Sport

SPORT (Eng.: game, amusement), in everyday life, an activity associated with competition, enthusiasm, and passion. In physical culture, S. is one of the most important components, covering very diverse physical exercises that often require maximum tension and achieving a certain degree of perfection within a specific time. Soviet S. sees these tasks not only in achieving some narrow goal leading to specialization and one-sided development of various qualities useful for this achievement ("recordism"), but the main objective is set in the comprehensive development of the active builder of socialism. Strengthening health and cultivating psychomotor qualities that prepare for work in the broad sense and for defense - this task in the USSR is also fulfilled by S. The method for achieving the set goal serves to a large extent competition. Competition in S. increases activity, brings the forces of the competitors to maximum tension, yields results with great difficulty achieved by ordinary means; here excitement - emotions that raise mood and efficiency operate. The collectivism of S., its disciplinary influence, closeness to nature, favorable hygienic moments (clean air, measured movements, proper regimen) excellently tone up a person and favorably influence his development. All these reactions to a given stimulus can be verified by various methods of medical-pedagogical control, and therefore this or that type of S. can be rationalized and subject to proper comprehensive evaluation. In addition, the choice of S. should not be made randomly, but in accordance with individual inclinations and abilities. Thanks to a successful choice of S., those motor qualities which for a long time remained at a lower stage of development can be equalized. Finally, the applied value of many types of S. is also indisputable (shooting, walking, running, swimming, rowing, skiing, etc.). S. consists mainly of natural exercises taken directly from life. (running, wrestling, swimming, rowing, etc.), but performed with greater intensity than under ordinary conditions, and therefore giving in a comparatively shorter time a much greater load on the organism. S. includes light athletics (running, jumping, throwing), heavy athletics (weightlifting, wrestling, boxing), water S. (rowing, swimming), winter S. (skiing, skating), motor sports, cycling, horseback riding, etc. By seasons, S. is divided into 1) summer and 2) winter. S. games (football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, hockey, etc.) can also be classified as S. S. games, possessing all the properties of mobile games, are distinguished by more complex and precise rules, greater psycho-physiological load on the organism and a distinctly expressed competitive character. S. games are mostly of a team nature and are associated with running and fast movements that develop the entire organism and its psycho-physical qualities. Therefore, properly applied S. games are an excellent educational and educational means, developing skills of collective human behavior. S. also includes so-called S. amusements (e.g., skiing, skating, etc.), i.e., S. exercises without precise technical execution, in which the competitive moment recedes to the background, for which reason they are recommended for children and adolescents. The main distinctive feature of S. exercises is competition (Eng. "match"), the struggle for victory with an opponent or competitor, the striving to achieve the best result (record). Even when there is no opponent present, the person engaged in S. competes with himself, with his achievements, overcomes dangers, takes risks. Along with strengthening health and physical development, S. thus educates the will qualities necessary for work and combat activities - self-control, endurance, persistence, resourcefulness. An amateur S., not making a profession of S., is called an athlete. A one-sided athlete is a person specializing in any one type of S. A comprehensive athlete (all-rounder) is an amateur S. who does not limit himself to one type, but chooses several that complement each other. In the USSR now the word athlete, as associated with the bourgeois understanding of S., its recordism and championship, is often replaced by the word master (athlete of the highest category), e.g., master in boxing, master in skiing, etc. A master must be an athlete who has achieved high physical achievements on the basis of previous general physical preparation and systematic, long-term training. In giving the highest achievements, a master in this or that type of sport, unlike the bourgeois record-holder and champion, does not act to the detriment of his health, but precisely measures his strength and appears only sufficiently prepared. On the contrary, in bourgeois S. the ideal of every athlete is the record, achieved by any means (by one-sided development, overexertion, etc.). A record is the highest achievement, officially registered by a judging committee on the basis of special rules for record registration and approved by the corresponding official authority. Records of a collective, department, trade union, republic, etc. are distinguished. An achievement exceeding all previously shown results anywhere is called a world (universal) record. A record-holder or champion (champion is a French word equivalent to the English word record-holder, but used mainly in those types of sports where there are no precisely fixed numerical achievements and therefore no records, e.g., wrestling, boxing, tennis, chess, etc.) is any person who has set a new highest achievement. In the bourgeois understanding, the record becomes as it were the highest ideal of the athlete, the goal of all S. activities - Soviet physical culture is not against records in general; on the contrary, the Supreme Council of Physical Culture (VSFC) set the task to catch up and surpass bourgeois countries in the field of S., for which special sports schools are organized, where under medical supervision and through proper training outstanding physical culturists are prepared for the highest achievements. But recordism with all its negative qualities is not encouraged, as it distorts the meaning and significance of Soviet physical culture as a means of health improvement and preparation for work and defense, narrows the interests of a person and detaches him from social life in general and from socially useful work in particular. Competition and the emotions associated with it are inseparable from S. From this point of view, all physical exercises can be given a sports character if an element of competition is introduced into them. Therefore, it would be more correct to speak not of S., but of the sports method, just as of the gymnastic and game method of conducting physical exercises, and not of gymnastics and games. Ordinary gymnastics can be enlivened by introducing a sports element and turn into sports gymnastics. Sports (athletic) gymnastics, i.e., competition in gymnastic exercises (e.g., on apparatus), rather belongs to S. than to gymnastics. Therefore, the division of physical exercises into S., gymnastics and games can be accepted only conditionally, as any classification is in general conditional. Competition (contest) is natural and legitimate, it is the socio-biological basis of S., but it should also be regulated and conducted with the permission of a doctor and under medical supervision. Well-organized competitions, involving a greater or lesser number of participants and spectators, have deep socio-political significance. They unite collectives inspired by a common goal, they organize, discipline, teach to correctly evaluate those moments for which this mass action is carried out, and sanitary education and hygienization play a prominent role here. The political significance of S. and sports competitions is also very great - points of contact of disparate masses significantly increase, and political propaganda within the country when using this method has great success. The proletarian union in the world movement of the proletariat gains much from sports meetings of proletarian athletes. In 1921 in Moscow the Red Sports International-Sportintern (RSI) was organized, uniting revolutionary worker-athletes of the whole world who stand on the platform of class struggle and numbering about 6 million people (including 4 million physical culturists of the USSR). To control the correctness of competitions, maintain discipline, record results, etc., there are special judges (referees, arbitrators), chosen or appointed from authoritative and knowledgeable S. public workers regularly engaged in sports judging. In large competitions several judges participate, one of them is chief. The chief referee (super-arbitrator) resolves all questions and misunderstandings during the competition, can change the order of competition or stop it altogether, exclude a participant from the competition for unworthy behavior, etc.

Referees are united into a refereeing committee under the Council of Physical Culture, which appoints referees to competitions, supervises their activities, and prepares and improves the referees. Additionally, disciplinary committees are established under the Councils of Physical Culture for the purpose of raising discipline, eliminating rudeness, and increasing the authority of refereeing. The disciplinary committee has the right, depending on the severity of the offense, to make a reprimand, give a warning, or disqualify (prohibit from participating in competitions) for a term or permanently. At All-Union competitions, an arbitration committee is organized from representatives of the republics on an equal basis and finally decides on the complaints and protests filed. Competitions are individual, when the result is considered personal, and team (for example, relays), when not individual participants compete, but team against team. Team (collective) competitions in the USSR are given very great importance. In organizational terms, competitions are divided into closed (internal, club) and open (public), off-calendar (not provided for in the season plan) and calendar (planned). By their scale, competitions are divided into factory, all-city, inter-city, republican, and international. Large sports competitions and festivals in the USSR are called Spartakiads (in contrast to bourgeois Olympics, named in memory of the Olympic games of ancient Greece) in honor of Spartacus, leader of Roman gladiators, who led a slave uprising against the oppressors and fell in an unequal battle. The psycho-physiological influence of sports on the human body is determined by its individual types (see Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling, Basketball, Football, etc.). Characteristic and specific for all types of Sport is the mobilization by the organism of all its forces and capabilities for achieving maximum results during competitions. Not only maximum muscular tension is characteristic of competition, but also the emotion with which it is performed. In a state of strong emotion, a person can perform such muscular efforts as he is not capable of at ordinary times. Everyone knows the enormous unexpected strength that is manifested during an affect. As a rule, it is observed that a person runs or rows much better in competition than during ordinary training. Very indicative in this respect is the so-called start fever, which is often observed in athletes before the beginning of competition and is accompanied by the appearance of protein in the urine, even before any muscular tension. Mental excitement can increase blood pressure by 30-40 mm of mercury. 'Affect, emotion can invade the most intimate aspects of tissue exchange, into the depths of protoplasmodynamics, which leads to significant shifts in the work of the circulatory organs' (Zelenin). A more complete mobilization of all the body's resources during competition is possible only with perfect coordination of the activity of all systems and organs of a person, i.e., if intensified muscular activity is accompanied by a corresponding increase in blood supply to the muscles, heart, and brain and the maximum use of the circulatory and respiratory mechanisms of the body as a whole. This is achieved mainly by an increased influx of impulses from higher centers not only to the centers of the medulla oblongata but also to most of the sympathetic system, as a result of which gas exchange is intensified, blood pressure increases, the pulse quickens, and the contractile force of the heart muscle increases (Bainbridge). When work is performed under emotional tension, the high arterial pressure, caused by increased activity of the vasomotor center, improves the blood flow to the muscles, heart, and brain; the intensified and more frequent contractions of the heart, under the influence of impulses, increase the systolic and minute volume of blood and allow to cope with the increased venous inflow associated with intense muscular tension. The simultaneous influx of impulses to the visceral sympathetic system, causing expansion of the coronary vessels and an increased inflow of glucose from the liver into the blood, further contributes to the mobilization of energy resources. According to Cannon, however not shared by all, during strong emotion there is a faster entry of adrenaline into the blood and this contributes to and even replaces the influx of impulses from the brain to the sympathetic nervous system and supplements and intensifies the usual coordinating processes that come into action during work, increasing the functional capacity of the entire organism. The main processes coordinating the work of skeletal muscles with the work of the whole body are: 1) the mechanical action of contracting muscles and the suction action of the chest, improving venous circulation, 2) the increased concentration of H-ions in the blood, especially flowing through the muscles, and 3) the increased influx of impulses from higher centers to the centers of the medulla oblongata and to the muscles. In the physiology of Sport, from the point of view of medical supervision over physical culture, the leading problem is the problem of training and methods of accounting for the trained state of the body. Indications and contraindications to Sport and competitions should be determined not only by taking into account general physical development and health status, but also by taking into account the trained state of the body. The work capacity of organs and the body as a whole, norms and loads are very individual. The rate of onset of fatigue depends mainly on the trained state of the body. Studies of energy expenditure in trained and untrained people show that trained people achieve maximum results with the least expenditure of energy and fatigue occurs much later in them than in untrained people (see Training). The hygiene of Sport is mainly reduced to proper training and a proper regime of work and rest in general. The conditions for engaging in Sport are generally hygienic, since almost all activities, unlike gymnastics, are conducted in the open air. Sanitary-hygienic requirements for individual places for sports activities (grounds, ski stations, skating rinks, swimming schools) are approved by the People's Commissariat of Health and published as a mandatory sanitary minimum. The hygienic regime of an athlete includes elements of personal hygiene, nutrition hygiene, skin hygiene, and clothing hygiene. Nutrition hygiene in our conditions does not have the significance that is attached to it in the West. Nutrition should be sufficient, varied, regular, and contain in addition to proteins, fats, and carbohydrates also vitamins (fruits and vegetables). It is permissible to begin sports exercises only 2-3 hours after a meal. For a training athlete, intensified nutrition (6,000-7,000 calories) is necessary, mainly concentrated food that does not contain much water, fiber, and other ballast substances. The amount of liquids should be limited. During training and competitions, experienced athletes drink very little and often limit themselves only to rinsing the mouth, which eliminates dryness in the mouth and reduces the feeling of thirst. Skin hygiene and its hardening are of great importance for an athlete, since activities are usually performed in almost naked form. The athlete's skin is often subjected to contamination, sports activities are associated with intense sweating; therefore, taking a warm, then cold shower after sports exercises is mandatory. Mechanical damage to the skin (calluses, cracks, abrasions, chafing, etc.) in athletes is also very common; therefore, measures should be taken to some roughening and greater endurance of the skin, which increase after hardening by sun, air, and water and under the influence of training in sports exercises. This is also necessary because such skin reacts well to temperature changes and protects against colds. Good thermoregulation contributes to the economy of strength and facilitates the work of the heart. Clothing for an athlete has significant importance. For summer sports, a minimum of clothing (shorts and undershirt) is recommended. The most rational clothing for winter sports is a woolen sweater, cap, gloves, socks; for men - trousers of woolen cloth; for women - a short woolen skirt and warm pants. Underwear is knitted. In severe frost, it is recommended to wrap the feet in newspaper over the sock; for men to wear a triangle (suspensory) of flannel, suede, or an old woolen sweater over the lower abdomen and genitals. General rule: during exercise, the body should be dressed as lightly as possible; after exercise - warmly. An athlete's footwear should correspond in shape to the foot, be made of soft, flexible leather and in no case be narrow, have lacing. The heel should be wide and low (not more than 1½ cm) and support the entire heel. Individual types of Sport make a number of specific demands on footwear. For example, for some types of athletics, shoes with metal spikes on the sole are used. For football, boots (cleats) with a hard toe and plates on the sole are necessary, etc. Sports exercises often lead to injuries, for which reason a special scientific discipline 'sports traumatology' arises, studying these injuries (sports, harmfulness) for their best treatment and prevention.

Common and typical sports injuries are distinguished. Common sports injuries, caused by similar causes, are also often encountered in everyday life (fractures). Typical sports injuries include, for example, injuries to the elbow joint during throwing, meniscus injuries in football players, muscle strains and tears during running, jumping, etc. Study of the causes of these injuries shows that a significant portion of injuries depends on the improper condition of the sports facilities, defective equipment, and the unpreparedness of the athletes themselves, their fatigue, and sometimes also the roughness of the participants. All this indicates that these injuries can be prevented. Measures taken to prevent sports injuries are called 'safety precautions.' The main preventive measures should be: 1) compliance with all sanitary-hygienic requirements for sports facilities, 2) compliance with training and competition rules, 3) checking the condition of equipment before use, 4) combating roughness in sports, 5) not allowing untrained individuals to compete, 6) use of certain special devices (jockstraps for wrestlers, rubber mouth guards protecting teeth for boxers, knee pads for football players, etc.), 7) support (spotting) by a teammate during equipment competitions. In addition, athletes have a whole range of special, detailed rules, compliance with which reduces sports injuries. For example, we point to the prevention of muscle strains and tears, which is based on the fact that a hard muscle is more prone to tears and strains than a soft one. A muscle becomes hard with chronic overexertion and in cold weather. Therefore, in cold weather, an athlete should start the competition warmly dressed and undress only at the last moment, after massaging (sports massage) the muscles or warming them up with a run. Regardless of preventive measures, first aid and its instruction, as well as self-massage for all athletes, must be organized at all competitions. Passing a minimum in first aid is included in the test complex for the 'Ready for Labor and Defense' badge, first stage, and self-massage is included in the GTO second stage complex. It is the duty of physicians to fully assist in this training (see Physical Culture). Many types of sports require special sports equipment and apparatus (skis, skates, boats, various balls, javelins, discs, grenades, gloves, etc.) (see the respective types of Sports). Defective sports equipment sometimes causes injuries, therefore sports equipment must be inspected before use. - Special facilities are necessary for sports activities: stadiums, grounds (see) (football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, tennis, croquet, etc.), ski stations, water stations, swimming pools, shooting ranges, etc. Sports facilities are built on the basis of special norms and rules approved by the VSFK, and depending on the type of sport, they have their own specific features. The general norm for grounds is 10 m² per participant, for a gymnasium - 4 m². Sports facilities must have auxiliary rooms: dressing rooms (0.8 m² per person dressing, temperature 18°C, natural lighting 1:8, artificial lighting - 10 lux), showers (1 shower head for 2 m², temperature 23°C, lighting 1:10, artificial lighting - 20 lux), a room for the instructor (9 m²) and a room for the doctor (12-24 m²). General requirements for sports facilities: absence of oncoming traffic, no contact between dressed and undressed individuals, isolation of specialized work from mass activities, compliance with the established NKRZdr. sanitary minimum, shortest communication paths between functionally related rooms and areas.

B. Ivorovsky. The sports method should play a prominent role in the mass physical culture movement. The most dosed and well-studied types of sport include athletics (see). Exercises now known as "track and field" (walking, running, jumping, throwing discus and javelin, shot put) were still called "athletic sports" at the end of the 19th century, as they included all the main elements of sport. Competitive walking is conducted over various distances, most commonly 3.5 and 10 km, as well as for time—one hour or more. Tests are conducted for speed and endurance under various loads. They have great military-applied and tourist significance. In the methodology of competitive walking, great importance is attached to: stride length, foot placement, body tilt (stoop march, see Walking) and many other details. Competitive running (see Running). The following types of competitive running are known: 1) short distances (sprint running)—from 50 to 400 m, 2) middle distances—800-1,500 m, 3) long distances (distance running)—over 1,500-10,000 m, 4) marathon running—42.2 km (not permitted in the USSR), 5) cross-country running, 6) hurdle running—on distances from 110 to 400 m, 7) relay running—on short and long distances, and 8) steeplechase. The physiological effect of competitive running, as numerous data from medical control show, greatly depends on the type of competitive running, and success in achievements depends not only on training but also on morphological features of body structure (length of legs and torso, development of chest, development of musculature, etc.). Sprint running over short distances lasts a little more than 10 seconds, and during this time it is necessary to show extraordinarily energetic and rapid work of the muscles; the speed of this reaction is achieved through great tension of the nervous system; as for breathing, it does not have decisive importance, since deep breathing during such a short run is not even beneficial. From a morphological point of view, it is important to have long legs, especially the thighs, which at the start are energetically thrown forward and this moment is often decisive. The reaction to the signal must be instantaneous, without delay in fractions of a second. Sometimes there are excellent sprinters of small stature with relatively short legs, but with extraordinarily clear, even reaction, capable of rapid movements. This gives them a great advantage. In addition to health, strength, and speed of reaction, a sprinter must have good technique. To show maximum speed, he must know how to "take the start," i.e., give the body the most advantageous position at the beginning of the run, in order to push off from the ground in time, maintain speed throughout the distance, give coordinated movement of the hands in relation to the movement of the lower limbs, and in running 200 and 400 m, also master proper breathing. All this must occur automatically, and therefore proper and long training in this run (see Training) is necessary, and a corresponding style (a set of technically correct movements—variants) must be developed. Running 200-400 m is the most tiring and even exhausting, and therefore special vigilance in medical control is needed here, and generally, fast running over such distances can be permitted only to completely healthy, trained, and very enduring people. Running middle distances (800-1,000-1,500 m) cannot be done at a fast pace; the pace must be reduced and an individual pace adapted to the distance developed; breathing is connected with the pace; it must be rhythmically correct, adapted to the run. All this is part of the specific training program. In the preparatory period of training, the runner's stride must be developed, which must be long with heel strike and with rolling of the foot. Runners with respiratory constitution and long legs have advantages in competitions. Straight head position with an upright torso (style requirements), deep and rhythmically correct breathing during training make this run especially beneficial from a hygienic point of view. Running long distances (3,000-5,000-10,000 m) is done within half an hour and 1 hour. Running 3,000 m takes less time and is considered transitional and preparatory. Runners, "distance runners," to cover such distances in competition order, must have good preparation and complete health. The style of distance running is "high," from the very start the runner begins running without bending the back, with a straight head, to give full access of air to the lungs. Breathing throughout the run is even, deep, corresponding to the pace taken. All movements of hands, legs, and torso must be calculated and economical. Training must end with the acquisition of automatic movements of movements. Self-control, correct calculation of one's muscular and nervous forces, mastery of breathing, and consequently of the activity of the cardiovascular system, guarantee success. Marathon running—distance 42.2 km within 2 to 3 hours. Training must continue for many years. Medical control has shown very bad consequences, objectively verified. This is a run calculated for endurance, exhausting and dangerous, and therefore as a competition it is not permitted in the USSR. Cross-country running—running over rough terrain, one of the best hygienic types of sport; it is conducted over fields, meadows, forest paths. Its applied value is very great. It is especially cultivated in the army. During the run, one has to overcome various obstacles: jump over ditches, climb over fences, overcome swamps, water areas, etc. All this causes varied movements, develops endurance, resourcefulness (unexpected obstacles) and other psychological qualities. This type of running is very emotional and not particularly tiring due to the great variety of movements. The usual distance is 3-4 km. The route must be well thought out and organized. Hurdle running—a combination of sprint running with jumping over artificial obstacles. Hurdles are wooden posts of a certain height, which depends on the size of the distance: the greater it is, the higher the hurdle can be. Usually, 10 easily overturnable hurdles are placed along the entire running path. The running style is well thought out. The technique is well studied, training is long, automation of movements is complete. This type of running has no great advantages either in physiological, applied, or hygienic respects. This sport is close to acrobatics. Relay running. The number of participants in the relay baton exchange depends first of all on the total distance taken for the competition. These two moments also determine the character of the run: it can be sprint, middle-distance, and distance running. There are many combinations of relay running. Distances run by women must be reduced. The baton exchange from hand to hand requires special technique and training. The most advantageous exchange for success in competition is at the moment of maximum speed, which is developed over 100 m for men and 80 m for women. Jumps. In sports practice, jumps in length and height, from a standing position and with a run-up, and pole vault (see Jumps) are used. Each of these types of jumps requires special technique (style) and training. The ability to coordinate one's movements, use inertia during the run-up, the ability to push off from the ground at the beginning of the jump, control the movements of hands, legs, and torso during flight, and the ability to land properly—all these skills must be carefully studied to improve the qualification of the jumper, to whom these exercises give body flexibility, increase muscle strength, and develop other psycho-physical properties (see Physical Culture). In long jumps, the run-up speed and the ability to find the point of most advantageous leg push-off from the ground are important. Sprinters are most capable of such jumps. The pace of the run-up gradually increases; it is most advantageous to use maximum speed until the moment of push-off in order to use the force of inertia to the maximum. Jumping in height over a bar or rope from a standing position or with a run-up is done with different styles in details developed and theoretically justified; only under these conditions can the highest achievements be obtained. Since according to the rules of sport it is not permitted to touch or knock down the bar or rope from the stand, it is extremely important to make the flight over the obstacle in such a way as not only not to touch or knock it down, but also not to move the center of gravity of the body too far from the bar. It is also necessary to find the correct place for push-off from the ground and give the limbs the most advantageous position. It is impossible to change the trajectory of flight described by the center of gravity of the body while in the phase of flight, but there are advantageous positions for hands, legs, and torso, from which the good result of the jump largely depends. In pole vault, in addition to all this, are added: holding the pole, placing its lower end in the pit during the run-up, push-off from the ground, lifting on hands, passing over the bar, and finally landing. All these moments of movement are very complex, require patience in training and great agility.

Track and field jumps over obstacles, especially with a pole, are considered one of the most difficult exercises in athletics, and therefore, keeping in mind mass Sport, it is better to abandon pole vaulting and choose only the most simplified methods of high jumping. Throwing. This includes track and field exercises in shot put and stone throwing, discus, javelin, sword, shot, hammer, and hand grenade throwing. Throwing is an exercise of great developmental and practical value (see Physical Culture). As an athletic and at the same time practical exercise, hand grenade throwing is of particular importance. Other types of throwing can be left to masters. The bottle-shaped hand grenade weighs 700 g, and throwing it according to the GTO standards for the 2nd stage takes place in a corridor 10 m wide, with the distance depending on age: for men from 35 to 40 m, for women from 20 to 25 m. The grenade is thrown with a run-up. The technique is not complicated, but it must be perfect. Since the publication of the GTO standards for the 2nd stage, athletic exercises have acquired another meaning for the masses. They should first of all have military-applied value, and preference should be given to those physical exercises of this type that have been included in the tables, for example, running with a rifle for 10 m in full military uniform, overcoming various obstacles in a military camp, long-distance walking marches, etc. -Heavy athletics (weightlifting, wrestling, boxing)-see Athletics.-Sporting games-see Games.-Sporting recreations. These include physical exercises in which the element of recreation predominates. Although the element of competition is not excluded in them, the strain is not great, which is why these exercises are more accessible to children and the elderly. Examples include sledding down hills, sailing, croquet, golf, partly horse riding, etc. Their advantage is that they take place in the open air and therefore have a health-improving character. -Summer sport. The most common types of summer Sport are swimming, rowing, cycling (see Water sport).-Winter sport-see Skating and Skiing Sport. V. Gripevsky.