Sports

By: Sethuki, Low Yin Yu, and Kiam

Sports are a physical activity, played in teams or individually, competitively or leisurely. Sports
can be divided into indoor and outdoor sports. Indoor sports can be classified as board games
that help generate the mind and sharpen concentration skills too. On the other hand, outdoor
sports tend to include more physical movement so players must be more fit and practice to build
up their bodily strength. Sports contribute to making our lives healthier and mentally keep us
entertained. Physical activity it’s a need for our life to be smoother. Although playing sports may
lead to injuries.

Advantages of Sports

Sports help develop our lives into healthier and provide longer life expectancy for people. A
sports player is known to have up to ten more years of life expectancy. Hearts and lungs tend to
get stronger which helps blood to circulate more. The heart needs exercise to keep fit and
healthy. A fit heart can pump blood efficiently around your body; it will improve its performance
when it is challenged with exercises and will function to its fullest and increase its capacity.
Stronger hearts can improve the overall fitness of a body. Playing sport regularly requires more
oxygen to be drawn into the body when waste gases are deposed. Sport also reduces the risk of
having heart disease, lung problems (asthma), obesity, cholesterol, and many life-threatening
illnesses.
 
Sport is a blessing to our minds since we get a lot of mental relief from it. The fresh air is said to
clear one's mind and glorify a good night’s sleep. Sports is a "melting pot" of diverse
backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and religions. Playing sports builds a new hybrid and offers to
meet others and understand their cultures. When training and winning matches, players will
immediately boost their confidence. One loss at first would put anyone in a hard spot but they
will have to regain their confidence and learn how to motivate themselves from the losses. 
 
Playing in teams will develop one's leadership skills while taking responsibility for the entire
team and devising game plans/tactics. When one is physically active, they tend to be focused on
the game and will forget about their problems which will help calm themselves and reduce stress.
Some of the richest people in the world are sportspeople, like Michael Jordon or Naomi Osaka;
students can get into prestigious schools through sports and perhaps get connections with famous
deals to play in professional tournaments too. 

Overall Negative effects of sports in general:

Despite sports benefiting both our physical and mental health, they also hurt our bodies. The
main negative impact includes injuries; injuries could be from our whole minor muscle going
down to broken bones or maybe worst. As the player gets older, it's likely harder to recover as
the time taken will be longer; even if the player is not found injured in the past, they will find
themselves feeling pain or ache, and this feeling will continue for several days. Sports can be
loved by anyone but they could not be afforded by everyone. Sports can decrease your finances
when you have to afford highly expensive equipment: as you need to pay for clothing; coaching
costs and club fees. Abroad tournaments request large amounts of fees as they need to pay for
hotel and transportation.

They’re always snobbery and will likely lower the player’s confidence by toxic words being
said. These could highly affect mental problems when the player tries to concentrate. This will
be an experience for all players as the snobs wanted to get attention. Most of the sports clubs can
be warmly welcome and inclusive while the other clubs can be a terrible nightmare. Some of the
clubs have the same leadership and roles being set for years; this won’t change despite how good
the player achieves. Being a new member of a club can be very struggling to connect with the
social group, as it’s very challenging to be picked and accepted by the leader.

Sports are likely to be outdoors so weather can have a big impact on the players. Many practices
and matches are being canceled or postponed to other days due to weather problems. There could
be overheating in some places which are strictly not allowed to be played because of extreme
heat. Terrible thunderstorms or rain might also disturb the outdoor players and they could easily
be caught sick. Many pieces of training seasons time and tournament time can use up; traveling
time can decrease and there will only be less social time.

Insomnia is very likely to happen as the players will always be overthinking the mistakes, they
make during day time when they played. This is causing anxiety and they will be suffering from
crippling nerves this could ruin the mood for the entire day. Despite sports creating a relaxing
moment for sleep at night, it also caused a huge impact on sleeping. There will always be a
repetition pattern as the players will be repeating their daily routine every day by going to the
club and coming back; not only going to the same place but meeting with the same people.
 
Swimming:
 
Swimming is a water sport, in which the person has to move his/her body through water using
arms and legs. Swimming can take place in any body of water, such as: the sea, swimming pools,
rivers, and lakes. People swim for exercise, for fun, and as a sport. Although, swimming is great
for cardiovascular fitness, helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart, lungs, and provides an
all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming; it has some life-
threatening negative aspects too.
 
While swimming is typically one of the most low-impact sports out there, certain injuries are
common among competitive swimmers. Swimmers often suffer from "overuse injuries" which is
when their muscles get used too much causing pains and aches. Shoulder injuries are the most
common, which more than 40% of swimmers suffer from. Knee injuries are the most common
among competitive swimmers. Muscle cramps and muscle tightness aren't classified as injuries
but they cause pain and cramps occur when muscles are compelled to move when they are
already tight. 
 
One of the least desirable things you can do on a chilly day or early morning is to jump into a
cold pool. This disadvantage can easily be avoided if you have access to a heated or indoor pool
but there will still be days when water temperatures will be lower. Luckily, there will be no
physical harm when swimming in cold water apart from it being uncomfortable when you
originally jump into the water before your body has had an acceptable time to adapt to the colder
temperature. There are quite a few benefits of swimming in cold water such as: giving your
immune system a boost, burning extra calories, and enhancing circulation. 
 
Swimming pool chemicals are a necessary part of maintaining a hygienic training and swimming
environment. If it wasn’t for chemicals such as chlorine in the water, pools would most likely
become contaminated and dirty very quickly. Chlorine and bromine are the two main chemicals
used in pools these kill germs and prevent swimmers from getting sick. If a swimmer has
sensitive skin, they may suffer from dry skin, an itchy nose, red eyes, or damaged hair at some
point or another. Luckily all of these issues are easily manageable, treatable, and preventable.
 
Most sports and physical activities will require some form of financial investment. Going to the
gym will require a gym membership. Running requires investing in some good running shoes.
Pool fees, Swimming goggles, and swimsuits may not cost too much per year. However, if a
swimmer wants to go further, they will have to: join a proper swim club, get coaching, and swim
gear: such as fins, snorkel, paddles, pool buoy, kickboard, and wet bag. Competitive swimmers
will need more professional gear and permits.
 
American open-water swimmer, 26-year-old, Fran Crippen was competing in the FINA Open
Water 10-kilometer World Cup in Fujairah, Dubai, but failed to finish and his body was found in
the water two hours later. Although the reason for his death isn't known, doctors have made a
few assumptions. The water temperature was 87 degrees in temperature which could have
resulted in a heat stroke. It could have also happened from a heart attack. Since his body was
found 2 hours after the race, the reason is yet blurry.
 
Rhythmic Gymnastics:
 
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport, in which gymnasts perform with an instrument, such as: a hoop,
ball, clubs, ribbon, or rope. Although rhythmic gymnastics help encourage a healthy lifestyle
from a very early age, physical routine, and eating a well-balanced diet but the pressure and strict
schedules of practicing may affect a gymnast's mental health.
 
There is a whole lot more to rhythmic gymnastics than moving with ribbons. But in rhythmic
gymnastics, there are four apparatus, in extra to the ribbon: the hoop, the ball, the club, and the
rope. Each season, the gymnasts compete with four of the five apparatus, they have to have a
separate routine for each apparatus. So, gymnasts have to be good at not just one thing, but four;
while under the pressure of always trying to outshine other gymnasts.
 
Many Olympic sports involve equipment but only rhythmic gymnastics requires an athlete to
hold equipment that determines their points; therefore, it is more difficult. Typical routines last
one minute and thirty seconds, while competing in large stadiums, a lot of times when they toss
the equipment, they don’t see it until they're done with that routine. So, it becomes more about
feeling the equipment not seeing it. It is most difficult in rhythmic gymnastics when a gymnast
has to focus on body movements, coordinating their equipment while flowing with the routine
and executing the routine.
 
Lots of time in the gym is spent making their routines look effortless and elegant. Most people
underestimate how difficult rhythmic gymnastics is. Even though their routine is only a minute
and a half. There is no time to pause, if there is a pause in the routine, it is an automatic
deduction. Finding time to take a breath is challenging which is why rhythmic gymnasts practice
more than one routine at a time; lots go into one routine.
 
Rhythmic gymnastics are major believers in “practice makes perfect.” During the contest, they
spend every second practicing their routines, instead of watching their competitors perform.
There are a lot of things a person can learn later in life but rhythmic gymnastics requires learning
from the earliest age possible and is nearly impossible to learn after a certain age.
Rhythmic gymnastics coaches have techniques for how they help gymnasts stretch and maintain
flexibility.
 
American Rhythmic Gymnast, Simone Biles, 25-year-old was at the Tokyo Olympics 2021. She
started at a vault routine during the USA team final, one of the most difficult vaults that female
gymnasts do, but she accidentally dropped out of the air a rotation short and barely landed on her
feet. She later told an interviewer that she got a case of the "twisties". The twisties are the feeling
of being lost in the air, making an athlete feel unable to complete their routine. It's a mental
performance issue that many gymnasts have also experienced and it can be dangerous. She could
have landed on her head or neck so she left before she could hurt herself more but moved
forward to care for herself. As she withdrew from the competition to focus on herself, and better
herself, the next time she will be in the Olympics, she will be winning "for herself".
 
 
Track and field:

Track and field are sport in which the player runs, jumps, and throw skills. This sport can be
taken place on a grass field for running, throwing, and jumping events. Playing track and field
not only built muscle for the player but also boost metabolism and immune system; help the
player to maintain better balance. 

 Track and field can be a very challenging sport that brings us both running and jumping; it could
difficultly challenge both physically and mentally. The negative aspects that could happen can be
a lack of proper hydration, extreme heat, or cold; occurring at the level lower levels with less
experience. In any tern of Track and field, both physicality and physical injuries are being
competed in the highest end from a player. This can create a bad atmosphere for those who use
their greatest energy in adverse conditions. In this case, ricks will be leading in, these include
strains, heatstroke, and asthmatic symptoms. 

The most common found injuries in Track and field include Stress Fractures. This injury is
caused when the player overuse energy and this happens in the lower part of weight-bearing
bones. Long-distance running is supreme fatigue for the player and pounding from the impact
that it is transferring from muscle to bones. Stress Fractures are most commonly found by
repeating stress and force many times. 
Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome, or MTSS) can be another harmful aspect of playing
Track and Field. This led to the problem that the players are shortly repeating high-intensity
sprints and high-intensity jumps. Often caused by overtraining in short periods. This pain is
throbbing pain in the front of the lower legs and this term is called Shin Splints. 

Runner’s knees can be highly injured as the friction used between them. This friction can lead
down to cartilage in the knee and slowly move down to osteoarthritis. The pain is mostly in,
around, or behind the kneecap. Runner’s knee will be feeling sore or stiff when sitting for a long
period or standing after resting. 

Dehydration and heat illness occur in every sport but usually happen in Track and Field.
Hydration is essential for every player especially to prevent heat illness, soft tissues injury, and
cartilage. Heat illness is a severe harsh living and dangerously could cause death. Heat illness
can lead to heat cramps, syncope, heat exhaustion, or heatstroke. If these symptoms occurred, the
best solution is to stay in a colder environment and moved out of hot conditions. 

Usain Bolt, the Olympic champion with the world record who was 35-year-old tore his left
hamstring during the final race of his career the 4x100-meter at the IAAF World Championships
on Saturday. Usain Bolt fell to the ground just before he walked past the finish line. After the
tournament, the cold weather was being blamed, and the warm-up was being delayed and this
was blamed by his Jamaican teammate. 

Taekwondo: 

Taekwondo is the original Korean form of martial arts, created by kicking and punching
techniques. Characterize by spinning jump kick, head-height kicks, and fast kick technique.
Taekwondo benefits our body in many different ways: for example, improved our muscle tones
and appearances, improved flexibility, and increased strength and stamina. 

The famous martial art, Taekwondo can lead to an average of 41 to 133 injuries for every 1000
exposures to the art. Taekwondo is a full-contact sport that uses legs to play. A simple kick to the
head can consequently lead to head injury. Serious rules are being set to play taekwondo. If a
player gets a kick blow to the head, they’re strictly not allowed to participate for 3 months; if it
reoccurs after 3 months break, another period will be required. This can be deleterious to
continue in the art. 

Bruising is the most common injury found in Taekwondo classes, especially for beginning
learners. Bruising come from simple kicks which severely strike the body. It can sometimes be
often mild but it can also be deep bruising, for example, cored thighs. This can be treated using a
cold compress to improve strategy and avoid more strikes and impacts. 

Aggressive and severe practice will be included during the period. Strains and body injured are
the most common pain found in taekwondo. A broken nose gets injured easily from a kick to the
face. The players can structure their carpal bones when striking bones and tails; this will be a
painful experience as it will take a period to recover. The beginner might overstretch, bruise, and
muscle strains; the poor technique can ultimately lead to severe pains. 
The players might be overconfident standing in front as they have a thought that they have a
master practice than others. This can create an atmosphere in which the player feels unbalanced
or unsteady and will have the kicking ability of negative impact. During confrontations, they
might also be nervous and overconfident leading to problems. 

A famous Iranian taekwondo practitioner Armin Hadipour was only 27 years old and had
critically suffered from an anterior crucial ligament tear. MRI scans had confirmed the injury but
do not undergo surgery as they wanted to keep him fit for the Olympics avoiding surgery. If
surgery was taken, he will have to be sidelined for six or more months. But in the last decision,
he was chosen to receive surgery after the Tokyo Olympic Games; overall he participated in the
2019 World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Moscow. 

Archery:

Archery is a sport that involves shooting a target with a bow and arrow. Historically, archery has
been used for hunting and fighting. In the present, it is a competitive sport. Archery improves
your upper strength, while your arms, core, chest, and shoulders are all used when practicing
archery to make a shot.

Some of you might think Sports have no bad benefits, you’re wrong. Sports have many bad
benefits, especially with the accidents. There are also the risks of Archery, such as Rotator Cuff
injuries, String Slap, Chest Bruising, Muscle Strain injuries, and more. The question is “Can
Archery hurt your back?”. Every sport that requires shooting and such, will have risks such as
hurting your back and some of the others mentioned above. When the arm is held above the head
in archery, it might make your back hurts, especially when you do that all the time. Sometimes,
you can also get the arrow wounds. But arrow wounds are generally less painful than others, and
also generate less fear compared to bullets wound.

Brady Ellison, 33-year-old American Archer was in the Olympic when his finger was injured.
But it does not stop him from getting a bronze at Hyundai archery world cup final in turkey.

Skiing:

Skiing is a winter sports, which is played in the Olympics too. Is Skiing fun? It mainly depends
on the person’s own opinion. If you’re a beginner, you will feel stressed since the snow is pretty
slippery when you have the ski boots on. But skiing is also not that hard either. But your first day
might be the hardest, especially when you’re learning how to ski on snow.

There are also some negative effects about Skiing too. Trees must be cut down to make way for
skiing, which is bad for the environment. It also creates greenhouse gas emissions by powerful
ski lifts, and such. Tourists fly and drive across the world to ski, staying in chateaus and drinking
at heated outdoor bars. Skiing is also bad for your knees because it puts pressure to them. Skiing
can also be dangerous, but mostly skiing is also safe. The most ski injuries come from knee pain,
or knee sprain. It happens when a ligament around the knee joint is injured by tearing or
stretching too far. It can be caused by too much strain on the knee or bending of the knee in the
opposite direction from its normal bending. Most of the Ski deaths come from snowboarders
colliding, such as a tree. While many skiers now wear helmets as an added layer of protection,
this type of gear is designed to withstand collisions up to 12mph. Skiing also makes our hips
sore, which is pretty bad. But overall, skiing is a good winter sports to start off with.

Nina O’Brien, 24-year-old, American Alpine ski racer, suffered from fracture of her left tibia and
fibula, and it was an open fracture through her leg, and her bone broke her skin. She was
hospitalized in Beijing after she suffered the fracture at the women’s giant slalom competition in
Feb 7.

Conclusion- The good and bad of Sports

In overall conclusion, Sports have more benefits than the negative effects. Sports can boost up
your mind, clear them, and helps ease with anxiety. Sports are also a way to understand what life
is, and much more. We develop skills like Leadership, Teamwork, Patience, Competitiveness
and Determination of Success. Those are some of the good and must qualities that a person

must have in their own personal life. So, when you play sports, be careful because you won’t
want any injuries that will hurt you.

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