breast-stroke

backstroke

side-stroke

crawl butterfly

The verbs "do" and "swim" are used with the names of strokes.

e. g. a) I can do the breast-stroke/crawl.

b) She can do/swim a hundred meters breast-stroke/crawl.

"Swimming sports" or sometimes "swimming gala" is used of competitions consisting of many swimming and diving events.

e. g. David's taking part/competing in the swimming sports/gala.

14. Rowing, Boating

"Rowing" (гребной спорт, гребля) is popular mainly at universities, especially at Oxford and Cambridge. However, even those with no parti­cular interest in rowing like to know the result of the Boat Race, which is held every year on the Thames between crews representing Oxford and Cambridge universities. A series of rowing competitions is called a regatta. The most well known is the Henley Regatta, an annual amateur event held at Henley, on the Thames, and in which teams from other countries take part. Henley is an attractive summer resort and the regatta is a fashionable occasion.

Although the sport is called rowing, the boats used are not called rowing boats, but simply boats, or eights, since boats for eight people are the usual type. (Rowing boats are not for racing, but simply for traveling by water, or fishing). A club for rowing is called a boat dub.

Boating is not a sport, but simply a recreation. For example, there is often a boating pool in parks, with a boat-house, where one can hire boats by the hour.