Wikipedia

Athletics (physical culture)

For the sport comprising cross country, road running and track and field, seeSport of athletics.For other uses, seeAthletics (disambiguation).

Athleticsis a term encompassing the humancompetitivesportsandgamesrequiring physical skill, and the systems of training that prepareathletesfor competitive performance.[1][2]Athletic sports or contests are competitions which are primarily based on human physical competition, demanding the qualities ofstamina,fitness,andskill.Athletic sports form the bulk of popular sporting activities, with other major forms includingmotorsports,precision sports,extreme sportsandanimal sports.

Athletic contests, as one of the earliest types of sport, are prehistoric and comprised a significant part of theAncient Olympic Games,along withequestrian events.[3]The word "athletic" is derived from theAncient Greek:άθλος(athlos) meaning "contest." Athletic sports became organized in the late 19th century with the formation of organizations such as theAmateur Athletic Unionin theUnited Statesand theUnion des Sociétés Françaises de Sports AthlétiquesinFrance.TheIntercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States(later theNational Collegiate Athletic Association) was established in 1906 to oversee athletic sports atcollege-level in the United States, known ascollege athletics.

Athletics has gained significant importance at educational institutions; talented athletes may gain entry intohigher educationthroughathletic scholarshipsand represent their institutions inathletic conferences.Since theIndustrial Revolution,people in the developed world have adopted an increasinglysedentary lifestyle.As a result, athletics now plays a significant part in providing routinephysical exercise.Athletic clubsworldwide offer athletic training facilities for multitudes of sports and games.

Etymology

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The word athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" (ἄθλος), meaning "contest" or "task".[4]TheAncient Olympic Gameswere born of war and featured various forms of athletics such asrunning,jumping,bo xingandwrestlingcompetitions.[5]

In the modernEnglish languagethe term athletics has taken on two distinct meanings. Its meaning inAmerican Englishbroadly denotes human physical sports and their respective systems of training, the sense described in this article. The other, narrower principal meaning of the word comes fromBritish Englishand variants within theBritish Commonwealth;this meaning of athletics refers solely to the concept of thesport of athletics(a category of sporting competition that comprisestrack and fieldsports and various other forms offoot racing), rather than physical sport in general.

Biological factors

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A few athletes

Gender andgeneticsplay major roles in athleticbody types.Significantly fewerfootballleagues exist for women; however, women have been active inmartial artsfor centuries, and sports likefigure skatingandtennistend to favor women in terms of spectator popularity.Basketball,high jump,andvolleyballfavor taller athletes, whilegymnasticsandwrestlingfavor shorter ones.Long distancerunners tend to be thinner, while competitivepowerliftersandAmerican footballplayers tend to be stockier. Athletic development often begins with athletic parents.[6][7]

Physical conditioning is a primary athletic function for competition. Most often, trainers utilize proven athletic principles to develop athletic qualities; these qualities include coordination, flexibility, precision, power, speed, endurance, balance, awareness efficiency, and timing.[8]Whilephysical strengthis prized over most other qualities in Western athletics,[9]it is forbidden in the physical conditioning oftai chi.[10][11]

Sports medicinenot only treats injuries withmedical procedure,but attempts to prevent problems such astraumaandoveruse injuries.Sports medicine can also include the use ofmassage,glucose testing,Rolfing,physical therapy,andperformance-enhancing drugslike caffeine andanabolic steroids.

Sports nutritionis the study and practice of nutrition and diet as they relate to athletic performance.[12]It is concerned with the type and quantity of fluid and food taken by an athlete, and deals with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic substances such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Although an important part of many sports training regimens, it is most intensely applied in strength sports (such as weight lifting and bodybuilding) and endurance sports (for example cycling, running, swimming).

Training and coaching

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Athletes first learn basic movement patterns such as running, stopping, jumping and throwing. Coaches help athletes refine these movements intosport specificskills. A skill such as high jumping can then be refined into a competitive technique like the Western roll or theFosbury Flop.An individual's expression of a technique is often called a style; while various competitiveswimming strokesare also called styles.Team sportsoften develop and practiceplaysorstrategieswhere players carry out specific tasks to coordinate a team effort of attack or defense.

Technical training may also include teaching therules and restrictionsof a sport or game.[13]

Elite athletesand teams require high-level coaching. Acoachis often associated only with an athlete's technical development; however, a coach will likely play all the roles of mentor, physical trainer, therapist, medical responder, technical trainer and performance facilitator. Coaches may or may not involvesportsmanshipin their program. Coaching typically signifies a quadrennial, ongoing mentorship for athletic development, as opposed to a clinician who might only assist for a short period of time.[14]

Not only must coaches be able to teach technical form, but recognize and correct problems with a teams' or an athlete's technique and conditioning. This is done by listening, observing and building trust with the athlete. Recent advancements in video technology can provide accurate biomechanical data to optimize the form, precision, timing, efficiency and power of an athlete's movements.[15]

Critical to a team's or an athlete's success is awinning attitude.Inherent in the drive to win is the ability to remain relaxed and focused under the pressure of competition. Modern athletic coaches employ the use ofsports psychologiststo help athletes organize themselves through visualization,[16]relaxation techniques, self-talk, concentration, etc.[17]

Amateurs and professionals

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Left:A U.S. high school girls'water poloteam (with their male coaches in background) posing with their trophy.Right:A U.S. university girl practising a difficultgymnasticsmanoeuvre under the watchful eyes of her coach.
See also:College athletics in the United StatesandU Sports

Title IXof the Education Amendments of 1972 was created to prohibit sex discrimination in education programs that receive (U.S.) federal funding. The original statute made no reference to athletics or athletics programs. From 1972 to 2006, Title IX underwent a series of amendments for gender equity which became high impact on high school andcollegiate athleticsbecause it promoted maximum female participation in athletics through equal spending.

Professional sportsare sports in which athletes receivepaymentfor their performance. Professional athletics is seen by some as a contradiction of the central ethos of the sport since thecompetitionis performed for its own sake and pure enjoyment rather than as a means of earning a living.

Organizations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Athletics".Oxford English Dictionary(3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2013.Retrieved9 March2015.
  2. ^"Archived copy, Athletic Movement Skills".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-26.Retrieved2011-06-26.
  3. ^Sansone, David (1992).Greek athletics and the genesis of sport, p.72.University of California Press.ISBN0-520-08095-5.
  4. ^"Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἆθλος".perseus.tufts.edu.Retrieved2022-05-19.
  5. ^Lendering, Jona."Peloponnesian War".Livius, Articles on Ancient History.Archivedfrom the original on 13 February 2010.
  6. ^Kennedy and Guo (2010).Jingwu.Blue Snake Books. p. 2.ISBN978-1-58394-242-0.
  7. ^Gray, Sadie."Body and Soul".The Times.London.[dead link‍]
  8. ^Bruce Lee (1975).Tao of Jeet Kune Do.Ohara Publications. p.43.ISBN0-89750-048-2.
  9. ^Lisa Feinberg Densmore (2000).Ski Faster.McGraw-Hill. p.22.ISBN0-07-134381-4.
  10. ^Clem W. Thompson (1989).Manual of Structural Kinesiology.Times/Mirror.ISBN0-8016-5031-3.
  11. ^Warren Witherell and David Evrard (1994).The Athletic Skier.The Athletic Skier, Inc. p.4.ISBN1-55566-117-3.
  12. ^Eberle, S. G. "Endurance sports nutrition".Fitness Magazine.24(6): 25.
  13. ^Patrick Thais Bailmain (2005).The Inner Glide.Destiny Books.ISBN1-59477-160-X.
  14. ^Allen E. Scates (1989).Winning Volleyball.William C. Brown Publishers. pp.221–251.ISBN978-0-697-06351-9.
  15. ^"Archived copy:Basic Concepts in Sports Biomechanics".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-28.Retrieved2011-10-27.
  16. ^"Archived copy: The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-07.Retrieved2011-06-26.
  17. ^"skinnybulkup".skinnybulkup(in Indonesian).Retrieved2022-05-19.
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