Swimming

Swimming.  To most people if they heard the word “swimming” they would think a fun day at the beach.  But swimming is more than a pastime, in fact swimming it is a sport. Swimming was first introduced to the Olympics in 1896 but has only been available to women since 1912.  Since then America has been one of the top countries to compete in Olympic swimming coming out on top for years.  Especially in 2008 when Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals and being the first to do so.  Another historical event was when Michael Phelps became the “Most Decorated Olympian of All Time.”  That just goes to show that swimming is one of the toughest sports there is today.

 

Swimming has been a passion of mine since the age of 4.  However most people consider swimming just doing laps in a pool.  But its not!  In fact swimming is probably one of the most challenging sports there is.  For starters lots of people don’t even know how to swim, let alone properly.  Secondly swimming takes endurance, speed, and skill.  During a swim practice theres no stopping.  The amount of rest that you get is determined on how fast you swim the yards and get through the set.  That is why swimming is a sport and a hard one at that .

~Emily

Phelps Makes History

As we all know, after the 2012 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps retired from his swimming career. All his fans, including myself, were disappointed hearing this decision of his, but we keep in mind everything that he achieved. After completing  in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics, Phelps earned himself 22-medals, 18 gold, making him the most decorated Olympian of all times. He also broke and made many records such as the 400- meter individual medley, 200- meter butterfly, and 200- meter individual medley. As a result of all his hard work, he earned many awards such as the Swimming World Magazine World Swimmer of the Year Award in  2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012; and FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2012. “If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do,” Phelps once said. Aside from swimming Michael continues with his charities, promoting swimming and healthy living.

I think it’s good that Phelps continues a modest life, and goes around the US talking about his experience as an Olympian.  By doing this he puts his popularity aside and he talks to the public as a normal person. Even though he’s so famous, he’s very humble. I also think it’s amazing how he entered the Olympics at the age of 15 and still accomplished so much. When someone like Phelps comes along, it gives the public an example of what someone can do when they put their mind to it. “ I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.”

~Saumya

Sync or Swim

Russia Women's Teams Synchronised

Synchronized Swimming is an Olympic sport where swimmers create a routine to music and perform it in full makeup, beautiful suits, knoxed hair and stunning headpieces. This sport was originally called “Water Ballet” and the first competition was in Berlin, Germany in 1891. In the early 1900s  the University of Chicago had a club team which performed at the World’s Fair. An announcer there made a mistake and called it “Synchronized Swimming” and it has been called that ever since. The sport became more popular in 1939 when Esther William became a famous actress who swam in her movies. In the 1940s competitions started  and it officially became a competitive sport.

I think Synchronized Swimming is a beautiful and fun sport to compete in and to watch. It requires strength, stamina, endurance and grace. Swimmers need to hold their breath for long periods of time while performing difficult maneuvers and they are never allowed to touch the bottom of the pool. I think this sport should get more publicity and be available to more swimmers. Today there are only two teams in the whole state of Connecticut but I would like it to be available in every community!

~Audrey

Gymnastics: Is it a Sport?

Is gymnastics a sport? Gymnastics may be one of the most hardcore, toughest sports invented. No offense football players, but the concussions that you guys get, looks like a bruise compared to the injuries gymnasts go through. A football player has to hold a football that is 10-15 ounces, where as gymnasts need to flip their ENTIRE body weight. There are 4 events. Each event is made up of different skills. Floor is made up of power, grace, flexibility, and strength. Beam is made up of balance, grace, flexibility, and, most important of all, bravery. Bars is made up of strength, and concentration. Vault requires power, and strength. Gymnastics is also scored out of 10.000. You will get points off for falling, bad form, forgetting a routine, missing a step, etc. Every single step you take makes a difference. In football, baseball and soccer, the only points that count are what your ENTIRE team scores.

When people ask me what sports I participate in, I say: “Gymnastics.” What do they reply? “That’s not a sport.” One reason it is a sport is because it is in the Olympics. Do you think that gymnastics would be in the Olympics if it wasn’t a sport? Probably not. Too many people say it isn’t a sport because it doesn’t have offense and defense. But, who cares? People consider swimming and diving a sport, yet, last time I checked, they don’t have offense or defense either. Football players get concussions, bruises, and turf burn. Gymnasts get concussions, broken bones, and bloody rips on a daily basis. When you say to a coach, “I’m injured, or I’m in pain”, they reply with a simple, yet firm, “Suck it up”. A quote I really like is:  “After a day of football a gymnast would be sore. After a day of gymnastics a football player would be dead.” I’m not saying gymnastics is better than football, just that gymnastics is just as tough as football.

~Cali

“A New Olympic Sport?”

After the past 2012 Summer Olympics, rumors have been said that cheerleading would be in the 2016 Olympic Games. A lot of people are saying that it’s just another sport of the Olympics that doesn’t have to be added. But, some say it would be cool to see another sport similar to gymnastics in the summer games. With this sport added to the Olympics, the entire world will be able to see how competitive and tough this sport is. It is what all non-believers need to see before they judge something they know so little about.

I do believe that cheerleading should be added to the Olympic Games as of 2016. I agree that it will show the world how competitive cheerleading is. When I say cheerleading, don’t just mean chanting cheers at football and basketball games. I’m talking about traveling all of the country, even the world, and to wow the crowd. As a competitive cheerleader, the sport has gotten too many bad reviews saying how it is not a sport. If you can compete worldwide, meet all new people, win college scholarships, and not to mention, have fun, than it is a sport. Why people overlook those aspects? I don’t have an answer.

~Jocelyn Theriault

The Head Game

Imagine walking into the gym with the smell of chalk in the air as you start your warm up, you have to make sure all of you splits are down or you may pull a muscle and that would be crucial for your next meet. You get ready to go to your first event and ask your coaches where to go. In your head you are praying not to go to beam because you are scared to do your new flight series. Your coach looks around the gym and the most open event is beam. In the next ten minutes you are preparing you flight series on the floor. You know that if you wait too long your coach will get suspicious and might yell at you. You take in a deep breath as you approach the beam. In the back of your mind you are picturing yourself falling and getting hurt or rolling your ankle and being out for the rest of the season.

But instead you inhale positive thoughts and exhale the rest. Your body becomes calm, you mount the beam and count to three. One. Two. Three.

In the sport of elite gymnastics there is a huge fear factor involved. If you ask any Olympic gymnast they would say that gymnastics is 10% pain, 10% skill level, 15% strength, 15% love for the sport, and 50%, fear and mental toughness. Many people think of gymnastics as tumbling classes but really it is an art in the balance between grace, flexibility, strength, and mental toughness. Therefore you have to be educated as a coach and as a gymnast if you want to achieve your goals.

Many gymnasts don’t even think twice about training their mind as well as their body while they train. I disagree with that. I have never been the strongest person in the gym, in fact I struggle with my strength, but I have a great mind. I am able to do whatever I want because my mind and my fear isn’t stopping me. As my old coach used to tell me, “Your physical appearance is easy to change, but your mental, now thats a challenge.” Gymnasts need to acknowledge that and get help before their mind drives them out of the sport. Do you agree or disagree?

~Emily Glatt

Will Olympic Wrestling be Gone Forever?

The Olympic Games is one of the greatest athletic competitions in all of history. This competition holds all kinds of contests, such as running, judo, and swimming. Over the past centuries, the Olympics have vastly changed in many ways. However, the changes have not always been for the good. The most recent change that the Olympics have made is to cut out wrestling as an Olympic sport. This was done in order to create room for newer sports to become Olympic sports. Many people do not agree with the decision of the Olympic committee. Right now, I will tell you my perspective on this topic.
Personally, I do not believe that the Olympics should have cut out wrestling. There are sports that actually should be cut out, but have not been. For example, speed walking is an Olympic sport. However, the sport does not make sense because speed walking is practically the same as running. In this case, speed walking can be included into running; therefore you can cut out speed walking as an Olympic sport. With wrestling, there is nothing similar to the sport. Therefore, if you cut out wrestling, then it is completely gone forever. This can also be applied to other sports groups, such as dance. Many dances done in the water can be mixed with each other into one sport. Therefore, you will not have to get rid of dance and still be able to show it. This is why I believe that wrestling should not be cut out as an Olympic sport.
~Artem Samiahulin

“Red, White, Blue and Gold”

As you may know the U.S national women’s soccer team won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.  Lead by coach Pia Sundhage and captain Christi Rampone, the U.S team beat Japan 2-1 in the final match. After winning, the U.S women went on a fan-tribute tour. During this event they played against various team, traveled all over the United States, and visited fans across the country. Flashing their new white and red candy cane jerseys, the girl’s soccer team showcased their fancy foot skill for supporting fans and celebrated winning gold. These events occurred  from September 1st to October 23rd.  Events were well attended as fans were excited to see some of their favorite players – Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, and Alex Morgan play.

During the fan-tribute tour, I was lucky enough to attend the October 23rd event in East Hartford, Connecticut. I saw my favorite player, Megan Rapinoe play. Along with many of my soccer friends, we saw the women play against Germany where they tied the game 2-2. The highlight of the game was seeing Abby Wambach do a diving header to score. I believe the U.S women soccer fan-tribute tour was a great success.  It let many fans, especially young soccer players see a once in a lifetime game. I saw many other soccer teams gathered together in the stands like my team. Thru my own eyes, I witnessed the excitement of many screaming happy fans cheering on the team.  Congrats on the team for winning gold!

~Alexa Fiala

Has Softball Struck Out?

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing was the last time softball was played in the Olympics. It was cut from the Olympic program because there weren’t enough countries that had good softball organizations and it’s popularity was primarily people in America, Asia, and Canada. Also, they needed to make room for sports such as golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports. According to Vicki Michaelis from USA TODAY, “Baseball and softball are the first sports cut from the Olympics since polo in 1936.” In 2005, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) took a vote and softball and baseball were removed from the Olympics for the 2012 and 2016 games (although they were still allowed to play in the 2008 games). Upon hearing this, people all around the world were disappointed. On the other hand, some countries were happy that softball was taken out of the Olympics because they believed that the USA was too dominant, since they medaled every year.

In my opinion, softball should definitely be an Olympic sport. It is fun to watch and to play. By having an Olympic softball team, it gives girls a goal to try to achieve. For many girls who play in college, they dream of playing at “the next level,” but they can’t if there isn’t an Olympic team. Some people think that only people in America are interested in softball, but that is not true. Teams from Asia such as Japan, were also devastated when softball was removed. Many softball leagues and organizations are working to help promote softball world-wide, so that hopefully, it can be played in the 2016 Olympics. Softball deserves to be in the Olympics, and I hope that in the near future it will be.

~Abby Abramson

Making a mark in the Field Hockey World

Have you ever thought of becoming a professional athlete? Well I have. I have had a passion for for field hockey the day I started playing. Even though field hockey isn’t a popular sport and isn’t on ESPN, doesn’t mean it isn’t a professional sport. It is a big event in the Olympics and is very popular in Europe. The US women have not won many Olympic medals in field hockey but they have gotten better over the years. Here are the results of their current 2012 season. Usa womens schedule and results for 2012 It shows they are increasingly getting better even in just one season.
I want to be apart of the amazing experience of being on the national team. The sport comes very natural to me and I think that I should keep practicing hard so I get good enough to become a professional. Many people do not get the chance to do this but I think if anyone works hard enough, they may be able to reach their goal. It is my dream of making it that far and I will do whatever it takes to get their. I will make my mark in the field hockey world.

~Sarah Pierpont