OLYMPIC GAMES Swimming - Athletics - Basketball Istituto Comprensivo “Masaccio”, Firenze Direzione Didattica Statale “G. Falcone”, Carini

Olympic sports are sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and included 26 sports. The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating.The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since Along with track & field athletics and gymnastics it is one of the most popular spectator sports at the Games and the one with the second largest number of events (after Athletics). Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. The goal of competitive swimming is to beat the competitors in any given event. Swimming in competition should create the least resistance in order to obtain maximum speed. However, some professional swimmers who do not hold a national or world ranking are considered the best in regard to their technical skills.

Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 16 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50- meter pool, called a long course pool. ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

Swim styles In competitive swimming, four major styles have been established. These have been relatively stable over the last 30–40 years with minor improvements. The four main strokes in swimming are: Freestyle (free), Breaststroke (breast), Backstroke (back), Butterfly (fly). Events in competition may have only one of these styles except in the case of the individual medley, which contains all four. In this latter event, swimmers swim equal distances of butterfly, then backstroke, breaststroke, and finally, freestyle. In Olympic competition, this event (called the "IM") is swam in these distances or 400 meters or yards. Some competition also swims the 100 yard or meter IM - particularly, for younger swimmers (typically under 14 years) involved in club swimming, or masters swimming (over 18). ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country. ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics Federations. The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the modern Summer Olympics. An athletics competition was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and it has been as one of the foremost competitions at the quadrennial multi-sport event ever since. Originally for men only, the 1928 Olympics saw the introduction of women's events in the athletics programme. Athletics is part of the Paralympic Games since the inaugural Games in Athletics has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular. ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end. Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A field goal scores two points for the shooting team if a player is touching or closer to the basket than the three-point line, and three points (known commonly as a 3 pointer or three) if the player is behind the three-point line. ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM

The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the game ends with a draw. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while walking or running or throwing it to a team mate. It is a violation to move without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. Violations are called "fouls". A personal foul is penalized, and a free throw is usually awarded to an offensive player if he is fouled while shooting the ball. A technical foul may also be issued when certain infractions occur, most commonly for unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of a player or coach. A technical foul gives the opposing team a free throw, and the opposing team also retains possession of the ball. As well as many techniques for shooting, passing, dribbling and rebounding, basketball has specialized player positions and offensive and defensive structures (player positioning). Typically, the tallest members of a team will play "center", "power forward" or "small forward" positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed play "point guard" or "shooting guard". ACTIVE SPORTIVE HEALTHY EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM