Step 2. Reading Practice

Task 1. Before you read Text 3A say what you already know about the development

of sports and physical training in Belarus.

Task 2. Read the text and find the answers to the questions:

1.What is the history of sports and physical training in Belarus?

2.How active are Belarusian people in sports and recreation?

Text 3A

Sports in the Republic of Belarus

Note the pronunciation: Spartakiade [

Belarusian people have practised physical training for centuries in games, swimming,

wrestling, riding and hunting. Such physical activities had a military or semi-military

character because there were hundreds of wars on Belarusian soil during the past centuries.¹

Organization of civilian sports clubs began at the end of the 19-th century. Cycling became

very popular at that time in Belarus. In 1894 about 70 cyclists founded a club of cycling

tourism in Vitebsk. The first sportive organization in Belarus was the Minsk Amateur

Sports Society founded 1892 by the Minsk governor the Duke N. Trubetskoy. The first

official competitions were held in 1894. But several dozens of sports clubs couldn’t solve

the problem of physical education in the country.

After the revolution the importance of physical training continued to grow. Military and

physical training became compulsory for all men aged between 16 and 40. In 1926 a

weight-lifter V.Sinitsky from Gomel became the first Belarusian who was awarded the title

of the USSR champion. In 1931 with the introduction of the GTO (Ready for Labour and

Defence) ² millions of young people began to test their abilities in swimming, skiing,

elementary gymnastics.

During the World War II Belarus suffered a lot. All sports facilities were destroyed but sportive traditions survived. The first post-war All-Belarusian Spartakiade was held in 1945 with more than 80000 of athletes taking part in it. Belarusian sport gained fresh impetus and our athletes began to appear at international competitions.

There is a centralized system of management ³ of physical education and sport in Belarus. Practically all organized regular athletic activities in Belarus are associated with ⁴ the Ministry for Sports and Tourism, regional and local sports committees and national sports federations.

Over 70 sports are cultivated in Belarus. The most popular are football, ice-hockey, basketball, handball, gymnastics, track-and field athletics, weight-lifting, boxing, wrestling and other sports.

Belarusian athletes have at their disposal a lot of stadiums, gyms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, football fields, tennis courts and outdoor sports grounds. Such sports facilities as the Sports Palace, the Track-and-Field Athletic Palace, the Republican Equestrian Sports School “Ratomka” and the Olympic Complexes “Staiki” and “Raubichi” near Minsk have won recognition of both Belarusian and foreign athletes ^{5 .}

It is quite natural that large-scale participation of Belarusians in sports activities has resulted in excellent achievements in the international sports arena. But recognition didn’t come easy. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics among the Soviet first-timers ⁶ 7 men represented Belarus: Mikhail Krivonosov, Timofei Lunyov, Mikhail Saltykov, Anatoli Yulin (track-and-field athletics), German Bokun and Yuri Deksbakh (fencing), Stepan Mikhailov (rowing). Their results were modest but the world learned about Belarusian athletes.

At present the performance of Belarusian athletes in the international arena testifies that Belarus is rich in sports talents. The Republic is proud of such sports stars as Mikhail Krivonosov (the first silver Olympic medalist), Alexander Medved ( a three-time Olympic champion), Vitaly Scherbo (a six-time Olympic champion), Ivan Ivankov ( a European and World champion), Yekaterina Khodotovich, Yuliya Nesterenko (Olympic champions) and many others. At the XXYI Summer Olympics Belarusian athletes performed as a national team for the first time. Their debut became a new victorious page⁷ in the sports history of the young Belarusian state.

Notes:

¹ there were hundreds of wars on Belarusian soil during the past centuries –за минувшие века на земле Беларуси прошли сотни войн.

² with the introduction of the GTO (Ready for Labour and Defence)… –с введением комплекса ГТО (Готов к труду и обороне)….

³ there is a centralized system of management –существует централизованная система управления…

⁴ are associated with –ассоциируются с …

⁵ have won recognition of both Belarusian and foreign athletes – завоевали признание как белорусских ,так и зарубежных спортсменов

⁶ among the Soviet first-timers…- среди первых советских спортсменов…

⁷ became a new victorious page – cтал новой победной страницей………….