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Content

Football (Sean) The (history) of the Olympics (Eva) The marathon (Greta) Tennis (Lars van den Biggelaar) Formula 1 racing (Jay-C) Skiing (Esa) Cycling(Greta) Hockey (Annet) Cricket (Sean) Ice skatin (Eva) The Olympics from 1936 until 1972 (Esa) Handball (Jay-C) Tabletennis (Mike) Rowing (Annet) Korfball (Mike) Rugby (Lars)

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Football is the most played sport in Europe. This team sport creates a bond between nationalities, cities and religions. Even though there is evidence of an old form of modern day football in China the first official football club was founded in England. Notts County FC became the ‘founding father’ of football in 1862. At this moment there many competitions and even more competitions on amateur level. Professional leagues like the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the Spanish Liga BBVA attract billions of fans. They watch the games of the clubs they support at the stadium, on tv or on the internet. On the entire planet football is played on a professional and recreational level. In 2001 the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, said that over 240 million people in over 200 countries play football regularly.

FIFAFédération Internationale de Football Association is an organisation founded in 1904 to organise international events concerning football, futsal and beach football. The most known event has to be the FIFA World Cup which had its first edition in 1930. FIFA also organises the Women’s World Cup which had its first edition in 1991. After FIFA was founded there were 8 national associations, including The Netherlands and Belgium, working together with FIFA. Now there are 209 associations divided into 6 confederations: CONCACAF (North-America), CONMEBOL (South-America), CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia), OFC (Oceania) en UEFA (Europe). Each of these confederations has a vote in the annual FIFA Congress. Every year FIFA awards one player the Ballon d’Or for his performances. The acting president of FIFA is Issa Hayatou. Before that it was Sepp Blatter. Blatter was accused of corruption within FIFA but was still re-elected as president. After the elections of 2015, and winning it, Blatter decided to step down from his position as president.

UEFAUnion of European Football Associations is the organisation that represents Europe in FIFA. UEFA is since 1954 in charge of club tournaments and the UEFA European Championship. One of the club tournaments is the highest prize a European club can win: the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid leads with the most wins (10 times). Mostly it’s the top 3 clubs of each European competition that enter the tournament. For the clubs just below the top 3 there is the UEFA Europa League. The acting president of UEFA is Angèl Villar Llona. Former president Michel Platini is currently suspended from any football related activity for 8 years due to accepting a bribe from former president of FIFA Sepp Blatter.

German footballA giant of national teams is ‘Die Mannschaft’. The German national team and the world champions of 2014 (and many other years) is currently one of the best, if not the best, national squads in the world. And who can blame them with one of the best domestic competitions in Europe: the Bundesliga. The highest level of football in Germany started in 1963. Bayern Munich has been dominating it by finishing top of the table 25 times. Borussia Dortmund and

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Football

Borussia Mönchengladbach both take in number two by winning the league 5 times. A sight to see in German football are the stadiums: the Allianz Arena, Signal Iduna Park, Veltins Arena and not to forget, home of Hertha BSC, the Olympiastadium in Berlin. This stadium was built by architect Werner March between 1934 and 1936. It was opened just in time for the Summer Olympics of 1936. What makes this stadium so special is that it’s built halfway underground. So from the outside you can only see the top ring. The roof is not a full circle because of the marathon entrance. The rich history of this stadium tells us that at the near end of the second world war a lot of kids from the Hitlerjugend lost their lives fighting the Russians. Currently it is used for mostly football matches of Hertha BSC, the final of the DFB Pokal for men and women and the occasional match for the national squad. Last season it was used for the final of the UEFA Champions League. FC Barcelona played Juventus and FC Barcelona ended up taking the trophy home.

European heritageSomething is considered European heritage when a something has contributed to European history or European culture. We think sports have had a big impact on both European culture and history. At Notts County FC in England where it all began, football grew to be the most played sport in the world. Football creates a bond between men, women and children and can solve small differences in opinion to all out wars. In 2006, the national squad of Ivory Coast played a game to solve the civil war that was going on at that time. That’s why we think Meadow Lane, the home of where it all began, is European heritage.

The Ancient Olympic Games Ever since 776 before Christ, there would be an event with four competitions that took place every four years in the Greek city Olympia, in honor of Zeus, the Greek supreme God. They called it the Olympic Games. They were part of the Panhellenic Games, which were four competitions for atlethes, artists and public from the Greek world. Sometimes people referred to the Games as the ‘Crowngames’, because the victors got a crown for their performances. As a victor of the Olympic Games, you would receive an olive crown, as it stood symbol for Zeus.

The Greeks were ought to believe that these particular competitions would ensure people to appreciate their human abilities. By bringing together different cultures and states, the meetings would give the result of consensus. Some state leaders took these thoughts so serious, that they hoped that there would be consensus on political side as well, but it never got that far.

Not everyone participated in the Olympic Games. The only people that could join were men, and they played the Games while being naked. The reason for their nudity is not known, but it probably happened on accident. A runner would have stepped on his loincloth, whereby it would have fallen off. After that he would have still ran, but naked. Being naked was much more normal in the Ancient Greek times than it is now, though. During the Ancient times, people believed

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The Olympic Games

that the naked body was a sign of beauty. Only unmarried women could come and watch the Games, and that was the cause of the nudity of the manly athletes.

In the beginning the only thing on the programme was a running competition of 190 meters. In the course of a few years boxing, horse racing, wrestling, different running competitions, Pankration (a combination of wrestling and boxing), and a pentathlete of wrestling, running, long jump, javelin throwing and discus throw.

While the Games are going on, there is always a burning fire, which connects the Games with Zeus. The fire gets lighted by the holy fire from the goddess Hestia. Up to the present day, the fire stills burns during the Olympic Games.

The Olympic peace is part of the modern Olympic Games. This tradition however already exists since the Ancient Games. Before the Games started, there would be a truce from five days, later this would be around three months. This was done so that the attendants and athletes had the opportunity to travel to Olympia safely. States that participated in the Games were not allowed to start an armed fight, could not start any trial or make any executions. The ones that violated these rules got a massive amount of money that they had to pay.

Modern Olympic Games

In the Ancient Greek times, the Games were cancelled by emperor Theodosius I, whom had also banned the other Panhellenic Games. Fifteen centuries later, initiatives for resurrecting the Games had been found. After a few tries, Pierre de Coubertin made a big comeback for the Olympic Games. Then there was decided that the Olympic Games would be introduced yet again. The first edition took place in Athens.

Every two year the Summer Games are held, and in 2016 the following 28 Olympic sports will be a part of the competition; athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, archery, weightlifting, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, gymnastics, golf, handball, hockey, judo, flatwater sprint, whitewater slalom, modern pentathlon, equestrian, rowing, rugby, fencing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, soccer, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, track cycling, BMX, mountain biking, road cycling, wrestling, sailing, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo and swimming.

Every other two years, the Winter Games are held, and as for today the following sports will be part of the next edition of the competition; biathlon, bobsleigh (bobsleigh, skeleton), curling, ice hockey, luge, skating (figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating), skiing (alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping) and snowboarding (snowboarding, slopestyle)

European heritage?European cultural heritage has the definition, that something is cultural heritage if it is or was of great importance for the European history or culture. According to us, this is definitely the case with the Olympic Games. Not only has it been a thing for centuries and is it a tradition, it also brings people together and tends to give the world some sort of peace for a few days/months. You can feel the strong bond of people, and especially in Europe.

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Today, the marathon is an Olympic discipline and a sporting event that takes place several times a year on all continents. The annual Marathons in New York, Chicago or for example in Boston (best known by the terrorist attacks in 2013) are famous throughout the world.

The story of how the marathon originated is certainly less well known. The same accounts for the question why the marathon is exactly 42.152 kilometers long (and since when) or why it is actually called Marathon.

The History of the marathon It is tempting to say that the marathon originated in Europe. Actually it can best be regarded as a piece of the Greek history, because, when it all began, the Europe we know today, didn’t yet exist.

In 490 B.C., during a war between two Great Powers on the territory of the ancient Greek empire (today’s Greece), the battle of Marathon took place. The opponents in this battle were the Persians and the Army of the city of Athens, the capital of today’s Greece. The battle was won by the Greeks. To deliver the message of the victory to the magistrates of Athens, the courier Pheidippides was sent on the road immediately. He ran all the way from Marathon to Athens, without a single stop. Upon his arrival in Athens, breathing his last words, he conveyed the message ‘Joy to you, we've won" and there and then he died of exhaustion.

The distance between Marathon and Athens was approximately 40 kilometers. Pheidippides’ run is nowadays considered as the first marathon in history, despite the fact that his run wasn't a competition among runners. It is even unproven that Pheidippides covered the distance. To round up the list of unproven stories, several versions about the cause of his death exist.

The performance of Pheidippides was regarded as legendary and was therefore from 490 BC in the ancient Olympic Games commemorated with a race of 40 kilometers. At the time of the ancient Greeks, when the classic olympic games took place, this contest was not yet called Marathon. The ancient name of the race is unknown.

When the modern Olympic Games first took place in 1896 the Marathon was again one of the disciplines. The reason for this was that the Olympic movement (led by Pierre de Coubertin) held the opinion that there was a need of a discipline that pays homage to the classic Olympic Games. It was therefore decided to include the legendary footrace as one of the disciplines. Until then, the race had no name. The name Marathon was chosen for the 1896 olympics because the original journey began at Marathon.

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The marathon

To the delight of the Greeks the first modern Olympic marathon at the first modern Olympic Games in Greece, was won by the Greek Spiridon Louise. His winning time was 2: 58.50 hours.

The current official marathon length of 42 kilometers and 195 meters, also originated in Europe. It was the distance of the marathon during the Olympic Games in London (Great Britain) in 1908. The marathon started at Windsor Castle and ending just before the Royal Box at the White City Stadium. This distance was exactly 42,195 kilometers. During the two Olympics that followed another distance was run. 12 years after the London Games an international agreement was reached, that the distance of a marathon should always be exactly 42 meters and 195 meters.

The marathon nowadays The marathon is one of the most famous sporting disciplines in the world. The current world record (2015) stands at 2: 2:57 hours. This time was run by kenyan Dennis Kipruto Kimetto during the marathon in Berlin (capital of Germany) in 2014. The female record is 2:15.25, run by Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain, in London, in 2003.

The first winning time ever recorded was 2 hours and 58 minutes. Since then the world record has become almost an hour shorter. This is most likely because more and more people with African roots participate in marathons. African people seem to have have a physique which is perfect for running long distances and therefore build a perfect condition.

Marathon for everyoneMarathon running is not just for world class athletes who want to win a prize of half a million or a gold medal but also for amateur athletes who love to run. Nowadays, for all these athletes there are marathons, half-marathons and 'children's marathons' in many cities all over the world. Especially the big marathons (Boston, London, Berlin, Rotterdam, ..) are events with thousands of runners participating and even more spectators along the track and on the TV.

The field is usually headed by famous top athletes who finish in times close to the world record. These top-runners are followed by thousands of amateur athletes who enjoy the race, being cheered on by spectators all along the track and the amazing feeling to reach the finish line after a several hours, leaving them with great pride when they say "I ran the marathon."

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Tennis

Tennis is a sport where a ball has to be struck across a field, with a net in the middle, towards the opposing team. Teams can either be made up of one or two players that play against each other. Points can be scored by playing the ball in such a way that the opponent cannot return a valid shot, resulting in either the ball making a second bounce on the opponent’s side or the opponent hitting the ball out of the playing field. Points are awarded in the following manner: 15, 30 and 40, after which the game ends and goes to the winning team. If both teams have 40 points (3 rallies won), the score will be set to deuce, which means that one of the teams has to win with 2 won rallies more than his or her opponent. The first rally won during a deuce makes the score advantage for the winning person, but if the other team scores after that the score becomes deuce again and the cycle continues, until one team wins two rallies in a row. The criteria for winning a set can differ from game to game, mostly depending on the players’ skill level and stamina and the type of competition. Most of the time a team wins a set by winning at least 6 games with 2 more set wins than the opponent, up until 6-4. However, if the score is 5-5 and both teams win a set after that, a tie-break will be played. This means that a team can win with only 1 set difference, in this case 7-6. The outcome of the match is determined through a system of best-of-three or best-of-five, meaning that a player has to win with either 2 or 3 sets accordingly. The first team to reach that amount of sets wins the match.

It is believed that the game of tennis finds its origin in the 12th century French game jeu de paume, or game of palm. It was mainly played in the northern regions of France by the elite and looked somewhat similar to the current game, only they did not use rackets but simply the palms of their hands to hit the ball. It wasn’t until the 16th century that players started using rackets instead of their hands. Around the same time the game got its name: tennis comes from the French word tenez, meaning to receive, because the server would say that to the receiving player. It became popular in England and France, where it would be played indoors so the ball could bounce off of the walls. During the 18th and 19th century, however, the popularity of tennis declined. Then in 1873 a British army officer patented a similar game for his guests and started to send out sets of playing equipment. This is believed to be the start of the popularity of tennis. It also started to become more popular in France again and some of the current major tennis competitions were founded around that time.

Tennis has been part of the Olympic Games since 1988, but it has been an Olympic sport before that. It was introduced to the Games in 1896 and stayed one of the sports up until 1924, after which it was reintroduced as a demonstration sport in 1984 which lead up to its comeback to the Olympics. There are 4 major tennis events known as the Grand Slam tournaments, two of which are held in Europe: the French Open, which is played on red clay courts in Paris, and The Championships, Wimbledon, which is instead played on grass courts in London. As noted before these tournaments have been around for a while: the French Open was founded in 1891 while Wimbledon was first introduced in 1877, 4 years after tennis became the sport we know today, and is thus the oldest tennis competition yet. The French Open is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tournament because of the slower-playing red clay surface and the men’s five set matches without a tiebreak, meaning the match could theoretically go on indefinitely. Meanwhile Wimbledon is more

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known for its traditions, such as the spectators eating strawberries with cream during the matches and the players having a strict dress code.

Tennis has mainly been part of the European culture as a leisure activity, at first only for the elite but later on for the rest of the people too. Although tennis itself did not change the course of history significantly, one tennis court did. When King Louis XVI closed the conference room in the Palace of Versailles, the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) came together in a jeu de paume-court. All except for one of the 577 members pledged that they would not return home until a new constitution was crafted, based on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which is based on democracy, freedom and the Enlightenment. It is considered to be the second most important event in the French Revolution.

 

Formula 1 is the short name for the ‘’FIA Formula One World Championship’’. The Formula 1 is being seen as the highest division of car sports. It is the most expensive sport. What makes the Formula 1 stand out from other car sports is that the cars aren’t identical. This means that the sport doesn’t only require a skilled driver, but also a good car. The Formula 1 cars nowadays can reach speeds of approximately 300 kilometers per hour. A Formula 1 schedule has multiple races a year, this is called the Grand Prix. At the end of a season all the drivers’ points are added and the one with the most points is considered the winner. Engineers can also win if their team get the most points. In the past almost all circuits were in Europe. This is because most teams are by origin from Europe. Nowadays about half of the races are held in Europe. Originally Formula 1 is from Europe, but at present it is a worldwide sport.

HistoryThe first car races where held in the late 19th century in France. They were held in France because the first cars are designed in France. The cars could only reach a speed of around 30 kilometers per hour, but the distance of the track was about 1200 kilometers. This meant that the races could last as long as 2 days. The races in France were often held from one city to another city. They drove on normal streets. This caused a lot of accidents. The cars got a lot faster and at the start of the 20th century they started the Grand Prix races. In this period of time the cars could reach speeds of around 160 kilometers per hour. After the second world war they started making a lot of new rules. There were a few rules which meant both drivers and cars had to pass certain requirements. These rules were also known as the Formula, there for the division was called Formula 1. In the 1950’s the first world championship was held in the United Kingdom. This race was won by the Italian, Giuseppe Farani who was driving an Alfa Romeo. In this year there were a total of 7 world championships, 6 of which in Europe ( the race in the United Kingdom included)

In the course of the years a few important chances have been made in the Formula 1 races. Especially the cars had some great improvements. People figured that the engine of the car could perform much better if it was placed in the middle of the car. The English car manufacturer Cooper Car Company

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Formula 1

Skiing

invented the idea to place the engine in the middle. At first people thought it wasn’t a clever idea, but when the Australian driver Jack Braham became champion in the years 1959, 1960 and 1966, whilst having his engine in the middle of the car the people quickly changed their minds. Within weeks all cars in the Formula 1 had their engines in the middle of the car.The aerodynamics also became more important. Spoilers were mounted onto on the cars, which gave the car a downward pressure.In 1977 this technique was stepped up a little bit. The first ‘’wing car’’ was created. The principle of the car was that it had a kind of wings at the back of the car, just like an airplane, but turned around. This caused the car to be pushed against the ground which allowed it to reach greater speeds and take turns a lot faster. The only problem was that the car needed good suspension which wasn’t always as easy as expected.

There are also a lot of new rules invented. Nowadays Formula 1 races are very different in terms of rules than the races from a few decades ago. For example before 2002 Team Orders were legal. This meant that one racer lets another racer from the same team catch up with him. There were also some new rules involving the tires of cars, the way of scoring and the engines of the cars. In 2005 there was a so called ‘’tire war’’ between Bridgestone and Michelin, two tire suppliers. This caused unsafe situations in races and caused that in the Grand Prix of the USA only three teams could start the race. These three teams all had tires from Bridgestone. In 2007 the ‘’war’’ stopped because Michelin stopped supplying tires.

Michael SchumacherThe German Michael Schumacher, along with Ferarri, broke many records. Together they’ve won 5 drivers titles and 6 engineers titles in the years 1999 until 2004. Michael Schumacher also broke many records, of which; most world championships, most victories and most victories in a season. When in 2005 the Spanish Fernando Alonso became the youngest world champion, Schumacher stopped racing in the Formula 1. He made a brief comeback in 2010 with Mercedes, but hung up his racing boots for good in 2012.

Skiing is a typical European sport, many great skiers come from our alpine region, or are from the Scandinavian Highlands. Also there is no doubt that skiing as a sport is dominated by us Europeans, but where did it originate?

Our modern form of skiing comes from Norway, where it was first recreationally practiced. But before their recreational use skiing was often used as a primary method of transportation in the snowy region. The oldest pair of ski’s ever found were found in Russia and date back to 5000 B.C.

Only in the nineteenth century, with the rise of the Industrial revolution, did people start skiing recreationally. There were even special resorts and villages

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constructed to accommodate the growing industry. 1849 saw the first official ski tour being held in Trondheim, Norway. And with the invention of the locomotive train villages high up on mountains became more easily accessible. 1901 saw the first skiing in higher mountains in the Pyrenean mountains in France. And with the introduction of a pull-elevator, in 1901, and later a chairlift, skiing went through a revolutionary change.

Before lifts were introduced to skiing, the best method to practice the sport was the Nordic method. This method implies that only the tip of the foot is connected to the skis, this method can be found in what is now called; “cross-country skiing”. But it was found that this method was less suitable for the steeper descents, which were usually found in the alpine region. So with this change came the introduction of the alpine-ski method, this implies that the entire foot is connected to the ski, and is more suitable for the steeper alpine descents.

In the meantime alpine skiing has become the dominant method of skiing all over the world. But this does not mean that the Nordic method is not used anymore. The contrary is true, as modern skiing can be divided into two main categories, namely, Nordic, and Alpine skiing. Alpine skiing covers a number of events, and so does Nordic skiing. The most prominent alpine event is the Descent. In this event skiers try to finish a pre-set track with a lot of jumps, and with very few turns in as fast a time as possible.

The slalom is quite the opposite of the descent, as it incorporates a great number of turns as skiers have to navigate between poles. Thus this is the most technical event in all of skiing. A variant on the regular slalom is the giant slalom. This is a longer version of the regular slalom, and also incorporates less sharp turns.

The last Alpine event is the Super G, this event is basically a larger variant of the descent and incorporates more turns.

The second main category is Nordic Skiing. The most practiced event in this category is cross-country. On Nordic skis a track has to be traversed. This track is much less steep than an alpine track. There are also a bunch of sub-categories within this evet, depending on if the skiers start at the same time, or one after the other.

Ski jumping speaks for itself, participants jump off a ramp and try to jump as far as possible. Also within this event there are different sub-categories. Namely a 90 and 120 meter variant, these are categorized for the distance usually jumped on them.

A biathlon is a lot like cross-country skiing, but there is one major difference. Biathlons are skid with a hunting rifle, with this rifle participants have to traverse a track an at designated positions shoot targets. In this event accuracy and speed play a big part.

The last event within Nordic skiing is telemarking. Telemarking could be described as a kind of mix between Alpine and Nordic skiing. In this event participants use their Nordic ski’s to descend an alpine slope.

There are thousands of kilometers of ski piste in Europe. Not only was the ski invented here, but it was also developed and perfected here. And not to mention

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Cycling

the domination of European athletes within the sport. But skiing is more than just a sport. It is a part of our culture. People who go on winter sports vacations, visit “après ski” bars. Skiing only has slight differences within different European countries, so skiing unites us as Europeans. Wherever you go, you will have a similar experience, always a good one, and that makes skiing European.

The bicycle, an immensely popular method of transportation used by people across the globe daily. Since the bicycle was invented dozens of variations have emerged: the tandem, the cycling bicycle, the tricycle, the recumbent bicycle, the cross-country, or BMX bicycle, the electric powered bicycle, and many more. The invention of the bicycle had a great impact in many different regions. The very first bicycle came from Europe.

The History of the bicycleOur modern version of the bicycle, is hugely different from the first bicycle ever invented. Our modern bicycle was invented by the Englishman John Kemp Starley. He called his invention the safety bicycle. The safety bicycle was the result of many improvements on previous versions of the bicycle over the years.

In 1817 the German, Karl von Drais developed the predecessor to the bicycle; the push-bicycle. As the name suggests this bicycle was not equipped with pedals, it also lacked brakes. A number of years later the “Macmiller” was designed. This was the first bicycle with a mechanical drive system. But this bicycle was not found safe by the public. In reaction to the Public’s outcry the tricycle was invented by Max Miller in 1860. This bicycle was safer, but at the same time heavier, this was less than optimal. In 1861 came the invention of the pedal. And seven years later the world-famous “High bi” emerged. This is the bicycle with the characteristic large front wheel and the small back wheel. The pedals were attached to the front wheel and thus the bicyclist had to pedal as fast as the wheel was rotating. We would not be able to even start to comprehend such an idea, but because of the large radius of the front wheel, the cyclist could reach great speeds without having to pedal exceedingly fast. But alas, the “High bi” had its issues. It was near-impossible to keep ones balance on the apparatus, and mounting and dismounting was more intense than riding the

bicycle itself.

In 1885 John Kemp

Starley designed the bicycle people still use today; the safety bike. This bicycle was the first to incorporate a chain. But needless to say also this design underwent improvements, but the main idea stayed the same.

The use of bicycles

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The main use of the bicycle is transportation. Especially in countries as the Netherlands, where distances are overall short, almost all roads have a designated bicycle lane and mountains are absent, the bicycle is transporter number one. Transportation is not the only use of bicycles though. Cycling is one of the most popular sports in the world. Amateurs and professional cyclists alike attend hundreds of events each year all around the word. There are many subcategories within cycling, it is even featured in the Olympic games. Among these sub-categories are a multitude of distances, BMX, mountain biking and a plethora of other events.

Tour de France

The most famous cycling event is the Tour de France. The Tour de France is a cycling competition spanning a period of three weeks, that is organised annually. The majority of this event takes place in France. Every year there are a number of stages of the race that take place in neighbouring countries. The cyclists traverse 3500 kilometres in these three weeks. This is about as far as it is from New York City to Las Vegas. The event consists of 21 stages each of which have their own difficulty level (depending on the state the road is in, and if the cyclists have to traverse mountains etc.).

The first edition of the Tour de France was held in 1903. This edition totalled 60 contestants, of which only half finished the Tour. The Tour spanned nineteen days instead of 21, and there were night-stages. The Tour de France has grown immensely in popularity. Around twenty years after the first edition it was decided to incorporate resting-periods and also the dismissal of night-stages was a fact. Since 1975 every edition of the Tour has finished in Paris on the Champs Elysees. Now the tour draws competitors from all over the world along with millions of supporters and spectators.

Because of the extreme amounts of endurance needed to complete the Tour, steroid use is very high. Especially in the mountain stages, which often take over five hours, extreme amounts of energy is needed. Many people say that it is impossible to complete the race without using steroids. In 1966 the first drug tests were introduced. Ever since then multiple cyclists have been caught using steroids.

European Heritage

The bicycle is a part of European heritage which has given the world an entirely new method of transport and new sporting events.

The bicycle, a European invention for the world.

Hockey isn’t just a sport that is played by many people worldwide, it is also a sport that is still growing, even today. Worldwide there are more than 1,5 milliard active hockey players, divided over a number of 127 countries. However, the expectation is that this number will increase during the following years. Although hockey is played by such a high number of people, hockey is still

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Hockey

a sport that isn’t well-known to a lot of the earth’s population. When you tell people that hockey is one of the biggest sports world wide there’s a big chance that they won’t believe you, how come? The most import reason is probably that hockey isn’t a typical ‘television-sport’. Big tournaments and important games are shown on television but the ‘normal’ competition games aren’t shown regularly. One of the reasons that soccer is well-known all around the world is because it’s shown on television a lot, with hockey this isn’t the case (yet).

A lot of people still think of hockey as a sport for the upper-class, that is mostly played by people with lots of money and big houses. If this is correct? Not anymore, it used to be like this many, many years ago but nowadays hockey is played by a variety of people from different cultures. There are even created new forms of hockey such as the popular ‘streethockey’, that is, just as the name already tells, played on the street.

Hockey is particularly popular in Western Europe. Especially in Germany, England, Ireland and the Netherlands, but also in Spain hockey is a very beloved sport. These are also the countries that are dominating in the European tournaments.

HistoryDifferent forms of hockey have existed for thousands of years already. We know that the old Greeks already played a game that looks like hockey. It consisted of playing a ball from one side to the other, using a stick to do so. Also in India was a game that showed great similarities to the one played by the old Greeks. It was only during the Middle Ages that the game was beginning to look like the type of hockey we play nowadays. It was founded in Great Britain and it was called ‘Bandy-on-ice’. De biggest difference between ‘Bandy-on-ice’ and the modern type of hockey is of course that they played in on ice instead of (artificial) grass. This changed when the ‘Bandy-on-ice’ players started to play hockey on grass during the summertime, so that they didn’t have to wait again till it was winter.

The Olympic gamesIn 1908 hockey made his first entrance on the Olympic games, at that time only 6 countries competed against one another. Later in 1924 hockey wasn’t longer on the list of Olympic sports. This happened because there were no international rules, which made it hard for teams of different countries to compete.

There was no doubt about it that hockey would come back to the Olympic games and that’s why the Internation Hockey Federation (FIH) was established. They made new international rules that applied to each country. The establishment of the FIH had become a big success that made it possible that in the Olympic Games of 1928 hockey could be found on the program again.

European Hockey Federation (EHF)The European Hockey Federation was founded in 1969 in Cardiff, Wales. It is the official organisation covering hockey in whole Europe. At this moment the EHF has 43 members, an extremely big number, if you take in mind that Europe contains 51 countries! Next to the EHF there are 4 continental organisations that are similar to it. Together those 5, so called, federations are forming the International Hockey Federation.

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The EHF organizes different international tournaments such as the Euro Hockey League and the European Championship. Besides the organisation of games and tournaments the EHF also see it as their responsibility to make sure that hockey is well-promoted and continues to grow in the future.

Euro Hockey League and EHCCCThe two biggest tournaments organized by the EHF are the Euro Hockey League(EHL) for men and the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (EHCCC) for women.

The Euro Hockey League was first played in 2007. In the EHL 24 club teams from 12 different countries compete against one another. The position on an international priority list determines how many teams each country can send to the EHL. The EHL is partly based on the well-known Champions League and is therefore seen as the Champions League from the hockey sport.In the EHL was experimented with a large number of cameras for the first time ever. This seemed to be a great success, the viewers at home could now feel the same tension and excitement that the players felt on the field. The goal is the win even more hockey fans in the future by using better and more cameras during the games.

De EuroHockey Club Champions Cup is similar to the EHL, the only big difference is that the EHCCC is for women instead of men. Since 2010 there are 12 contestants participating in the EHCCC, earlier there were only 8 teams competing. Countries with a lot of good hockey teams can send 2 teams now.

European ChampionshipEvery two years the European Championships take place, this applies for both women and men. In 1970 the first European Championship for men was held, for women this only came in 1984. The favourites for the title with the men are: Germany, Spain, England and the Netherlands. With the women the title candidates are: Germany, England and the Netherlands.

Hockey, European herritage?Even though there is a small group of countries that dominates on the international tournaments, the sport is also growing in the other countries. With having 43 countries that are member of the EHF, hockey is one of the bigger sports in Europe. Thanks to the improved number of cameras and more broadcasting time it won’t take long till hockey will also grow to be one of the bigger sports in Eastern and Southern European countries. Because of the different international tournaments organized by the EHF, European countries get in contact with one another. The EHF doesn’t only organizes tournaments and games for senior players but also for juniors, and because of this, young hockey players get the opportunity to come in contact with people from other European countries.

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Cricket

Cricket is a very popular sport mostly within the British Commonwealth. These are the countries that used to be colonies of the United Kingdom. The UK is also where the sport was invented. Around 1600 the first draft of the sport was founded. There are several theories of where cricket actually came from. Some say the English took it over from the French after the hundred year war. Others say it originates from the Flanders because of a recently found poem named ‘kings of crekettes’ written in 1533. Despite of these founding most people consider cricket to be an English sport. In the 18th century cricket was popular in the elite of the English people but they had to share the field with lower classes. This was not appreciated because it would ruin the field. Thomas Lord then founded the first cricket club in 1787: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). They also wrote down the first official rules of the game and these rules are still used today. Later on MCC moved to Lord’s Cricket Ground in St. Johns Wood. Lord’s Cricket Ground now has the nickname ‘The Home of Cricket’.

Lord’s Cricket GroundMCC’s playing field is Lord’s Cricket Ground (short Lord’s) and also the home of important cricket associations in the UK: ECB (England and Wales) and the ECC (Europe). Two other fields had the name Lord’s before the current one. In 1787 when Thomas Lord founded MCC they played on Dorset Square in Marylebone. This field was mostly used for the annual cricket game between the two London schools Eton and Harrow. In 1810 they moved to a park but in 1814 they had to leave and found today’s Lord’s. At Lord’s you can also find the oldest sports museum in history: the MCC museum. This museum has been collecting cricket items since 1864. One of the most valuable ones is the Ashes urn.

The Ashes urnThis prestigious cup, or actually urn, represents the first ever international match between England and Australia. The first game took place in 1880 in England. MCC has played Australian teams before but these games weren’t taken seriously. The English felt above those ‘insignificant colonials’. It took the Australians a lot of effort to organize a serious game against the English. At Kennington Oval the English barely won against the Australians. Even though the loss the Australians certainly made their mark. In 1882 the Australians finally won and the Sporting Times declared the death of English cricket. The body was cremated and taken to Australia in an urn. Later England travelled to Australia and won to take back the urn. This urn lived on as the Ashes. These days is a win for England very rare. In 2005 was the first win since 1987.

World ChampionshipsLike every other sport there are also cricket world championships. These take place every 4 years and the first edition was held in England in 1975. West-India won the title then. Overall Australia has the most wins (5 times). West-India and India take place 2 with both 2 titles and Pakistan and Sri Lanka both won once. Notice that England, the ‘founder’ of cricket, has never won.

European heritageEven though cricket is not the most popular sport in all of Europe it still has had an impact on European culture. Many Europeans love to watch the game over

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the Ashes. This creates a feeling of unity. It has also created a bond between Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. That’s why we think that the place where it all started should be European heritage. And we don’t mean the Lord’s of now but the muddy and bumpy field they played at the very beginning. That’s where the real history of cricket lays.

The history of ice skatingPeople started ice skating about a century ago. The idea of ice skating already existed longer though. People tried to get quicker over the ice in the prehistory. They did this by gliding over the ice with polished bones of animals which they tied to their feet.

1000 years ago people started to really ice skate. Iron did not exist back then, so they used the bones of animals yet again. But now they did not polish them, but made them sharp. This made the gliding easier and you could move faster. The bones got replaced quickly after the discovery of iron. Ice skating only happened in the Netherlands back then.

The klapskateThe first idea of the klapskate came from the Faculteit der Bewegingswetenschappen at the Amsterdamse Vrije Universiteit. The idea came from Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau. Together with met Gert de Groot, Hans Meester and Wim Schreurs, he built the klapskate in 1980.

The klapskate is different from the normal ice skate, because it is not attached to the iron on both sides. The iron is only attached to the skate at the front with a hinge.

The biggest advantage about the klapskate is the increase of the speed. Normal ice skates get stuck in the ice, and that causes the ice skater to slow down. You do not have that problem with the klapskate, since you can fully stretch your legs. This will not restrict your legs and you can easily slide without slowing down.

Another advantage is the more natural movement, because you are not slowed down by the iron. The body has more relaxation, and that is convenient for long distances, because you get tired way quicker. People were afraid of using the klapskate in the beginning of its existence, since they had the prejudice that your technique got sloppy. After 1996, when the Dutch ladies Tonny de Jong and Carla Zijlstra got good results on their ice skating competition with the klapskate. After this event, there was a massive increase in the use of the klapskate and it became a big rage.

Types of ice skatingThere are a lot of types of ice skating. You can divide these into two categories; competition ice skating and recreational ice skating. Recreational ice skating is about the fun you have and the relaxation. Competition ice skates have a goal that they want to reach. There are a few types of competition ice skating.

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Ice skating

Long distance ice skating has two riders on a 400 meter track. The riders switch sides ever y round. There are a few distances with long distance ice skating; 500, 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000 and 10000 meter. You also have team chasing, which means that two teams consisting out of three or four riders, are competing against each other.

Marathon ice skating is a competition with a minimum of 25 rounds and a maximum of 250 rounds. The rounds take place on a normal 400 meter track.

Competitions of 140 (for females) and 150 (for men) meter is short distance ice skating. This type of ice skating has to take place on a straight track, but that is not possible on artificial ice. There are special tracks for these particular type of ice skating, but men prefers short track.

Short track is the most popular type of ice skating. Four up to six ice skaters compete next to each other on an ice hockey track. Distances are 500, 1000 and 1500 meter. Short track is mainly known due the overtaking, whereby ice skates put their hand on the ice.

Figure skatingA whole different type of ice skating is figure skating. It is all about movements, jumps and other tricks. A series of these elements is called a ‘kür’. A kür is accompanied by music, to make it a whole performance. Figure skating is very gracious, and can be done by soloists, duos and groups.

ElfstedentochtThe Elfstedentocht is typically Dutch. It is a journey of 200 kilometres on nature ice. The road consists of eleven cities, where they ice skate through. The journey can only take place if the ice is thick enough. The Elfstedentocht has took place 15 times ever since 1909. The last time was in 1997.

European heritage?Ice skating has always been something that mostly took place in the Netherlands, so we do not think it has that much of a meaning to the connection of Europe. Most European countries are not made for ice skating, so not many people do it. So that is why ice skating does not stand on one of the higher places in our European cultural heritage rank.

The 1936 Olympic games

The Olympic games of Berlin in 1936 were featured by pro-Nazi propaganda. Even though Hitler followed the rules the IOC posed on him and did not deliver any speeches during the event, flags with Swastikas on them were present in great numbers, waving proudly outside the “Olympia” stadium. Also the German government made anabolic steroids and testosterone readily available for her athletes so as to improve their results in the games. This was done to convey the image that the Arian race was superior to all other races, and thus was in fact an act of propaganda. Not only did the Nazis want to show their superiority on a physical level. They were also quite eager to show their superiority through their engineering and technological advances. The “Olympia” stadium is a prime

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The Olympic games of 1936 and 1972

example of this fact. Back then it seated 100.000 making it one of the largest stadia in the world. Next to it the Olympic baths were built, which seated 20.000.

What was the importance of these games?

One important thing to note is that Berlin was chosen to host the 1936 games in 1931, so this was before the Nazis rose to power in 1933. After this happened there were movements to relocate this edition of the games to another city, and even to boycott it, but the president of the U.S. Olympic committee condemned these actions, and he was backed by the vice-president of the IOC. These were the first Olympics to be broadcasted on live television, probably also for propaganda purposes, and yet these games did unite Europe in a way, as these were the first games to have lit the Olympic flame with a torch that came from Olympia, Greece. This represents the common European heritage we have.

What were the highlights of this edition of the games?

Well, first off there is no talking about the Olympic games of 1936 without talking about Jesse Owens’ victory streak. Even though he is not a European athlete this is something that should be discussed as he beat the German athletes even though they were using steroids, completely debunking Hitler’s theory about the superiority of the Arian race, embarrassing Hitler. All in all, these games were an important, but dark chapter in European history.

The 1972 Olympic games.

Ironically the motto of this edition of the games was: “The happy games”. This is the case because this edition of the Olympics was mainly featured by the kidnapping and killing of 11 Israeli athletes, officials, and coaches by members of the Palestinian terror group; “Black September”.

The Munich Massacre.

On the night of 4 and 5 September, 11 Israeli athletes, officials, and coaches were taken hostage in their apartment in the Olympic village. At around four thirty in the morning their apartment was broken into by 8 members of the terror group known as; “Black September”, using keys they had stolen, the men entered the apartment. They were dressed in black suits and armed with rifles and grenades. They killed two hostages while still in the apartment. They demanded the release and free passage of 234 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons to Egypt. But the Israeli Prime-Minister at the time was not going to give in to their demands, so the only option was to free the prisoners by using violence. It was decided to ambush the terrorists at the Munich airport with the aid of snipers. This rescue attempt failed. All eleven of the hostages were eventually killed, along with one German policeman. Five of the eight terrorists were also killed at the scene, but they were not in German custody for long as they were released after the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight 53 days later. Israeli Intelligence has eliminated two of the released terrorists. The last one is still out in the world.

The importance of these games.

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The most important part of these games was the presence of a joint feeling against acts of terror. Apart from some Arabic countries, which protested their flags being hung half-mast in remembrance of the victims of the massacre, all other participating countries joined in, and the differences between West and East were momentarily put aside for common grief. Eventually the Olympic committee decided to continue the games despite protests from the Israeli’s.

Handball is one of the most popular sports in Europe. It is often being compared to football. A lot of people say things like: ‘’Handball is the same as football, except you use your hands instead of your feet’’, but that isn’t true at all. Both the history as well as the rules and the ball that is being used are very different than the ones used in football. Soon there will be an European Championship handball, so it’s good to know some more about it.

General InformationWhen playing handball, there are two teams. The target of both teams is to score against the other team by throwing the ball in their goal. Each team has one keeper and six field players. The field players can move everywhere in the 40 by 20 meter large field. However, there are two exceptions. Around the two goals from the two teams, there are areas that are outlined by a semicircle. This semicircle has a diameter of 6 meters. This area is called the goal area. The keeper can move around freely in this circle, but field players cannot enter this area. Entering does in this situation mean touching the floor within the circle. So if the ball passes the line and a player jumps and throws the ball before touching the ground, it isn’t a foul because he hasn’t touched the area within the circle.Officially a handball match consists of two halves, both half an hour, with a short break between the two halves. The winning team is the team that has the most points after the two halves are played. The time of a game depends on your age. Small children only play half an hour in total. But except for the differences in time you also have differences in the way the game is played. The handball many of us know is called ‘’hall handball’’, this is played in a closed room. You also have field handball (which is outside on a pitch) and beach handball (played on the beach). In the USA there is a sport called American Handball, but that’s just a completely different game.

HistoryThe game that people nowadays consider as the game Handball, is the finished product of century long throw and catch-games that developed through the years. Originally handball is invented in Europe. Just like most European inventions, you have to go back to the times of the Greeks and the Romans. They lived in the areas that are nowadays called Greece and Italy. In that time they already had ballgames that showed a lot of similarities with the nowadays handball. There are also some mosaics from that period of time which shows people playing with a ball.The enthusiasm for catch games kept living in the Middle Ages. But the moment that people really started to see similarities with handball nowadays, lays a few thousand years further. In the transition from the 19th century to the 20th

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Handball

century, there were games created with as rule: throwing the ball in the opponents goal.The first game that showed clear similarities with Handball, was a game invented by Holger Nielson, a Danish teacher, in 1906. He invented a game where you must throw the ball in the opposite goal. It wasn’t allowed to hold the ball in your hands for more than three seconds or to walk with the ball in your hands. In 1917 a new game was invented and was called: Handball. The Berliner Max Heise invented this game, but he thought it was only good to be played by women, because women couldn’t play football so they could play handball. A couple of years later the people thought it was important to let men also play the game. They made a few changes. The ball got smaller, which made it easier to hold and to throw with more power. The rules of the game also changed a lot. From 1928 until now handball is seen as a Olympic Discipline.

European HeritageHandball is a sport which is in the meantime played around the world and its roots lay, as was told earlier, in Europe. Over a time of more than thousand years, using the cooperation of many cultures in Europe, the sport became what it is today: a sport for everyone, big or small, men or women, Made in Europe.

Table tennis is not only extremely popular in China but this sport popularity is still growing in Europe. Table tennis has found itself a solid place at number 6 of most popular sports in the world. Mainly because of the huge fan base in China, who adore this game. Its estimated that Worldwide this game has around 850 million fans. Table tennis is a sport where two or four people hit a small light hollow ball with a bat back and forth on a table with a net in between. The goal of this game is to hit the ball over the net on the tableside of your opponent, in such a way the opponent hits the ball incorrectly or not at all.Table tennis was played for the first time in England in the 19th century with improvised gear by the noblemen. Books would serve as a net on the table and two more books would be used as bats by the players. Some sources tell this game was played by British military while stationed in India and South Africa and later brought back to England. The name “ping-pong” was already used often to refer to this sport. But later it was mainly used to refer to the rather expensive equipment, which was designed by the Parker Brothers. After this invention the sport continued to grow. Around 1930 the sport was popular among the Chinese communist. In this same time period there was a declining popularity in the former Soviet-Union based on the theory that the sport had disadvantageous health effects for the human.

IFFT

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Table tennis

The International Table Tennis Federation was founded in 1926. This organisation was established by nine countries together: Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, India, Sweden, Wales and Czechoslovakia. It’s the duty of the ITTF to ensure that the rules will be applied by people and to seek for improvements for the sport. One example was the increment of the game balls to increase the air resistance, which would cause the game to slow down to make it easier for spectators to follow. Furthermore the organization is responsible to organize a number of international events each year.The first international event ever was held in 1926 Berlin, thereafter in the same year was the first edition of the World Table Tennis Championship in London. In 1993 the IFFT introduced IFFT Hall of Fame to the world. Since the introduction a few people will be added to this list every two year. It’s mostly the players with five world or Olympic titles who make itself eligible for this list. But once in a while there’s an exception. The first president of the IFFT for example and the American player James McClure who “only” won 3 world titles.

ETTU

The European Table Tennis Union is the organisation which represents Europe in the IFFT. The idea to form an organization for table tennis in Europe happened in 1956 in Tokyo.One year later this idea became reality when the ETTU was established by 17 members. Among those members was East Germany, West Germany and the Netherlands. With the Frenchman Jean Belot as the first president. As of today the this organization consists of 56 members. The ETTU is responsible for organising important competitions for players, countries and clubs throughout Europe and also for maintaining the ranking list for all the European players. One of the most important competition is the European Table Tennis Championship. All the countries which are affiliated with the ETTU can participate each year and play for the golden medal. The list of the winners of this competition is led by Sweden and for the women it’s Hungary who’s first.

World Championships

Table tennis also has a world championship just like any other sport. This event is organised by the IFFT and takes place since 1957 and it’s held every two years. But in 1999 it was changed by the IFFT and this tournament was held every year. This tournament is divide into five categories. Men and women single, man and women double and mixed double. It’s very noticeable that the winners of this tournament are the Chinese since the participation of the country. Before this time period the Hungarian were very dominant.

European Heritage

Personally I think that table tennis had its value for Europe. The sport which originally came from England has created a connection between Europe and Asian countries.When a cultural heritage is or was important for the European culture and/or history it can be included in the list for European heritage. But in my opinion this sport doesn’t fit in the list or at least not at the top of the list. There are a few sports which had a greater impact on the culture and history of Europe than table tennis.

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HistoryGoing back to the very beginning of rowing, takes us to the Egyptians. They used a sort of rowing boats as a means for transport. Naturally the Egyptians were not the only ones, also the Romans and the Vikings recognised the use of rowing boats. All this changed with the emergence of the faster sailing ships and the rowing boat disappeared for a long time as a means of transport.

Modern rowing originates in England, in the 15th century to be precise. It is hard to imagine, but in those days there were almost no bridges in London. So it was very difficult to get from one side of town to the other. Luckily the English found a solution. There were many ferries operated by rowers (also called “watermen”). They transported people from one side to the other. These “watermen” started to organise boat races and slowly people began to see rowing as a sport instead of a means of transport.

The first official rowing competition dates, as far as we know from the year 1716.

The boat race.The boat race is perhaps the most well-known rowing spectacle in the world. The boat race is the yearly race between teams of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

The first race was in 1929 after the two friends Charles Merivale (studying in Cambridge) and Charles Wordsworth (studying in Oxford) challenged each other. Eight rowers and a steersman had to make out who was fastest on the Thames over a distance of 7 kilometres. Up until now Oxford won 81 times and Cambridge 79 times, only once the race ended in a draw. So each year it is very exciting who will be victorious. There is not a big prize to be earned, but the winner gets a trophy and off course eternal glory.

Olympic GamesRowing and Olympic Games are a good match. Only during the very first summer games rowing was on the programme, from 1900 on rowing is an integral part of the Olympics. On the games of 1976 women participated for the first time in rowing, before that time rowing was an Olympic sport for men only.

On the Olympics there are different rowing disciplines. Not only individual rowing (Skiff) but also rowing in teams of different sizes and the presence of a steersman.

European rowing championships.The European rowing championships were organised for the first time in 1893. This was exactly one year after the foundation of the FISA, the international rowing federation. FISA is the oldest Olympic sports federation in the world! Starting in 1893 the European championships were organised each year until they were replaced by the World championships in 1962.

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Rowing

In 2006 FISA decided that besides World championships also European championships should be organised. In 2007, for the first time since 1962, a European championship was organised.

Successful countries on European championships are amongst others: Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, France, Romania and Greece. A wide variety of countries, spread all over Europe.

European Universities Rowing Championship.Apart from “the boat race” lots of other races and tournaments between universities are organised. Without a doubt the European University Games are the biggest event because it includes more than 10 different sports. For rowing the European Universities Rowing Championship is the biggest European event.

The European Universities Rowing Championship was organised for the first time in 2005. Universities from all over Europe could participate. The event was from the start on a big success and organised each year in a different University town. The organisation has witnessed a steady growth in the number of countries, universities and participants.

In 2012 the organisation of the European Universities Rowing Championship has changed, from that moment on the championships were to be organised every second year instead of each year. In 2012 the European University Sports Organisation (EUSA) for the first time organised the “European University Games. In this multi-sport event more than 10 different sports are represented, including rowing. All countries that are members of the EUSA, 43 at the moment, were invited to participate.

So now in the even years (2012, 2014, 2016) the European University Games are being held and in the odd years the championships of each of the different sports are organised, like the European Universities Rowing Championship.

Rowing, a European heritage?The modern form of rowing first originated in Europe in Great Britain, this gives the sport a European flavor. Furthermore, many events are organised, not only the European Championships but also races between universities. You can say that the sport unites different countries. Because rowing is a very popular sport among students, young people have the opportunities for international contacts. What is very nice about rowing is that it is practiced in almost every country in every part of Europe.

Korfball is compared to a lot of other sports relatively unknown. Korball is a teamgame with teams consisting of 8 women in each team. Or a team consisting of 4 women and 4 men. Noticeable is that there is still existence of a complete team of 8 men. This sport is mainly popular in the Netherlands and Belgium, but out of Europe this sport has also found itself a big fan base in Taiwan. The popularity in the Netherlands isn’t a surprise since the sport has a Dutch origin. Nico Broekhuysen, a Dutch gymnastic teacher, was send to Nääs, a town in Sweden, to follow an educational course on teaching gymnastics in 1902.

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Korfball

While he was in Nääs he picked up a new sport, called “ringboll”. The goal of this game was to score points, by throwing a ball through a ring, which was attached to a 3 meter high pole. Broekhuysen was so inspired by this game. He started to teach his students a similar game when he was back in Amsterdam.However the game which he taught to his students wasn’t exactly the ringboll he saw in Sweden. He swapped the ring for a basket (which means “korf” in Dutch), this is also were the sport got its name from. Using a basket made it easier for people to see whether it was a goal or not. After swapping some materials he also simplified some rules of the game, which made it easier to teach the game to children. Around 30 years after the creation of this game, the International Korfball Federation was created in 1933. With Nico Broekhuysen, the founder of Korfball, as president.

Criticism

Short after the introduction of Korfball a lot of controversy arose between people.This was mainly caused by teams which consisted of mixed genders. In that time the women empowerment was still ongoing with Aletta Jacobs in the Netherlands. A women of that time didn’t have the same rights and place in the society as of today. This mixed sport caused journalist to back of and not paying the slightest attention to this new sport. Players of this game were generally seen as immoral by the society. And even the clothing of the female players were criticised, cause of the exposed ankles and knees. A newspaper in that time even wrote: “Korfball is a monster that spreads its claws to all sides". Yet did Korfball appear as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in 1920 and 1928. Despite the bold initiative and all the criticism this sport had to endure, this sport still developed and spread around the world. As of today around 70 countries play this sport. Men and women both have the same rights and place in this game. This led to the enthusiasm the players show when playing this game.

IKF

The International Korfball Federation was established in 1933 in Antwerpen.The main goal of the IKF is to spread the popularity of the sport around the world and to increase the level of play in the IKF affiliated countries. With financial, material and structural support, through the five continental federations, the IKF hopes to accomplish this goal. Over the years the network of the IKF grew substantially.With this massive network they try to organise exchange programs, with players and coaches to spread the knowledge and experience. Hereby the IKF hopes to create stability in local organisations in the IKF affiliated countries. IKF World Korfball Championship

The IKF World Korball Championship is the biggest international korfball competition, where members of the IKF compete against each other. This competition is held once every four years since 1978. The current world champion is the Netherlands, who won the IKF World Korfball Championship 2015 against Belgium. Nowadays the format consist of 16 teams who compete for the title in the stadiums of the host country. The nine competitions so far were won by only two

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Rugby

countries. The Netherlands took eight titles and were only beaten once in 1991 by the Belgians.

Olympic Games

Despite the sport has been around for more than an age and being demonstrated twice at the Olympic Games . Yet korfball hasn’t been recognised as an Olympic game by the International Olympic Committee.This Committee has recently proposed to promote the mixed gender game. In theory korfball should make its debut in the Olympic Games in 2024. But the IKF aims for the Games in 2028 since that’s more realistic.For some people it might sound strange that korfball still isn’t recognised, but this has to do with the popularity. Since some countries don’t play this game its commonly not accepted as a world sport. So this might be the reason that korfball isn’t an Olympic game yet.

European Heritage

Korfball as a mixed gender sport has made its statement in the Netherlands. It supported the women in the women empowerment back in the days. However this sport didn’t have such great importance and influence in the European culture and history. This is why I think this sport doesn’t earn a spot on the European heritage list.

The sport that is widely known as rugby is actually called rugby union, which is slightly different from another type, namely rugby league. The rules for rugby differ a bit between rugby union and rugby league, but there are some things that are equal between both of them. One of the main similarities is that the ball cannot be passed forward to another player and can thus only be carried or kicked towards the opposing team’s side of the field, but league is more fast-paced than union is and is also more focused on tries. A try means that you push the ball into the ground behind the opponents’ poles, which is the most important way to score points in both forms of rugby, which awards the team that scored the try with 5 points in league and 4 points in union. The ball can also be kicked between and above the poles at the opponent’s side to score 1 point in league and 3 points in union. Rugby balls have an iconic diamond-like shape which is designed for better passes. They were originally made from leather and pig bladders, while nowadays they are mostly made out of synthetic materials. Although they look very similar, the union’s ball is slightly bigger and heavier than the ball used in league.

Rugby has bigger teams than sports like football and basketball, but league teams have 13 while union teams have 15, excluding reserve players. The name rugby comes from the capital of the central-laying district of Warwickshire in England, Rugby. Supposedly someone broke the rules during a regular football match at Rugby School by picking up the ball and running away in 1823 and thus ‘invented’ a new sport. The sport spread to universities because of students teaching others the rules of rugby. In 1871 the first international match was played, between England and Scotland, and other now well-known rugby

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countries like New Zealand joined the competition and were way more succesfull than expected.

Rugby union and rugby league officially split in 1895 and both became more and more popular, especially union. Rugby was even included in the Olympic Games four times during the early 20th century, but stopped after that. Meanwhile more and more major tournaments were founded and growing, even outside the United Kingdom where it all started. The tournaments in Great Britain still remained the most major tournaments where it also was much more popular than in the other countries. Nowadays even though rugby is not as popular as football for example, nearly all countries, except for the most of Africa, are a member of the official associations and have a professional team that competes in a major tournament. Every continent has its own competition and the national teams may compete in the Rugby World Cup, which has been held 8 times as of 2015 with intervals of four years. It has mainly been countries on the Southern Hemosphere who have won, with the exception of England which has won once.

While some think that American football is (almost) the same as rugby, it originally started out as a mix between rugby and football, played with teams of 25 each. Nowadays it looks a lot more like rugby, but some inspirations from football can still be seen in the rules and ways of playing the game. The ball used was round and could not be carried like in football, but it may be brought forward using any body part like in rugby. In the current form the ball is almost the same as the one found in rugby league. The teams are also composed of 11 players like in football and points can be scored by making a try, only it is called a ‘touchdown’ in American football instead. The field is similar to that of rugby but the equipment is slightly different: besides the ‘normal’ equipment such as a shirt and special shoes, American football players also wear shoulderpads, kneepads and thighpads and have a special, iconic helmet.

Some claim that the Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event worldwide, but this has yet to be confirmed. It is, however, still a popular sport in the United Kingdom and its former colonies and some other countries in Europe. The Six Nations Championship is composed of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and France and is the most important championship in Europe. Outside of those countries rugby is not that popular, but it has had a big influence on the United States of America, in the form of American football, which is by far the most popular sport there and is for some a very important part of the American culture.

 

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