Sports and Games in the USA and Great Britain

Games and competitions involving physical strength, skill, and endurance have interested people from the earliest times. Competitions involving physical prowess or simulated combat date from prehistoric times and probably are as old as community life. Although most ancient peoples took part in such sports as boxing and wrestling, some developed organized sports. The American Indians, for example, played games resembling lacrosse, field hockey, and bowling and engaged in foot racing and horse racing. In the Middle Ages tournaments gained wide popularity. Jousting was a sport of the nobility; the sport of the common people in England was archery.

The British invented and developed many of the sports and games played throughout the world; interest and participation have increased as a result of improved facilities, more time and widespread coverage.

Association football, one of the most popular sports, was first codified and developed in England during the 19th century. Now all countries hope to compete for the World Cup.

There are two types of rugby football — the 15-a-side Rugby Union played by amateurs and the 13-a-side Rugby League played mainly in the North of England by professionals.

The modern form of hockey was started in the 19th century by the Hockey Association of England.

Cricket, a summer sport, is played with a small ball covered with leather, a bat, and wickets, by two teams of eleven players each. It is known to have been played as early as the 1550s and is popular in most of the countries which were once a part of the British Empire, and in the countries which were temporarily occupied by the British military. So, besides England, Australia and New Zealand, cricket matches are held, for example, in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and West Indies.

Golf originated in Scotland and the headquarters of the game is at St. Andrews on the East coast. The British Open Golf Championship is one of the world's leading tournaments.

Modern lawn tennis originated in England in 1872 and the annual Wimbledon Championships, widely regarded as the most important of the world tennis events, were first held in 1877.

Boxing in its modern form dates from 1865 when the Marquess of Queens-berry drew up a set of rules rewarding skill and eliminating much of the brutality that had characterized prize-fighting.

Administered by the Jockey Club, horse racing takes two forms — flat (from late March to early November) and steeplechasing or hurdle racing (from August to early June). In flat racing, the horses run on level or flat ground; in steeplechasing they jump over obstacles (fences).

Britain has a large number of sailing events, one of the world's principal regattas being held each year at Cowes in the Isle of Wight. The rowing calendar includes the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race, the Head of The River Race and the Henley Regatta, all held on the river Thames. Other important water sports include swimming and windsurfing

Indoor games such as snooker, darts, squash and badminton are also popular.

In the middle of the 19th century the schools and colleges in England, followed by similar institutions in the United States, began a revival of athletics that continues today. Now athletics forms an important part of the educational system in the USA. There is a vivid distinction between amateur and professional sport in the US. Sportsmen (or athletes) engage in amateur athletics for fun, whereas participation in professional sports is generally done for money as well as pleasure. The Amateur Athletic Union of the United States and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America control all amateur sports.

The principal amateur athletic sports in the US are college football and basketball. Other popular team sports include baseball, hockey and soccer. Among sports for individual competition are tennis, including table tennis, badminton and handball; combative sports, such as boxing, fencing and wrestling; water sports, including swimming, diving and rowing; winter sports, such as skiing and skating; golf and bowling. The chief professional sports are major-league baseball, basketball and football; others include boxing, wrestling, golf, tennis and hockey.