153161 (Sport and recreation in the United States), страница 8

There are also several sports in the U.S. which were once thought of as being “different”, but have now gained international popularity. Among these, for instance, is skate-boarding. Another example is wind-surfing which very quickly spreads in popularity from the beaches of California and Hawaii. Hang-gliding became really popular after those same people in California started jumping off cliffs above the ocean. Those who like more than wind and luck attached a small lawnmower engine to a hang-glider and soon “ultra-light-weight” planes were buzzing around [1, p.143].

1. Camps

US Sports Camps (USSC), headquartered in San Rafael, California (just north of San Francisco), is America's Largest Sports Camp Network and the licensed operator of The NIKE Sports Camps. It was started in 1975 with the same mission that defines it today: to shape a lifelong enjoyment of athletics through high quality sports education and skill enhancement.

By associating with the country's best coaches to direct our camps and by providing them with valuable administrative and marketing support, USSC has become the largest and most successful sports camp operator in America. During the summer of 2007 more than 52,000 campers attended US Sports Camps at 400 locations nationwide.

US Sports Camps include youth and adult programs in the following sport categories: NIKE tennis, NIKE golf, NIKE volleyball, NIKE lacrosse, NIKE  basketball, NIKE softball, NIKE running, NIKE field hockey, NIKE swim, NIKE soccer, NIKE baseball, Nike water polo, NIKE multi-sport, as well as the NBC Basketball Camps, Vogelsinger Soccer Academy, Contact Football Camps, Snow Valley Basketball Camps, International Hockey Schools, McCracken Basketball Camps, Peak Performance Swim Camps, and Professional Sports Camps.

From this chapter it should be concluded that over the past quarter century recreational sport has become an incrisingly large part of American life.The Americans like to spare their lasure time doing sports and that’s why they are ready to spend great sums of money to keep fit and be in good form or just to have a fun and joy.Each person chooses sport that suits him best: it can be a traditional kind of sport such as basketball or just something that even can shock the public, for example wrestling. Nowadays in the USA there are a lot of different programs in schools and colleges that allow students to get involved into public life. When there are summer holidays in The United States, students are offered a variety of sports camps where they are able to develop their physical abilities and just make a number of friends.Some kinds of recreation such as fishing or hunting don’t need much money and many American men are always ready to spend their spare time doing that. Moreover the natute of the USA has resourses for that.

CONCLUSION

Now I think we have found the ansver to the question why so many sports are popular in the Uneted States. One reason may be that the variety and size of America and the different climates found in it have provided Americans with a large choice of (summer and winter) sports. In addition, public sports facilities have always been available in great number for participants, even in sports such as golf, tennis, or skating. The fact that the average high school, too, offers its students a great variety of sports, often including rowing, tennis, wrestling, and golf, may have contributed to the wide and varied interest and participation of Americans in sports. This, in turn, may explain why Americans have traditionally done well internationally in many of these sports.

Another reason might be that Americans like competitions, by teams or as individuals, of any type. It’s the challenge, some say. Some people point out that American schools and colleges follow the tradition of all English-speaking societies in using sports activities as a way of teaching “social values.” Among these are teamwork, sportsmanship (when they win, American players are expected to say, “well, we were just lucky”), and persistence (not quitting “when the going gets rough”). As a result, being intelligent and being good in sports are seen as things that can go together and, as an ideal, should. While there are colleges where sports seem to be dominant, there are many others which have excellent academic reputations and are also good in sports.

Others simply conclude that Americans simply like sports activities and always have. They like to play a friendly play of softball at family picnics, and “touch football” (not tackling!) games can get started on beaches and in parks whenever a few young people come together. “Shooting baskets” with friends is a favorite way to pass the time, either in a friend’s driveway (the basket is over the garage door) or on some city or neighborhood court. And on a beautiful autumn afternoon- the sun shining in a clear blue sky, the maple trees turning scarlet and the oaks a golden yellow- it is fun to go with friends to a football game. And go they do.

So large numbers of Americans watch and participate in sports activities, which are a deeply ingrained part of American life. Americans use sports to express interest in health and fitness and to occupy their leisure time. Sports also allow Americans to connect and identify with mass culture. Americans pour billions of dollars into sports and their related enterprises, affecting the economy, family habits, school life, and clothing styles. Americans of all classes, races, sexes, and ages participate in sports activities—from toddlers in infant swimming groups and teenagers participating in school athletics to middle-aged adults bowling or golfing and older persons practicing t’ai chi.

I think all necessary topics have been discussed in my course paper and that means that this kind of work is fulfilled.

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