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250 Sports Topics: Persuasive Speech Ideas and Titles

Sports, as a universal language, encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including team sports like football and basketball, individual sports such as tennis and swimming, adventure sports like rock climbing and surfing, as well as winter sports, including skiing and ice hockey. The realm of sports topics extends far beyond mere celebration of victories or analysis of defeats; it delves into the understanding of human endeavor, resilience, teamwork, and individual brilliance. These topics offer a rich vein of content for persuasive speeches and essays, appealing to both emotions and reason, and urging audiences to consider deeper societal issues, health, education, and personal growth.

Writing about sports topics provides an opportunity to explore the impact of sports on society and the individual. It's not just about the physical aspects but also about the psychological and social benefits. Sports debate topics often highlight the role of sports in promoting mental health, fostering community spirit, and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. They can also address controversies, such as doping, corruption, and the commercialization of sports, providing a platform for critical thinking and discussion.

The richness of sports as a subject matter offers endless opportunities to weave together narratives of challenge, triumph, and transformation, making essays on sports not just informative but also profoundly inspiring.

How to Choose a Good Topic on Sports

Choosing a compelling sports topic necessitates a nuanced understanding of your audience's preferences, alongside an assessment of the topic's current relevance and its capacity to incite meaningful debate or persuade effectively. It's crucial to identify subjects that not only resonate on a deeply personal level with your audience but also intersect with broader thematic elements such as ethics, advancements in technology, and the various socio-economic factors that influence the realm of sports. This balanced approach ensures the topic's universal appeal and its ability to engage a diverse readership. Particularly, the convergence of sports with pressing societal issues—like providing resources for low-income college students—opens up a rich avenue for discussion that transcends mere sports commentary. It invites a more profound exploration of how sports can serve as a microcosm for larger societal dynamics, offering insights into equity, accessibility, and the transformative power of sports as a tool for social change. In this article, we delve into 250 varied sports persuasive speech topics and sports argumentative essay topics, each carefully selected to spark interest and drive discourse across different aspects of sports, from team-based dynamics and individual feats to the broader social impact of sporting activities. Whether you're crafting an argumentative essay that tackles the ethical dilemmas in sports or preparing a persuasive speech that advocates for more inclusive policies in sports programs, these topics are designed to bolster your arguments with a rich mix of insights and perspectives.

The Best 10 Sports Topics to Write About in 2024

In 2024, sports writing is evolving, focusing on topics that blend traditional interests with pressing social issues. Consider exploring:

• The impact of technology on fair play in sports.
• Mental health awareness among professional athletes.
• The role of sports in bridging socio-economic divides.
• Gender equality in sports: Progress and challenges.
• The influence of sports scholarships on low-income students.
• The environmental footprint of major sporting events.
• The rise of e-sports and its recognition as a legitimate sport.
• The importance of sports in fostering global peace and understanding.
• Ethical considerations in sports sponsorships and advertising.
• The future of sports in a post-pandemic world.

Interesting Sports Debate Topics

When it comes to stimulating discussions and engaging audiences, few subjects can match the dynamism of sports debate topics. This section not only explores the competitive spirit and strategic intricacies inherent in various sports but also delves into how these activities intersect with larger societal questions, ethics, and personal development. By addressing these topics, speakers and writers can challenge perceptions, encourage critical thinking, and foster a deeper appreciation for the impact of sports on individuals and society alike. Below are 10 thought-provoking topics that cover a range of issues, from the moral obligations of athletes and fans to the economic and environmental considerations of hosting large-scale sporting events.

• Should performance-enhancing drugs be legalized in professional sports under medical supervision?
• The role of sports in promoting global peace and understanding: Idealistic or achievable?
• Is the commercialization of sports eroding its true essence and spirit?
• The impact of technology on traditional sports: Evolution or dilution?
• Gender equality in sports: How far have we really come?
• The ethics of using animals in sports competitions.
• Should esports be recognized and respected as traditional sports?
• The influence of media on public perception of athletes and sports.
• Mandatory retirement ages for professional athletes: For or against?
• Are the psychological pressures on young athletes justified by potential career rewards?

Sports Persuasive Speech Topics on Team Sports

When exploring persuasive speech topics sports, the emphasis on team sports opens a wide avenue for discussions that transcend mere game strategies or win-loss records. Delving into the realm of team sports, we unlock a vast potential for persuasive discourse, aiming to influence opinions, stir emotions, and inspire action on various aspects of sportsmanship, teamwork, and the societal impact of sports.

Volleyball Sports Research Topics

• The Evolution of Volleyball: From Origins to Olympic Glory
• Analyzing the Impact of Modern Training Techniques on Volleyball Performance
• Volleyball Injury Prevention Strategies: A Comprehensive Review
• The Role of Team Dynamics and Communication in Volleyball Success
• Gender Equality in Volleyball: Progress and Challenges
• The Influence of Technology on Volleyball Coaching and Performance Analysis
• Mental Toughness in Volleyball: Developing Resilience among Athletes
• The Economic Impact of Professional Volleyball Leagues Worldwide
• Volleyball and Youth Development: Lessons Beyond the Court
• The Future of Beach Volleyball: Growth, Trends, and Sustainability

Football Sports Argumentative Topics

• Should College Football Players Be Paid for Their Performance?
• The Impact of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Technology: Fairness vs. Flow of the Game
• The Role of National Identity in International Football Competitions
• Tackling Racial Discrimination: Is Football Doing Enough?
• The Ethics of Transfers and Loans in Professional Football
• Concussions in Football: Are Safety Measures Sufficient?
• The Commercialization of Football: Beneficial Evolution or Detrimental to the Sport's Essence?
• Should FIFA Implement Stricter Regulations to Combat Match Fixing?
• The Influence of Fan Culture on Football Team Performance
• Youth Development in Football: Is the Current System Benefiting Young Talents?

Baseball Persuasive Speech Topics

• The Case for Implementing Instant Replay Reviews in Baseball
• Why Baseball Needs to Address Its Pace of Play to Attract Younger Audiences
• The Importance of Preserving Historic Baseball Stadiums for Future Generations
• Enhancing Safety Measures in Baseball to Prevent Injuries from Foul Balls
• The Role of Analytics in Baseball: Revolutionizing the Game or Diminishing Tradition?
• Advocating for More International Representation in Major League Baseball
• The Economic Impact of Minor League Baseball Teams on Local Communities
• The Need for Stricter Performance-Enhancing Drug Policies in Baseball
• Encouraging Youth Participation in Baseball to Foster a Love for the Game
• Making the Case for Increasing the Visibility and Support of Women's Baseball

Basketball Argumentative Essay Topics

• The Effectiveness of the NBA's One-and-Done Rule: A Boon or Bane for Young Athletes?
• Gender Disparity in Basketball: Addressing Wage and Media Coverage Gaps
• Should the NBA Implement Stricter Policies on Player Rest Days to Prevent Injuries?
• The Impact of Social Media on Professional Basketball Players' Mental Health
• College Basketball vs. Overseas Professional Leagues: The Best Path for Emerging Talents
• The Role of Analytics in Basketball: Enhancing the Game or Diminishing Human Elements?
• The Influence of Shoe Companies on Amateur and Professional Basketball
• Basketball and Education: Balancing Athletics and Academics in College Sports
• The Case for and Against Expanding the NBA Playoffs
• Addressing Age Limits in Professional Basketball: Protecting Young Players or Restricting Opportunities?

Ice Hockey Persuasive Speech Topics

• The Importance of Implementing More Stringent Concussion Protocols in Ice Hockey
• Why Ice Hockey Needs to Expand its Reach Beyond Traditional Markets
• The Role of Fighting in Ice Hockey: Tradition vs. Player Safety
• Encouraging Diversity and Inclusion in the Predominantly White Sport of Ice Hockey
• The Economic Benefits of Hosting Major Ice Hockey Tournaments for Local Communities
• Implementing Greener Practices in Ice Hockey Arenas to Combat Climate Change
• The Impact of Youth Ice Hockey Programs on Community Development
• Addressing the Gender Gap: Promoting Women's Ice Hockey on a Global Scale
• The Need for Better Mental Health Resources for Ice Hockey Players
• Persuading Governments to Increase Funding for Ice Hockey Facilities in Underprivileged Areas

Cheerleading Persuasive Speech Topics

• Recognizing Cheerleading as a Sport: The Case for Official Recognition and Funding
• The Importance of Implementing Strict Safety Standards in Cheerleading
• Cheerleading: Beyond Pom-Poms and Smiles - Advocating for Athletic Respect
• The Role of Cheerleading in Promoting Team Spirit and School Morale
• Addressing Gender Stereotypes in Cheerleading: Breaking Down Barriers
• The Psychological Benefits of Cheerleading: Building Confidence and Teamwork
• The Need for Professional Development and Training Programs for Cheer Coaches
• Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Within Cheerleading Squads
• Advocating for Competitive Cheerleading to Be Included in the Olympic Games
• The Importance of Scholarships for Cheerleaders in Higher Education Institutions

Argumentative Essay Topics on Individual Sport

When we delve into the realm of individual sports, we're not just talking about the physical prowess required to excel solo; we're exploring a universe brimming with rich, complex topics ripe for argumentative essays. The focus on individual athletes shifts the discourse towards intense scrutiny of personal ethics, training methodologies, mental health, and the broader socio-economic impacts of their sporting endeavors. In this section, we tackle sports argumentative essay topics that provoke thought, challenge preconceived notions, and invite readers to reconsider their perspectives on what it means to compete and succeed in the arena of individual sports. Here, argumentative essay topics about sports transcend the mere spectacle of competition, engaging with the intricate weave of personal achievement against the backdrop of global sporting culture.

Sports Argumentative Topics on Swimming

• Should High Schools and Colleges Prioritize Funding for Competitive Swimming Programs?
• The Ethics of Technological Swimsuits: Enhancing Performance or Undermining Talent?
• Mandatory Water Safety and Swimming Lessons in Schools: A Necessity or Overreach?
• The Impact of Early Specialization in Competitive Swimming on Athlete Burnout
• Gender Equality in Competitive Swimming: Are We Doing Enough?
• The Role of International Bodies in Combatting Doping in Professional Swimming
• Accessibility of Competitive Swimming Training for Low-Income Families
• The Psychological Impact of Competitive Swimming on Young Athletes
• Should Transgender Athletes Compete in Gendered Swimming Competitions?
• The Environmental Impact of Maintaining Large Swimming Facilities for Competitive Events

Sports Argumentative Topics on Ski

• The Responsibility of Ski Resorts in Promoting Environmental Sustainability
• Helmet Laws in Skiing: Necessary Safety Measure or Personal Choice?
• The Economic Impact of Ski Tourism on Local Communities: Boon or Bane?
• The Influence of Climate Change on the Future of Competitive Skiing
• Should Skiing Equipment Be Standardized for All Professional Competitions?
• The Role of Artificial Snow in Ski Competitions: Ethical Considerations
• Accessibility and Inclusion: Making Skiing a Sport for Everyone
• The Debate Over Land Use for Ski Resorts vs. Conservation Efforts
• Enhancing Safety Measures for Ski Jumping: How Far Should Regulations Go?
• The Impact of Professional Skiing on Youth Participation and Interest in the Sport

Sports Argumentative Topics on Boxing

• The Ethical Dilemma of Brain Injuries in Boxing: Is the Sport Worth the Risk?
• Should There Be an Age Limit for Professional Boxers?
• The Role of Weight Classes in Boxing: Fair Competition or Unnecessary Limitation?
• The Influence of Media and Promotion in Shaping Boxing Careers
• Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Boxing: Can the Sport Ever Be Clean?
• The Impact of Boxing on Youth: Violence Promotion or Discipline Building?
• The Future of Women’s Boxing: Breaking Barriers and Challenging Stereotypes
• Should Boxing Be Banned or Further Regulated for Safety?
• The Role of Technology in Training and Judging Boxing Matches
• The Economic Divide: Does Boxing Favor the Wealthy in Terms of Training and Opportunities?

Sports Argumentative Topics on Track and Field

• The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Track and Field: A Losing Battle?
• The Impact of High-Tech Equipment on Fairness in Track and Field Competitions
• Gender Equality in Track and Field: Are Prize Money and Opportunities Equal?
• The Role of Genetic Engineering: Will Designer Athletes Dominate Track and Field?
• The Ethics of Age Limits in Professional Track and Field Competitions
• The Effectiveness of Lifetime Bans for Doping in Track and Field
• The Importance of Amateur Track and Field Programs in Schools
• The Debate Over Transgender Athletes in Track and Field Competitions
• Climate Change and Outdoor Track and Field Events: Adapting to a New Reality
• The Legacy of Track and Field Icons: Role Models or Unattainable Standards?

Taekwondo Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Effectiveness of Taekwondo as a Means of Self-Defense
• The Impact of Olympic Inclusion on Taekwondo’s Popularity and Development
• Gender Stereotypes in Taekwondo: Breaking Down Barriers
• The Importance of Mental Discipline in Taekwondo Training
• The Role of Taekwondo in Promoting International Peace and Understanding
• The Debate Over Scoring Systems in Competitive Taekwondo
• The Balance Between Tradition and Modernization in Taekwondo Practice
• The Need for More Stringent Concussion Protocols in Taekwondo
• Taekwondo for All Ages: Benefits and Limitations
• The Future of Taekwondo: Technology Integration in Training and Competitions

Yoga Sports Argumentative Topics

• Yoga as Sport vs. Spiritual Practice: Losing Its Essence?
• The Commercialization of Yoga: Beneficial or Detrimental?
• The Role of Yoga in Athletes’ Mental and Physical Health
• The Standardization of Yoga Practices: Necessary or Restrictive?
• The Cultural Appropriation of Yoga: Respect or Exploitation?
• Yoga Certification: Ensuring Quality or Creating Exclusivity?
• The Impact of Online Yoga Classes on Traditional Studios
• The Inclusion of Yoga in School Physical Education Programs
• Addressing the Lack of Diversity in the Yoga Community
• The Potential for Competitive Yoga: How Would It Work?

Gym Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Role of Gyms in Promoting Public Health: Luxury or Necessity?
• The Debate Over Bodybuilding: Healthy Lifestyle or Obsessive Culture?
• The Impact of Social Media on Gym Culture: Inspiration or Intimidation?
• Should Gyms Be Required to Have Staff Trained in Mental Health First Aid?
• The Effectiveness of Personal Trainers: Worth the Investment?
• The Rise of Home Gyms: The End of Traditional Gyms?
• Gym Membership Fees: Accessibility vs. Quality of Service
• The Importance of Creating Inclusive Gym Environments for All Body Types
• The Safety of Dietary Supplements Sold in Gyms
• The Future of Fitness: Technology’s Role in Personalized Gym Experiences

Running Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Ethics of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Professional Running.
• Should Ultra-Marathon Races Have More Stringent Health and Safety Regulations?
• The Impact of High-Tech Running Shoes on Competition Fairness.
• The Role of Running in Public Health Campaigns Against Obesity.
• Addressing the Gender Gap in Sponsorship and Media Coverage of Running Events.
• The Influence of Amateur Running Clubs on Professional Running.
• Should Cross-Country Running Be Included in the Olympic Games?
• The Debate Over Age Limits for Participation in Marathon Races.
• The Environmental Impact of Large-Scale Running Events and Marathons.
• The Effectiveness of Virtual Running Competitions: A Pandemic Legacy.

Golf Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Exclusivity of Golf Clubs: Elitism vs. Tradition.
• Environmental Concerns: Should Golf Courses Be More Eco-Friendly?
• Gender Equality in Golf: Addressing the Pay Gap and Tournament Opportunities.
• The Role of Technology in Golf: Enhancing the Game or Diminishing Skill?
• Should Golf Be Considered a Physically Demanding Sport?
• The Impact of Golf Tourism on Local Economies and Environments.
• The Debate Over Slow Play in Golf and Its Impact on the Sport's Popularity.
• Youth Participation in Golf: Declining Interest and Potential Solutions.
• The Future of Golf: Adapting to Changing Demographics and Preferences.
• Golf in the Olympics: Does It Belong?

Badminton Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Global Recognition of Badminton: Is It Undervalued as a Sport?
• Addressing the Dominance of Asian Countries in International Badminton.
• The Role of Technology in Badminton Equipment: Fair Advantage or Not?
• Should Badminton Focus More on Expanding Its Reach to Western Countries?
• The Impact of Coaching Styles on Badminton Players' Performance.
• Gender Disparities in Badminton: Evaluating Equality in Prize Money and Coverage.
• The Potential of Badminton to Improve Physical Health Among the Elderly.
• The Influence of Shuttlecock Quality on Game Fairness.
• The Importance of Grassroots Programs in the Development of Elite Badminton Players.
• The Effectiveness of the Current Scoring System in Professional Badminton.

Tennis Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Debate Over Equal Prize Money for Men and Women in Tennis.
• The Impact of Youth Tennis Academies on the Sport’s Future Stars.
• Should Tennis Tournaments Reduce the Number of Sets to Prevent Injuries?
• The Role of Mental Health Support for Professional Tennis Players.
• The Evolution of Tennis Equipment: Keeping the Essence of the Game Intact.
• Addressing the Climate Impact of International Tennis Tours.
• The Influence of Wild Card Entries on the Fairness of Tennis Tournaments.
• The Effectiveness of Anti-Doping Measures in Professional Tennis.
• The Future of Davis Cup and Fed Cup: Preserving Tennis Traditions vs. Modernization.
• The Impact of Player Behavior and Sportsmanship on the Public Perception of Tennis.

Wrestling Sports Argumentative Topics

• The Ethical Considerations of Weight Cutting Practices in Wrestling.
• Should Professional Wrestling Be Recognized as an Olympic Sport?
• The Role of High School Wrestling in Promoting Discipline and Physical Fitness.
• Addressing the Risk of Concussions and Chronic Injuries in Wrestling.
• The Representation of Women in Wrestling: Progress and Challenges.
• The Influence of Media and Entertainment on Amateur Wrestling.
• The Importance of Strict Anti-Doping Regulations in Wrestling Competitions.
• The Debate Over the Use of Protective Gear in Wrestling.
• The Cultural Significance of Wrestling in Different Societies.
• The Future of Wrestling: Balancing Tradition with Innovation.

Adventure/Extreme Sports: Argumentative Essay Topics

The world of adventure and extreme sports brings to the forefront a plethora of engaging and contentious issues, ripe for exploration through argumentative essays and persuasive speeches. As participants push the boundaries of human capability and endurance, the debates surrounding these activities offer a unique lens through which we examine questions of safety, ethics, environmental impact, and the very nature of sport itself. This section delves into debate persuasive speech topics about sports and sports argumentative essay topics, specifically tailored to the adrenaline-fueled realm of extreme sports. Here, we challenge readers and speakers alike to confront their perceptions of risk, reward, and responsibility in the context of sports that defy conventional boundaries and provoke intense discussion.

Skydiving Argumentative Essay Topics

• The Ethics of Commercializing Extreme Sports: A Case Study of Skydiving.
• Should Age Restrictions for Skydiving Be More Stringent?
• The Role of Government Regulation in Ensuring Skydiving Safety.
• Skydiving and Mental Health: The Therapeutic Benefits vs. Risks.
• The Environmental Impact of Skydiving: Are We Ignoring the Carbon Footprint?
• The Debate Over Mandatory Insurance for Skydivers: Who Should Bear the Cost?
• Can Virtual Reality Skydiving Adequately Replace the Real Experience?
• The Impact of Social Media on Skydiving: Encouraging Recklessness or Promoting Safety?
• Should Skydiving be Included in Olympic Games as a New Extreme Sport?
• Addressing the Gender Gap in Skydiving: Barriers and Opportunities for Female Skydivers.

Surfing Argumentative Essay Topics

• Balancing Local Culture and Global Surfing Competitions: Preservation vs. Progress.
• The Impact of Surfing on Coastal Ecosystems: Sustainable Sport or Environmental Hazard?
• Should Surfing Spots Be Regulated to Prevent Overcrowding?
• The Commercialization of Surfing: Losing Its Soul to Sponsorships and Media.
• The Role of Artificial Wave Pools in Surfing: Innovation or Detraction from Authenticity?
• Addressing the Gender Disparity in Professional Surfing: Equality in the Water.
• The Influence of Surfing on Mental Health: A Deep Dive into Its Therapeutic Benefits.
• The Debate Over Surfing Etiquette: Unwritten Laws vs. Formal Regulation.
• Surfing in the Olympics: Does It Enhance or Diminish the Sport's Rebel Spirit?
• The Future of Surfing: Navigating the Challenges of Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels.

Winter Sports: Topics to Write About

Winter sports, with their unique blend of thrill, tradition, and environmental reliance, serve as a fascinating backdrop for a rich array of argumentative essays. The icy realms of skiing, ice skating, snowboarding, and more, are not just playgrounds for athletic prowess but also arenas for heated debates on topics ranging from climate change impacts to technological advancements and ethical considerations in competitive settings. This section explores sports argumentative essay topics and argumentative essay topics about sports, specifically zooming in on the challenges, controversies, and cultural significance of winter sports. As we lace up our boots and set out on this exploratory journey, we invite discussions that scrutinize the multifaceted aspects of these chilly pursuits, from argumentative essay topics sports that question the sustainability of snow-based activities to the socio-economic barriers that may limit access to these exhilarating but often exclusive sports.

Argumentative Sports Topics on Ski

• The Ethical Implications of Artificial Snow in Competitive Skiing.
• Climate Change and Its Impact on Traditional Ski Resorts: Adaptation Strategies.
• The Safety of Backcountry Skiing: Necessary Risks or Reckless Endeavors?
• Gender Equality in Skiing Competitions: Progress and Challenges.
• The Influence of Skiing on Local Economies: A Blessing or a Curse?
• The Role of Technology in Enhancing Ski Performance and Safety.
• The Debate on Age Limits for Professional Skiing: Protecting Young Athletes.
• The Environmental Footprint of Ski Tourism: Finding Sustainable Solutions.
• Skiing and Cultural Appropriation: Respecting Indigenous Lands and Traditions.
• Mandatory Helmet Laws in Skiing: Safety Precaution or Personal Choice?

Argumentative Sports Topics on Ice Skating

• Judging Bias in Competitive Ice Skating: The Need for Transparency and Fairness.
• The Role of Ice Skating in Promoting Physical Fitness Among Youth.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Outdoor Ice Skating Venues.
• Addressing the High Costs of Competitive Ice Skating: Barriers to Entry.
• The Psychological Pressure on Young Ice Skaters: Navigating Mental Health.
• Should Ice Skating Moves With High Injury Risks Be Banned?
• The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Ice Skating.
• The Evolution of Ice Skates: Technology vs. Tradition.
• The Future of Synthetic Ice Rinks: Pros and Cons.
• Ice Skating and Education: Balancing Academics and Athletic Training.

Argumentative Sports Topics on Ice Hockey

• The Necessity of Fighting in Ice Hockey: Tradition vs. Player Safety.
• Addressing Concussion Issues in Ice Hockey: Are Current Protocols Sufficient?
• The Role of Women's Ice Hockey in Promoting Gender Equality in Sports.
• Climate Change: The Future of Outdoor Ice Hockey Games.
• The Economic Impact of Professional Ice Hockey Teams on Local Communities.
• Youth Ice Hockey: Preventing Injuries and Promoting Safe Play.
• The Debate Over the Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Ice Hockey.
• Enhancing Diversity in Ice Hockey: Strategies for Inclusivity.
• The Impact of Technology on Refereeing in Ice Hockey.
• The Tradition of College Ice Hockey: Balancing Sport and Academics.

Reflecting on the Wide World of Sports Topics

As we cross the finish line of our exploration into the diverse and dynamic world of sports topics, it's clear that the realm of athletics offers far more than just games and competitions. From the heated debates stirred by sports argumentative essay topics to the compelling narratives that fuel sports persuasive speech topics, sports serve as a mirror reflecting societal values, challenges, and aspirations. Whether dissecting the ethical implications of performance-enhancing drugs, advocating for gender equality on the playing field, or exploring the impact of technology on traditional sports, the discussions we've engaged in underscore the profound influence sports have on culture, education, and personal development. As athletes continue to push the boundaries of human potential, and fans deepen their engagement with these pursuits, the topics we've covered offer a starting point for deeper inquiry and debate. In the world of sports, every game, match, or race tells a story, and every story invites us to consider broader questions about what it means to strive, to compete, and to be part of a community bound by shared passions and pursuits.

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The New York Times

Well | taking sports to the extreme.

Taking Sports to the Extreme

Personal Health

Jane Brody on health and aging.

Mountain biking, helicopter skiing, river surfing, BASE jumping, waterfall kayaking, ice climbing and other extreme sports that put participants at risk of serious injury, even death, grow annually in popularity.

I know what you’re thinking, I thought it too: Why would anyone pursue activities so dangerous that you must sign a waiver absolving the organizers of all responsibility for a catastrophic accident? One small slip, a brief lapse of attention, and you’re history.

The traditional public perception is that “extreme sports participation is an unhealthy, pathological need for uncertainty, thrills and excitement,” Eric Brymer, an exercise specialist, wrote in 2010 , when he was at Queensland University of Technology.

But is it really just about chasing an adrenaline rush? And are these action sports as dangerous to devoted participants as they seem on television and in YouTube videos?

Even watching the recent gruesome footage of the French Olympic gymnast Samir Ait Said, who broke his leg in Rio during a vault landing, can make one wonder whether it is wise to pursue even so “tame” an activity as gymnastics.

The derring-do of Olympic competitors and the death in an avalanche in July of Matilda Rapaport, a Swedish extreme skier, while being filmed in the Andes, prompted me to look more closely at why so many people choose to try these sports, how dangerous they are and how hazards can be minimized.

There are no reliable statistics to inform a potential participant of the risks of any sport, even everyday activities school children and amateur and professional athletes engage in, like soccer, skateboarding, basketball and football. While individual injuries and deaths are well publicized, there are no data to show how likely these are.

Furthermore, Jamie F. Burr of the University of Prince Edward Island and colleagues wrote in Canadian Family Physician , the public perception of risk is distorted: “Risk-taking is inherently human and can be an important factor in personal development. Injuries incurred while engaging in more traditional physical activities are regarded as ‘unfortunate accidents,’ while injuries resulting from participation in adventure sports are viewed as ‘foreseeable and foolhardy.’”

Second, the motivations offered by extreme sports participants for why they are so willing to assume the risks involved are not what you might expect. Adventure sports are not “an outlet for ‘crazy’ individuals with an unhealthy relationship to fear, who are pathological in their search for risk or living out a death wish,” Dr. Brymer and his colleague at Queensland University, Robert Schweitzer, wrote.

Yes, at first, having survived an attempt or two is exhilarating, and the emotional high (which, by the way, results from dopamine release in the brain, not adrenaline) prompts them to come back for more.

A study by John H. Kerr, a kinesiologist at the University of British Columbia, and Susan Houge Mackenzie, a movement specialist then at the University of Idaho, quoted a 26-year-old river surfer identified only as Jody, who said, “ You’re just stoked .” Then she added, “It’s not just your adrenaline. It’s a sense of achievement. You set out to do something and you’ve done it — it’s everything leading up to it, the skills that you have or the hard work that you’ve done.”

Nor is it that extreme sports participants lack fear. “Fear is an essential element to their survival,” Dr. Brymer and Dr. Schweitzer explained. In interviews with extreme athletes, they and other researchers have learned that participants consider fear “a healthy, productive experience,” prompting them to take appropriate precautions that enhance the chances of surviving uninjured.

As one solo rope-free mountain climber told the researchers, , “If I panic, I’m lost, dead.” He learned to thwart panic and instead stay relaxed and focused, maintaining clarity and good judgment that help to protect him.

Also important, a 30-year-old BASE jumper identified as “TB” told Dr. Brymer, is to “learn everything possible about the sport; learn about weather conditions, learn about wind, learn about what wind does in and around buildings and structures and cliffs, etc., so you know what you can do and what you can’t do.”

Through interviews with many regular extreme sports participants, researchers have found that the emotional high becomes less and less important with time. As participants continue to pursue the activities, other motives and perceived benefits to health and well-being take precedence.

Mr. Kerr and Dr. Mackenzie reported that participants experienced such benefits as feeling strong, healthy and fit; connecting with nature and being more in touch with one’s surroundings; gaining self-confidence; and becoming self-sufficient.

Overcoming fear is a near-universal goal for participants, the Australian researchers wrote. A young woman BASE jumper they interviewed described fear as a gateway to transcendence, calling her sport the “ultimate metaphor for jumping into life rather than standing on the edge quivering.”

Devoted extreme sport participants regard safety as their highest priority. They learn the skills needed for their chosen sport, they train to become sufficiently expert at it and to know how to judge the extent of their ability, said Dr. Vani Sabesan, an orthopedic surgeon at Western Michigan University School of Medicine.

“Someone with medical expertise should be present to make sure you have the right protective gear and to rescue you if something goes wrong,” she said.

Susan McGowen, an athletic trainer at the University of New Mexico College of Education, who provided such oversight for a dozen years at the X-Games, said, “Just because you’ve seen it on TV or YouTube, don’t assume anybody can go out and try to duplicate the feats of extreme athletes. It takes years and years of practice and progress to get to those levels.”

Dr. McGowen emphasized the importance of having an athletic trainer present at all organized activities — school and youth leagues as well as amateur and professional games, who can enhance safety through proper nutrition, well-maintained equipment and good coaching, as well as properly care for an injured athlete.

Such guidance is especially important for people planning to participate in an extreme sport. “People are terrible judges of risk,” David O. Horton, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis, told me. “They don’t understand the language of the contracts they sign saying that they have no legal rights if something should go wrong. Organizers don’t have to spell out all the risks for the contract to be enforceable.”

His advice: “Be as cleareyed as you can be about what can possibly go wrong — ask questions, do research about potential downsides, and don’t try anything you’re not capable of or properly equipped to do.”

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Why Would You Choose to Do an Extreme Sport?

Giuseppe musumeci.

1 Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human, Histology and Movement Science Section, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95123 Catania, Italy; ti.tcinu@ireguamaizarg or [email protected] ; Tel.: +39-095-378-2043

2 Research Center on Motor Activities (CRAM), University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123 Catania, Italy

3 Department of Biology, Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA

Why do so many athletes keep practicing extreme sports, even though they know the danger of risking their lives? Why is our body addicted to these strong emotions? I will try to address these questions in this short editorial.

The thrills given by extreme sports attract many individuals seeking excitement. Many of these extreme sports like snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving, and others, allow one to feel the freedom to challenge yourself, both physically and psychologically, and to perform any type of freestyling that would be nauseating to athletes. However, almost all extreme sports have some elements that could endanger an athlete’s life in comparison to traditional sports. These sports could be defined as “extreme” due to their tendency to be dangerous if not performed carefully or with the right equipment [ 1 ]. After all, to experience the true “adrenaline kick,” these sports must be dangerous. Serious injuries are common among adrenaline junkies and many fatalities are reported every year. To give an example of this phenomenon according to the report of the United States Parachute Association, more than twenty people a year die due to parachuting alone. The effort required by these sports is great, but the supply of adrenaline and other hormones is sufficient to avoid tiredness resulting from exercise. The adrenaline rush increases the acceleration of blood flows to the muscles and brain, relaxes the muscles, and lastly helps with the conversion of glycogen into glucose in the liver. For every extreme sports athlete, this adrenaline rush is never enough since they are always seeking stronger emotions.

This kind of feeling cannot be otherwise experienced and many of these extreme sports athletes do not even consider a life without the excitement of these powerful moments. Furthermore, extreme sports have the capacity to establish a strong bond between individuals, thanks to the dangerous elements of the activity that requires a high level of trust between people. Consequently, this kind of friendship bond has a good impact on mental health [ 2 ].

The typical challenges and performances of the so-called “extreme sports” draw the attention of the spectators, growing the interest of researchers in this kind of behavior. The reasons why risk-lovers are attracted to challenges in dangerous places, or to the possibility of facing the unknown or even to the extreme conditions in which it must be lived, are strictly related to their interpretation of life, to their need of challenging life and to have complete control of the most uncertain situations [ 3 ].

These aspects need to be monitored and reworked in case of predominance of self-destructive tendencies, or when evaluating self-capacities. In this situation, the tendency to underestimate the risk could hide the overestimation of the self, or a devaluation of life caused by a non-depressive mental state that can lead to a latently desired death [ 1 ]. However, most extreme sports enthusiasts are not driven by self-destructive tendencies. One of the most important aspects of extreme sports that fascinates people is the possibility to live experiences that make you feel alive in a way out of the ordinary, that generate euphory described with expressions like “feeling in the eye of the storm” or “look I’m getting” or “feel the adrenaline rush”.

Some studies tried to explain the neuropsychological reasons that may lead some people more than others to look for “no limits” experiences. These studies found a correlation between the ability of certain activities to enhance adrenaline’s secretion, the need to take risks, and the inclination to seek extreme experiences. This chemical response is closely related to the so-called “fight or flight”, which is able to generate chills reported as “pleasant” in those who frequently seek these kinds of experience. The feeling of imminent danger elicited by these extreme sports activates the survival mechanisms in response to stress in order to face the event through neurophysiological changes broadly acknowledged by the literature [ 2 ].

However, it is possible to activate the “fight or flight” response in the average population even with activities that guarantee great safety and that allow people to deal with uncertainties or changes with respect to the usual point of reference: like the small challenges to daily habits of some game at the funfair that are able to elicit a pleasant, and safe, euphory. Emotional experiences on daily life have also been related to the release of neuromediators, which is physiologically activated in several situations faced by the individuals.

In these scenarios, the organism produces a large amount of dopamine which is known to elicit the sensation of pleasure similar to those experienced with alcohol, drugs, or sexual intercourse. Therefore, this explains (along with the presence of adrenaline) the frequent propensity to uncontrollably smile or scream while living those experiences. The common attraction towards these situations has also been studied in relation to a gene mutation that could cause a lower presence of dopamine receptors. This mutation has been found in many people who express attraction to extreme sports; therefore, it was considered among the possible physiological reasons that can explain the tendency to experiment with extreme activities, since the latter would be able to induce the overproduction of dopamine in order to obtain those physiological effects which are physiologically achieved at a lower level of stimulation in people with, otherwise, a greater number of dopaminergic receptors [ 4 ].

Many other studies on the typical personality of extreme sports enthusiasts spotted in these people the propensity to seek strong emotions, and this has led to the definition of “sensation seekers”, a psychological aspect very common between paratroopers, free climbers, and other athletes practicing extreme sports or showing addiction to exercise [ 5 ]. In a similar context, it is possible to place the psychological studies that have compared the differences between common people and “sensation seekers”. Sensation seekers are characterized by a need to try the extreme, in search of thrills, even though it implies doing dangerous sports.

These kinds of people avoid trivial experiences because they need high-emotional situations (like drug addicts), developing a sort of “shivering tolerance”, forcing them to seek higher doses of emotion every time to reach the same sensation as before. When this occurs, they get used to the same extreme challenge and start looking for a more intense one, to feel the thrill again, risking death just as might happen in drug addiction. In these situations, the need to seek the thrill is combined with a system of values or criminal behaviour tendencies, fuelled by an altered evaluation of life: the result is the pursuit of one’s passion, putting in danger himself and other lives [ 2 ].

There are various reasons why it would be interesting to tackle the challenge of extreme sports, but before venturing into them, it is necessary to consider and reflect on the above-discussed arguments. Furthermore, people who want to undertake these sports should be careful about their own and others’ physical integrity, because sport should simply improve the psychophysical abilities of the person and not the other way around.

This work was funded by the University Research Project Grant (PIACERI Found–NATURE-OA–2020–2022), Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences (BIOME-TEC), University of Catania, Italy.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Sports.

Video playlists about Sports

The Butterfly Effect: Talks from the TEDinArabic Summit

Extreme sports

Super nerdy talks about sports

Calling all sports fans

Talks about sports.

My epic journey becoming the fastest person to paddle around Australia

Why you should stop setting goals (yes, really)

What girls and women in sports need to unlock their potential

Why people love watching sports

How to outthink your competition -- with a lesson from sports

Esports, virtual Formula 1 and the new era of play

An Olympic champion's mindset for overcoming fear

How to break down barriers and not accept limits

An NFL quarterback on overcoming setbacks and self-doubt

The ancient origins of the Olympics

The nuances of flag design — and how branding unifies us

The exploitation of US college athletes

Can you win a game of quantum foosball?

An aerialist on listening to your body's signals

Stop being a bystander in your own life

IOC President’s speech at the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony

Dear fellow Olympians,

Your Excellency, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China,

Your Excellencies, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Abdulla Shahid, President of the UN General Assembly,

President of the Organising Committee, Cai Qi,

Your Excellencies,

Dear Olympic friends,

Welcome to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

To all our Chinese friends: a very happy new year.

Happy New Year! Best wishes for the Year of the Tiger!

This Year of the Tiger is also an Olympic Year. Both the Year of the Tiger and the Olympic Year stand for ambition, courage and strength.

Today, thanks to this ambition, China is a winter sport country. Well over 300 million people are engaged in winter sports in about 2,000 ski resorts and ice rinks.

This extraordinary achievement opens a new era for global winter sport. It will raise the global participation to new levels, benefiting the Chinese people as well as winter sport enthusiasts around the world.

We can only write this new chapter in sporting history, because of our gracious hosts – the Chinese people, whom we thank wholeheartedly for welcoming us all so warmly.

Thank you, our Chinese friends!

A special thanks goes to all the volunteers. You make us feel at home from the very first moment we arrived. Your smiling eyes are warming our hearts.  Thank you volunteers.

Unfortunately, the global pandemic is still a reality for all of us. Therefore, our gratitude is even deeper for the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee, the public authorities and all the Chinese people. Thank you for making these Olympic Winter Games happen – and making them happen in a safe way for everyone.

We all could only get here because of the countless medical workers, doctors, scientists, everybody in China and around the world who is going beyond the call of duty. Thank you for your outstanding efforts and solidarity.

In the same spirit, our heart goes out to all the athletes who because of the pandemic could not make their Olympic dream come true.

Your Olympic stage is set.

You have arrived here after overcoming so many challenges, living through great uncertainty. But now your moment has come: the moment you have been longing for – the moment we all have been longing for.

Now – your Olympic dream is coming true – in magnificent venues, supported by hundreds of millions of new Chinese winter sport fans.

You the Olympic athletes – you will show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other.

Over the next two weeks you will compete with each other for the highest prize. At the same time, you will live peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village.

There – there will be no discrimination for any reason whatsoever.

In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world: yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals, while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together.

This is the mission of the Olympic Games: bringing us together in peaceful competition. Always building bridges, never erecting walls. Uniting humankind in all our diversity.

This mission is strongly supported by the United Nations General Assembly. It adopted the Olympic Truce Resolution by consensus of all 193 UN Member States. The resolution explicitly mentions you, the Olympic athletes, welcoming how you promote peace and human understanding through the Olympic ideal.

In this Olympic spirit of peace, I appeal to all political authorities across the world: observe your commitment to this Olympic Truce. Give peace a chance.

Dear athletes, we all are standing with you. We all are supporting you. We all are cheering you on.

May this encourage you to go faster, to aim higher, to become stronger – together. In this way you will inspire the world in this Olympic Year with the same ambition, courage and strength like the Year of the Tiger.

Now I have the honour of inviting the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, to declare open the 24 th  Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Subscriber Only Resources

Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to The New York TImes Upfront  magazine.

LESSON PLAN

Should young people be allowed to do extreme sports.

Analyzing Authors’ Claims

Read the Article

YES:  Jamie Burr, Professor of Human Health and Nutritional Science, University of Guelph, Canada NO:  Vani J. Sabesan, M.D., Associate Professor, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit

Analyze the debate.

1. Set Focus Frame the inquiry with these essential questions:  What is a reasonable risk? When do the risks of an activity outweigh its benefits? Who gets to decide when something is too risky?

2. R ead and Discuss Have students read the debate and then answer the following questions:

• What is the issue being debated? How does it relate to current events? (The issue is whether kids and teens should be allowed to participate in extreme sports. The issue is timely because youth participation in extreme sports is at an all-time high.)
• Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue.  (Jamie Burr is a professor of human health and nutritional sciences. Vani J. Sabesan is a doctor who also teaches at a university medical school.)
• Analyze Burr’s view. (Burr says that young people should be allowed to participate in extreme sports. He says that risk is a part of life and that barring young people from risky activities would deprive them of the chance to develop risk-management skills. He says adults can help manage the risk for young people by properly ramping them up to the activity.)
• Analyze Sabesan’s view. (Sabesan says that young people should not be allowed to participate in extreme sports. She says the risks, including paralysis and death, related to extreme sports are far greater than with traditional sports and that most protective equipment can’t prevent injuries. She also says that young people’s brains haven’t developed sufficiently for them to make good choices about these activities.)

Extend & Assess

4. Writing Prompt In an essay, evaluate one of the debaters’ arguments. Assess whether the reasoning is valid and whether it’s supported with evidence. Point out biases or missing information.

5. Classroom Debate Should young people be allowed to do extreme sports? Have students use the authors’ ideas, as well as their own, in a debate.

6. Vote Go online to vote in Upfront’s poll—and see how students across the country voted.  

Download a PDF of this Lesson Plan

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

292 Sports Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

See our sports speech topics on popular themes such as badminton, Paris marathon, baseball bat tricks, and English speaking notes for anyone who is looking for athletes issues to instruct or share knowledge. Most of the material below could be seen as hints for your sub or main points in a demonstration outline!

All these speech topics can be altered and transformed in your own way!

In this article:

Informative

List of sports speech topics.

Test it yourself now:

• Should sports teams be named after ethnic groups?
• Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
• Why we should not cheer for the Redskins.
• Why sports should be encouraged.
• Why take a sailing vacation?
• Learning to swim should be a requirement.
• Public funding of sports stadiums is a bad idea.
• Boxing should have stricter rules to keep boxers safe.
• Why you should become a swimmer.
• Why people should dance more.
• Athletics are too much a priority in schools.
• Is NASCAR a sport?
• Should FIFA have price ranges?
• Everyone should take part in at least one form of sport.
• Players in good teams will always win something.
• A player should keep working hard even when no one is watching.
• Sports players should never let wins get to their heads.
• Benching a player is a smart move from the coach.
• Sport is a universal language.
• Sport has the ability to unite even the most divided countries.
• Every amateur needs a pro mentor.
• A team that works together is unstoppable.
• Coaches should never single out a player.
• Sport teaches children about teamwork.
• Rugby is a dangerous sport.
• Competitive sport can teach us a lot about life.
• Parents should not insult coaches from the side-lines.
• Why everyone should get a sport massage once a week
• Exercise should be a daily routine.
• A baby is not an excuse to skip working out.
• Parents and coaches should reward children regardless of their performance.
• Soccer is the best sport of all.
• Players who use drugs while practicing sport must be banned.
• Diego Maradona should not be hailed as one of the greatest soccer players.
• Professional sports players should never become coaches.
• World Cup hosting countries should offer affordable ticket prices to locals.
• There is no purpose in sport for cheerleaders.
• Parents should let their children try out for all the sports they are interested in.
• Teams who are superior to other teams in a league should earn more from TV rights.
• Rags to riches stories about sports stars should be told to school going children.
• Fans should not judge players.
• Fan girls know nothing about sports.
• Female referees should not referee male teams.
• Home exercise equipment is a waste of money.
• The player that wins the ‘Balon d’or’ after Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi is going to be a big deal.
• Club directors shouldn’t have a say in how coaches pick players.
• No coach should be fired after just one season.
• It is good for winning teams when they are beaten by underdogs.
• Teams should not keep players that don’t want to be there.
• Sport is a great way to connect people.
• Sports psychologists play an important role in sport.
• Age old rivalry in sport is the most fun to watch.
• Professional athletes should be careful with how they spend their money.
• A referee that loses control of a match ruins the match for both teams and fans.
• Children should be taught from small not to ‘boo’ at other teams.
• Sports stars now are bigger household names thanks to social media.
• Players who cheat must be banned or punished regardless of age.
• Steroid scandals hurt a team.
• Tiger Woods should be remembered for the great golfer he is and not for his sex scandal.
• Politicians should never interfere in how sport should be run.
• People who play sport are more social.
• Playing sport helps build character in children.
• Sport shouldn’t only be played by specific genders.
• People that practice sport are more proactive.
• Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the best examples of sportsmanship.
• People need to support the underdogs.
• Sport has the power to unite people.
• Stadiums which are built specially for world cups often become liabilities.
• Losing a match can help with motivation.
• Young children that play sport learn to respect authority and rules from a young age.
• Children must play sports, even if they don’t want to.
• Badminton is not more popular because it is not understood.
• Baseball salary caps would come at a great cost.
• Sport is a key to a positive self-esteem in children.
• Sport helps our mental well-being.
• All forms of animal sports should be banned.
• Advertising alcohol during sports matches should not be allowed.
• Professional sports player’s salaries should not be capped.
• Fans should never disrespect the opposite team’s national anthems.
• College athletes should be paid for the matches that they play.
• Professional players should stick to a diet throughout the season.
• Sports marketing is a great career option.
• Darts should be considered a game event.
• Sports gambling should be banned.
• Comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi to each other is silly.
• Professional wrestling is just a show.
• Sport has become too commercialized.
• Not all players need to retire at 35.
• Players should be sent to the side-lines until bleeding is under control.
• Command is more important than control when pitching in baseball.
• Player’s jerseys should display their main sponsor’s name only.
• Fans that pay a members fee should have a vote in club matters.
• Chess players should be given more recognition.
• Women’s sport is less popular because of stereotyping.
• Hunting should never be considered a sport.
• Sleep is very important in sports recovery.
• Head injuries are not taken seriously enough.
• Video technology will ruin the flow of a soccer game.
• Smoking should be banned in stadiums.
• Fans attending sport events in another country should respect local customs.
• Fans who racially abuse players should be banned for life from attending live matches.
• Baseball is more exciting than cricket.
• Boxing isn’t entertaining.
• Children should not be graded for Physical Training.
• Professional sport players are better role models than rock stars.
• Female sports should be given more media coverage.
• FIFA should not be allowed to be run by men who are over 60 years old.
• Lance Armstrong should be remembered as nothing more than a cheater.
• Learning how to swim should be a requirement for all humans.
• Watching sports on TV is better than watching it live.
• Talented young players should be funded by career development scholarships.
• Rules in sport not always need to be followed.
• Golf is exciting to play but boring to watch.
• Salaries of sports players should be based on their previous season’s performance.
• NASCAR should be considered a sport.
• The facts everybody ought to know about the (eg.) SUKMA Sukan Malaysia Games in Malaysia. (Or take another great tournament)
• Play sports and you get a lot more than just a fit body.
• What makes performing extreme physical exertions so popular.
• A single round of matchplay golf can bring rival communities together at hole nineteen.
• What coaches must know about sports related persuasive speech topics in order to create a real winner champions.
• Why women professional team competitions became popular among men in the last twenty years.
• We should make facilities more accessible to people with disabilities.
• The Olympic bid books of candidate cities must contain the financial on social effects on society and local economies on the long term.
• Soccer World Cup referees must understand intercultural habits.
• There should come a biological passport for pro athletes to monitor any use of doping throughout a career.
• Boxing should be banned from the Olympics because a lot of the viewers do not like it when someone is getting hurt on TV.
• Darts contestants are no athletes but only fun-making beer drinkers.
• Rugby football is nothing without its rough tackles.
• Why we always know how a sports film will.
• The wild card system (like tennis) should be introduced in all competitive and recreation team athletics.
• Most female professional bodybuilders take steroids or other performance enhancers.
• Professional wrestling is not real, is just show.
• Cheerleading is a sport.
• The integration of mind, body and spirit is the essential sports factor.
• Golf is not a sport, it’s a hobby for old people.
• Everybody should practice sports at least half an hour a day.
• Professional sport is too commercial nowadays.
• The most watched sports or sports events in the world are boring.
• Scandals hurt the Olympic Games.
• Ice is the best first aid remedy for a sports injury.
• Why measuring your body mass index is important.
• You only become a great athlete by training and special diets.
• Not every retired famous sportsman or woman is a good coach.
• A baseball salary cap would come at too great a cost.
• Fill in your favorite team – is the greatest baseball team of all time.
• Good pitchers are not good hitters.
• An NBA age limit is stupid.
• Athletes should retire at the top of their careers.
• Basketball should change its rule of fouling out after five fouls.
• Bungee jumping is risky despite all the precautions taken.
• Invest in excellence sports achievements.
• Kick-Boxing should be banned.
• Ban blood sports.
• Obsession with sports is unhealthy.
• Participating in competitive sports too young is unhealthy.
• Wear the proper protective gear when doing sports.
• Weight-cutting techniques in sports competitions are unsafe.
• Punish sports clubs whose fans misbehave.
• Sports brings out the worst in people.
• Sports events cannot do without sponsoring.
• Sports events should give men and women equal prizes.
• Sports is the opiate of the masses.
• Team sports are legalized organized crime.
• Why we worship sports.
• Almost all multi-discipline activities require much more planning for skill training than you think.
• Creating a peer incentive climate in a volleyball team will pay off.
• Football has many health benefits.
• A healthy lifestyle helps to attain the right body shape and fitness level.
• Mental preps for auto racing athletes is crucial to prevent accidents.
• Physical activity raises self-esteem and confidence levels.
• Bowling should be an Olympic sports discipline.
• Boxing does cause brain damage.
• Fill in … is an astonishing sports player and qualifies for the Hall of Fame.
• Football coaches and managers should focus on newly discovered sports science technologies.
• Golf has a major impact on business deals.
• Professional athletes are not overpaid because they entertain millions of people.
• Student athletes must be tested for drugs now more than ever.
• Team spirit is what really maximizes results.
• Team sports without team building skills won’t succeed.
• The Hawaii deep sea sportfishing industry must be better controlled.
• The Olympic Dream will not come true.
• The Olympic flame tour costs too much.
• The Olympic ideal needs renovation.
• The Olympic Oath is considered perjury live on television.
• The Tour de France cannot be won repeatedly without using doping extracts.
• Without cheerleaders sports events would be less fun.
• How to build a pinewood derby car.
• The best sports players of all time.
• The best professional baseball stadiums.
• The sport of “cheese rolling”.
• Some common ice hockey injuries.
• The history of the Chicago Bulls.
• The excitement of competitive horseback riding.
• The origins of soccer.
• How baseball bats are made.
• How to make fishing lures.
• Why sports are so popular.
• The history of field hockey.
• What winners do to win.
• How Larry Bird became a NBA legend.
• The sport of curling.
• The world’s most famous golf courses.
• How to make a turkey call.
• How Canadian football is played.
• How to coach and train a racing horse to obey your commands and set for a winning mood.
• Learn to achieve dominance over one another in mixed martial arts classes.
• Squash instructions and personal coaching tips.
• Individual endurance practices require extra motivation and the ultimate self-discipline help.
• Technical university scientists can enhance performances.
• How to increase your strength speed, staying power and toughness.
• The strange subjective perception of a Formula 1 driver in his seat on a racing circuit.
• The effect of a crowded stadium on the performance of athletic men and women.
• Determine your strategy by analyzing a videotape of your ice hockey competitors.
• Volunteer as community softball team fund-raiser.
• Effective bodybuilding workouts and weight training methods.
• How to relax your horse at equestrian tournaments.
• Simple mental preparation techniques for difficult mind games like Chess, Checkers, and Go.
• Biological and technical factors that influence a positive outcome.
• Famous athletes in history and their causative mockery quotes.
• How the Greeks organized their Ancient Olympics.
• How the Olympic bidding process works at the IOC.
• Illegal steroids and unethical athlete behavior
• International arbitration rules.
• The Formula 1 schedule and ranking methods.
• The badminton racket forehand and backhand grip techniques.
• Goose, duck feather, plastic, and synthetic shuttlecocks.
• The low, high, drive, and flick serve, plus the drop shot.
• The Badminton footwork and game strategies.
• Badminton mixed doubles rules.
• The long run of the Greek messenger Pheidippides after the Battle of Marathon to the modern forms like the Olympic Games and the Paris Marathon.
• Types of relay races and competitions for runners.
• The mission of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Baseball Bat Tricks

• The differences with softball.
• The twelve-year history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
• The Little League World Series for boys ГЎnd girls.
• Types of shots – mid-range, alley-oop, free-throw, layup, three-pointer, dunk, and the half-court shot.
• Man-to-man and zone defense.
• Footwork for dribbling, passing, and screening.
• Tour de France (100 years old event) in 21 stages over a total distance of approx 3,500 km/2,200 miles.
• Giro d’Italia (about 66 years) in Italy, nearly 3,500 km/2,200 miles.
• Vuelta a Espana, a three-week bicycle racing over about 3,300 km/2,050 miles.
• Essential cycling equipment and gear.
• Chess strategy and tactics.
• How American football in other countries is organized, like Canada, Europe, Russia, Switzerland and Japan.
• The differences between Canadian and American football.
• Gaelic football rules – a mix of rugby, soccer, and basketball.
• The history of the Australian game.
• The popular 4-4-2 formation in modern soccer.
• What do lie and loft mean for golf clubs, why important?
• Offer a general checklist for choosing the best type of putters.
• Golf course architecture and the hidden strategies designers create for your pleasure …
• The types of competition: stroke play, match play, USGA, PGA, EGA, the league in your country.
• The most beautiful golf hits and swings explained, ideal for illustrating in an informative public speaking speech with video visual aids .
• Famous tournaments around the world.
• Golf tips and tricks.
• Rhythmic gymnastics scoring system of the governing authority FГ©dГ©ration Internationale de Gymnastique.
• Trampolining – the Schools Trampoline Competitions in the United Kingdom.
• Acrobatic: pair or group performing tumbling routines.
• Choosing a checklist for the best hockey stick for field play – or other related sports equipment.
• Outfit and protection elements of the keeper.
• The major professional sports leagues India, Pakistan, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Argentina.

Horse Racing

• Flat racing: running over level tracks in eight racing classes.
• Steeplechasing: across open country with jumps over hurdles and water obstacles.
• Harness racing – jockeys riding in sulkies behind trotting or pacing horses.
• Men’s field lacrosse – derived from the field hockey game jeu de la crosse in France.
• Development and history of women’s lacrosse.
• How box or indoor lacrosse is played.
• Intercrosse, the soft form, popular in Europe.

Martial Arts

• American Karate, strengthens your physical wellbeing and improve your listening and learning skills.
• Malakhra sports, wrestlers tie a twisted cloth around the waist of the opponent and than …
• Non-violent Martial Arts like Aikido, Jujitsu, and Judo.
• Costumes and dresses for figure skating.
• Speedskating world championships Short Track.
• Tour skating on natural ice over a long distance, e.g. Eleven Cities Tour in Friesland.
• Australian Open (since 1912) in January in Melbourne.
• Roland Garros (1928) in May/June Paris.
• Wimbledon (1881) in June/July in Great Britain.
• US Open (1877) in August/September in New York.

Water Sports

• Extreme Waterskiing tricks: slalom, jumping, barefoot, carving. (Ideal for showing up to 50 sports informative speech topics and more slides and videos with suiting English speaking notes presentation equipment
• Snorkeling routes in the Great Barrier Reef.
• Sailing navigation equipment for a sailing trip around the globe.
• Kitesurfing on land – or land kiteboarding.
• Timber Rafting as an outdoor activity.
• The basics of Kayak paddling and canoeing.
• Wakeboarding tricks in the sea.

259 Interesting Speech Topics [Examples + Outlines]

75 Group Discussion Topics

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Famous Sports Speeches

Famous sports speeches highlight some of the greatest speeches about sports in the history of athletics. From famous speeches by athletes to legendary speeches by coaches, many of the most memorable sentiments in sports history are here on this sports speech list. This list includes motivational speeches for athletes, pump up speeches, and just the most all around famous sport speeches.

If " great moments are born from great opportunity ," then these famous sports speeches helped those opportunities become great moments by providing the motivation to achieve the impossible. What are the most famous sports speeches? From the pre-game pump-up speeches by coaches before championship games to the reflection speeches given after great careers, these famous sports speeches are some of the best ever.

What are the greatest speeches in sports? While sports movies like Any Given Sunday  and Hoosiers give plenty of fictional inspiring speeches , these speeches took place in real life and inspired generations to come.

Jimmy Valvano

Appearing at the first ESPY Awards on March 3, 1993, former North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano gave an emotional and motivational speech while accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. Valvano was suffering from cancer at the time, announcing The V Foundation and urging everyone to laugh, think and cry everyday, words that also appeared on his tombstone after he lost his battle with cancer less than two months later.

Showing strength and optimism in the face of adversity, baseball legend Lou Gehrig gave the famous "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech during a New York Yankees game on July 4, 1939, which was also deemed Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.

Only days earlier, the six-time World Series champion had retired from the game after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans... So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."

Herb Brooks

Speaking to his players prior to a game at the 1980 Winter Olympics, legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks inspired his squad to complete the impossible and beat the dominant Soviet team. They did just that, completing the "Miracle on Ice" and went on to win the gold medal.

Though the original speech was done in a private locker room, in the 2004 film Miracle , Kurt Russell recreated the speech.

"Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game; if we played them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players—every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it!"

Muhammad Ali

Prior to fighting George Foreman on October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali read this poem as part of the build-up for the fight known as "The Rumble in the Jungle." Ali won the fight in the eighth round, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing.

Frail and in pain from nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth made one last appearance at Yankee Stadium for "Babe Ruth Day" on April 27, 1947, to give his farewell speech. The Bambino addressed the sell-out crowd of over 60,000 by reflecting on his journey to the big leagues and inspiring generations to follow in his footsteps.

"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

You know how bad my voice sounds -- well it feels just as bad.

You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth. That means the boys.

And after you're a boy and grow up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today in your national pastime, the only real game -- I think -- in the world, baseball.

As a rule, some people think if you give them a football, or a baseball, or something like that -- naturally they're athletes right away.

But you can't do that in baseball.

You've gotta start from way down [at] the bottom, when you're six or seven years of age. You can't wait until you're fifteen or sixteen. You gotta let it grow up with you. And if you're successful, and you try hard enough, you're bound to come out on top -- just like these boys have come to the top now.

There's been so many lovely things said about me, and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to thank everybody.

Vince Lombardi

Easily considered one of the best National Football League coaches ever, the great Vince Lombardi gave this final speech to his players on the Green Bay Packers prior to Super Bowl II on January 14, 1968. Lombardi's team defeated the Oakland Raiders 33-14 to win their second-consecutive Super Bowl. His legacy was later honored with the Super Bowl trophy being renamed the Lombardi Trophy.

Michael Irvin

Following a career with a few speed bumps, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver reflected as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 4, 2007. "The Playmaker" was emotional during the speech as he talked about mistakes he made, his relationship with his family and why no one should ever give up.

"I doubted I would ever have the chance to stand before you today. So when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah . I said, That's how you do it, son. You do it like they did it. Michael asked, he said, Dad, do you ever think we will be there? And I didn't know how to answer that. And it returned me to that threshing floor. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?

I wanted to stand in front of my boys and say, Do it like your dad, like any proud dad would want to. Why must I go through so much?

On September 17, 2001, less than a week after the country was shook by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck recited a heartfelt poem to the crowd at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Titled For America , Buck read the emotional poem to open the game, which was the first since the attacks.

Knute Rockne

Immortalized in the college football movie "Rudy," Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne is remembered for two notable sports speeches. In addition to his "win one for the Gipper" speech, Rockne gave this memorable and motivational speech during his time coaching the Fighting Irish from 1918 to 1930.

During his time with the team, Rockne led Notre Dame to an incredible 105-12-5 record and five national championships.

"Well, boys, I haven't a thing to say. Played a great game ... all of you. Great game. I guess we just can't expect to win 'em all. I'm going to tell you something I've kept to myself for years. None of you ever knew George Gipp. It was long before your time. But you know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame. And the last thing he said to me, 'Rock,' he said, 'sometime, when the team is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock,' he said, 'but I'll know about it, and I'll be happy."

"And don't forget, men — today is the day we're gonna win. They can't lick us — and that's how it goes… The first platoon men — go in there and fight, fight, fight, fight, fight! What do you say, men!"

Two years before he'd lead the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup Championship at the age of 37, National Hockey League goaltender Tim Thomas gave this motivational speech at the NHL Awards on June 18, 2009, while accepting the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the league.

His rags to riches story was told in the emotional acceptance speech and remembered as one of the best sports speeches of all time.

"I never really allowed myself to believe that I might win because it seemed like such a faraway dream. When you look at the names on the Vezina Trophy, they're legends, and it's humbling to even be mentioned in the same sentence. I've been more worried about getting my name on a roster than I have been about winning the Vezina Trophy... Throughout my career, there were so many times when I got my hopes up and had them come crashing down behind me."

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Sports Speech

Sports speech generator.

Have you ever heard a motivational speech made for sports before? I for one have heard people making speeches before a game, but that was a long time ago. Speaking of speeches , have you ever attended one or was the one who made the speech? For some people attending a sports speech may sound boring, while others find it cool or informative. Depending on who may be making the speech and how they may persuade their audience. Have you ever written a speech or made a speech before? The fact that writing or making speeches often makes people nervous.

Especially for those who are not used to it or have the fear of public speaking. It goes without saying, a good speech is just as good as the one who is presenting it. When given the chance to speak up about a favorite sport in a sporting event, why don’t you go ahead and try? Not only will it give those listening a boost up, it is also a good way to be able to convince them on what you want to say. But first, we must know how to write a good speech. So let’s go.

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What Is a Sports Speech?

A sports speech is a kind of speech that is usually given to kids or teenagers to explain the importance and the fun of being active. This speech is also a way to make them reflect on the meaning of true sportsmanship. In addition to that, when making the sports speech, you may also include the importance of exercise and having fun through various kinds of sports. This type of speech is to encourage, motivate and to persuade those who may not be into sports to try out and do their best. Your audience may be a mix of children, students, teachers or even teenagers, so it is best to watch what you may be saying in case they may misinterpret it. In your speech, you have to have enough information to persuade or give enough ideas and opinions. Basically research is still a part of this. The key to making this a good sports speech is through knowing how to motivate your audience who can vary from age groups and their love or lack of it for sports. Moving on, it’s time we know how to write a good sports speech to wow your audience.

How to Write a Sports Speech?

Now that we know what a sports speech is, what it is for and why it is important and useful, it is that time of the moment to know how to write a good sports speech. Are you ready ? I know I am. Let’s go!

1. Start With a Short Introduction

Just as any kind of speech you may be writing or may be doing, you should always start with a short introduction . Introduce yourself and what you are going to be talking about would be nice. This is to make your audience aware of what you are going to talk about and who you are as well. A short introduction is all you need before you are going to be talking about sports.

2. Add a Short Anecdote to Match Your Speech

Your anecdote is only to capture your audience’s attention. Especially if your audience happens to be a wide variety of people. Your anecdote however should have a moral that goes with your sports speech. The speech is the main point but the anecdote is going to be one thing that helps your audience capture the essence of it. Basically, your anecdote is the stepping stone of your sports speech. So match both.

3. Speak About the Importance of Sportsmanship

You should be speaking about what your sports speech is about. If your theme is about sportsmanship or the general idea about sports, use that. However, also add the importance of sportsmanship and the value of sports when it comes to children and teenagers. As we know that they may have this idea of competitiveness, it is still best to add it.

4. Use Simple Words

When you are going to be explaining something in your speech, it is always best to use simple words over words that may not be as familiar to your audience as it is to you. Remember that your audience can be a mix of children, teenagers and even adults, so what adults may be able to understand the rest may not. In addition to that, be careful with how you word your speech. Avoid any words that may look as if it could be misinterpreted and may lead to some serious issues.

5. Finish Your Speech With a Positive Mindset

Just as how you made your speech, a positive and enthusiastic upbeat attitude, you should also end your speech with the same attitude. Let your audience know that what you mean in your speech is true. During your speech, persuade the audience to make them believe. As you finish your speech, do the same. Remind them with the power of persuasion. Remind them with a positive attitude and a positive mindset.

What is a sports speech?

A sports speech is a kind of speech that is used to encourage, persuade and inform people who may either want to know about the sport they may be playing, to know about sportsmanship and to those who love listening to others talking about sports.

What topics are good for this kind of speech?

Good sports news, about one kind of sport that you may want to talk about. Most of the topics for this kind of speech can range from athletes to the not so common sports and the talk of sportsmanship.

Who are most likely the audience for this speech?

The most likely audience for this kind of speech are students, teachers, and even those who may be interested in sports.

When you write and do speeches, it is always best to know what you are writing about and the words you are going to be using. Your audience would vary, so it is best to know who you may be making the speeches for. With this in mind, the next time you plan to do a speech, you can check the simple tips to help you.

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Extreme Sports in Switzerland

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Switzerland may be neutral when it comes to global politics, but it's definitely passionate about adventure sporting. With a landscape that seems more like a playground, it's impossible not to explore and venture into its wilderness. Take your adventures to the extreme with these ultimate sporting opportunities.

Snowkiting If you don't know what this sport is, but are excited by the name, then this article is for you. Think snowboarding meets windsailing, and you'll get the basic idea of snowkiting, winter's fastest-growing new sport. You'll ride fresh powder all day without ever getting in a liftline; the wind will lift you up hills instead of only carving down them. The entire mountain becomes your very own freestyle park.

Extreme Sports Cafe offers a wide range of snowkiting courses and trips for beginners and advanced riders. We do recommend you feel comfortable on a board without a kite before taking sail. Visit the official snowkiting site to pick up some tips before you strap in and take off.

Skydiving If a kite doesn't provide enough air for you, we've got the solution. Put your courage to the test by skydiving or helidiving over the scenic Swiss Alps. Skydive Switzerland offers tandem skydiving for novices over a targeted airfield. Throw in a little extra cash to have the job recorded to video. Those with the cash and the courage can enroll in the solo jump day course and brave the air on their own.

Extreme Sports Cafe offers an alternative to traditional skydiving called helidiving. The drop zone overlooks the stunning panoramic views of scenic Lake Zurich in Canton of Aargau. Hover over the Swiss scenery, and see if you can find the nerve to throw yourself out of the helicopter. It's always better to be scared with a friend, so make sure you ask about the group rates.

Ride the Pipe Visit the Les Crosets snowboard camp in French-speaking Switzerland, and progress from switch to jumps to fakies to rails. Located in the Portes du Soleil ski area that straddles the domain between Switzerland and France, the camp was created for those wishing to take their freestyle ride to new levels.

Professional snowboarders with experience in sports education will show you the ropes, even building on your ability to build and hit jumps in the backcountry. Draw inspiration from the many well-known snowboarders who hit Les Crosets' terrain regularly: Romain de Marchi, Trevor Andrew, Jules Reymond and Nicolas Mueller to name a few.

Canyoning It might be hard, but you should definitely tear yourself away from the mountains and explore the twisting gorges, valleys and Swiss cliffsides. Canyoning in Interlaken will take you into hidden Swiss worlds where you can cliff jump, slide down waterfalls and swim through pristine pools.

The professional guides at Outdoor Interlaken will provide awesome outings, detailed instruction and top-of-the-line equipment. If you've never been on skis or a snowboard, or maybe snow just isn't your thing, then this is for you.

Heliskiing and Heliboarding For experienced skiers and boarders only, this activity maxes out on the best of the sport: fresh powder, unbelievable views, open terrain, high elevations and zero lift lines. While considerably more expensive than an all-day lift pass, it's the opportunity of a lifetime and every mountain enthusiast should try it once.

The Swiss Alpine Guides offer helicopter trips throughout the season, weather permitting. If you're going solo, weekends are your only bet, but get a group of adrenaline junkies together and you can arrange a trip any day of the week. Before you hit the freshies, if you're a boarder make sure your board is waxed and sharpened; if you're a skier, Fatboys or Freeriders are recommended and available for daily rentals in Interlaken.

The Complete Package If you and a group of adrenaline fiends are heading to Switzerland for the ultimate vacation, book a complete package tour with Tours 4 Sport . Tours can be booked in advance or when you arrive at Interlaken. Activities include: paragliding, parachute jumps, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping and ice gliding.

Even better, the friendly people at Tours 4 Sports can arrange flights, hotel accommodations, sports travel insurance and they guarantee a good time. So head to the breathtaking Swiss countryside on a vacation that will stress your nerves but not your bank account.

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• Speech on Sports for Students

Speech on Sports in English for Students

Sports are an essential part of the growth and development of a child. They assist in developing the body's mental health and physical fitness. A student gains different abilities, experience and trust through participation in sports and games, which help develop their personality. Not only does continuous work tire you, but it also decreases your productivity. So, it's better to have a sports activity adopted to have better productivity and focus. We have provided below both Long and Short Speech on Sports including 10 lines for Short Sports Speech in English for reference.

Long and Short Sports Speech in English For Students and Children

Long speech on sports for students.

Today, I am fortunate enough to get the opportunity to speak on the topic of Sports. One thing that is common among us is that, because of our monotonous routine, we often get tired or stressed. The human body is not a machine, and keeping it working efficiently requires time and investment. Every day, our minds often get frustrated with the same routine. It needs replenishment, and in this regard, sports are the best therapy ever. People who participate in various kinds of sports often find themselves more energetic and are the happiest people.

For a person's physical and mental development, sports are very important. It has several beneficial effects, including increased blood flow, improved concentration and thinking ability. It also creates awareness and enhances reflexes, reducing reaction time.

A sportsman, because he/she is physically and mentally fit to do so, can make quick and rational decisions. In building a person's physical stamina, outdoor sports such as swimming, cricket, football, volleyball, etc. are very beneficial. These sports require a great deal of running or physical movement, which increases the individual's physical capacity. It is well observed that, due to health problems and laziness, many students fail to demonstrate excellent performance at their school, college or university. It is also found in adults that they are unable to do their best at their job. The reason behind all these things is that our lifestyle lacks sports. 

The importance of sports must be accepted and the time spent on the field should be increased. There should be competitions at all levels and all players who are interested in pursuing sports professionally should be supported by the government. In every city, there should be playing grounds for our youth to maintain their fit and healthy selves. It is not only important to take part in sports activities for physical development, but also mental growth. Such activities teach the skills to deal with difficult circumstances in life. It also teaches the value of involvement and trying. This improves team-building abilities as well as decreases stress. It helps to increase blood flow and helps keep health issues away from you. It also helps to maintain the balance between work and personal life through the elimination of exhaustion. Happiness is also increased by engaging yourself in sports or games. 

Choosing a sport with high value or rules is not necessary, even tiny and easy sports can go a long way. It is essential to allow our children and individuals to participate in sports events for better health, body growth, and encourage them to make a career in this field as well. In conclusion, I would like to add that it is essential to take part in sports, no matter how hard you work or how long you work, to increase productivity and decrease lethargy.

Short Speech on Sports for Students 

I am here today to speak on the topic of Sports.

The sport includes all sorts of competitive physical activity or games that, through casual or organized participation, are partially aimed towards using, maintaining or improving physical skills and abilities while providing participants with enjoyment and, in some cases, spectators with entertainment. 

Sports generate purposeful and meaningful social relationships, especially team sports. Man is a social animal; we need to connect with others socially. Such social relationships with your friends and colleagues provide you with extremely desirable security, belonging, and ultimately happiness. Therefore, it is not at all a necessity to win or lose in sports or athletics, but the happiness that comes from participation in sports or athletics is a highly cherished trophy. 

It is necessary to allow our children and individuals to participate in sports events for better health, body growth, and if they want, they can also make a career in this field. It makes a learner happy and brings happiness in life. It is quite easy to focus on studies and achieve excellence when one is happy and healthy. Sports can be said to provide your mind with the necessary leverage by making it relaxed, sharp and oriented. Aside from the psychological advantages, you also benefit physically from indulging in sports. 

Sports develop teamwork and team spirit, which in today's world is very important. But many look at the sport as a waste of time due to current changes, which is wrong. So, in the end, I would like to encourage each one of you to choose a sport of your choice and participate in it, while pushing others around you to do so as well.

10 Lines for Short Sports Speech in English

Physical sports require exercise.

Mind sports involve psychological flexibility, concentration and fast thinking.

For both the participants and the spectators, a good sport should be a source of entertainment.

For a sport to be competitive, fair play is one of the basic requirements.

It plays a major role in improving our physical and mental fitness.

This helps to build self-confidence, team spirit, and mental & physical strength.

There are two kinds of indoor and outdoor sports.

Sports teach us discipline, the value of time, togetherness and unity.

Most sports are free from the age boundary, and they can be played by anyone.

In all kinds of sports, performance-enhancing drugs to increase efficiency are restricted.

Sports are a terrific method for kids to develop important life skills like teamwork and cooperation that will help them later in life. Sports allow kids to enhance their physical skills, get some exercise, learn teamwork, play fairly, and boost their self-esteem. Furthermore, they may teach children essential life values such as how to persevere, win with humility, and lose gracefully.

After much research, it has been found that students who participate in athletics do better in school. Furthermore, sporting activities not only relieve stress and promote physical and mental health, but also aid in the prevention of boy misconduct, conflict, and angry outbursts. The goal is to maintain physical fitness so that our minds can remain strong and clear.

Vedantu has prepared both a long and a short speech on the subject of sports for students. The focus of the speech is on the role and value of sports and games in the lives of students.

Long Speech on Sports

Good day fellow students. I'll be giving a speech about sports and gaming today. I'm delighted I got this topic because it's exciting and relevant to students.

In most schools, sports and games classes are required. This is because children must acclimate to rigorous physical work and not become fatigued easily. It's difficult initially, regardless of the sport. But, over time, one's body adjusts to the movements, strokes, gestures, and so on.

When we participate in a physical sport, whether it's football, swimming, boxing, or any other sport, our bodies, muscles, and bones get a good workout. It gives us strength and increases our energy levels. Sports can be a stress reliever for certain people, making their hearts and body quiet and serene.

Indoor sports and games, such as chess, cards, and billiards, necessitate a greater cerebral effort than physical exertion. You must ponder and play. Players must have a strategy in place as well as a thorough comprehension of the game's laws and regulations.

Sports and sports provide pleasant relaxation, as well as keep our mind and body in good shape, active and collected. You can study and improve any sport or game in your spare time. This instills in us the ability to trust each other, be loyal and calmly solve problems. He teaches us not to give up no matter how many times we fail, and to keep practicing until we succeed.

People should learn about and participate in a variety of sports and games. That way, they'll be able to figure out which sport is ideal for them. You must be completely committed to the sport or game you have chosen. You must devote 100% of your attention to the game while playing. You must play the game and have fun with it. You must allow the energy to flow naturally through your body. Students should be encouraged to learn things outside of the classroom.

Short Speech on Sports

Good day fellow students. I am ecstatic to be able to speak on one of my favorite subjects, sports. Sports are an important part of everyone's life. It is a component of education that strives to promote an individual's overall development.

Indoor games and outdoor games are the most common sorts of games and sports. People must comprehend and explore all of their possibilities to determine which is best for them.

Sports keep us motivated and create a healthy competitive environment in which we may improve. It also emphasizes team-building activities, as the team participates in a variety of games. It eliminates hesitation and inspires people to move forward in life despite all challenges and setbacks.

FAQs on Speech on Sports for Students

1. How do you speak eloquently about sports in English?

In English, there are four different ways to talk about sports. The first method is to discuss a favourite sport. The second option is to discuss your favourite sports team. The final option is to discuss your favourite athlete. The fourth option is to discuss a favourite sporting event.

2. What is the definition of sports training?

Training entails consistently exercising to enhance one's abilities and fitness. To get the most out of their training, an athlete's training must be appropriate for them and their sport.

3. What is the best motivational speech given by an athlete to motivate students?

Gordie Howe gave a well-known speech (Ice Hockey). 'You discover that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that you gave it your all, whether you won or lost,' he says.

4. What should you remember when giving a speech about sports?

There are 6 keys for a good speech:

Make sure the speech makes a point

Connect with the students at all levels

Use the appropriate tone for the message

Stick to a Good Structure

Practice and Revise

5. How can I learn more about writing essays or giving speeches on Vedantu?

The ability to communicate in English is one of the most important requirements for a stress-free life.  To be termed fluent, a person must be able to speak, read, and write in any language fluently. The understanding of various aspects of English grammar, as well as practice writing letters, essays, and other similar tasks, can all aid in the development or refinement of these skills.  Vedantu explains English grammar, writing letters, writing attachments, delivering speeches, and writing essays.

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‘Inch-by-inch’? Or an on-field dressing down? — The most famous (and infamous) sporting speeches

Crossovers between sports are increasingly common — whether it’s stars from one turning up to watch another or the growing number of athletes investing in sports other than their own.

And last week, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag took inspiration from the other type of football. Well, the dramatised version of it at least. Before his side’s 2-1 FA Cup final win against Manchester City , a video was playing of the speech by Al Pacino’s character Tony D’Amato in the 1999 sports film Any Given Sunday .

That “inch-by-inch” motivational speech is one of Hollywood’s best examples of sporting team talks. But across the sports that The Athletic covers, there are plenty of cases of the power of the pep talk. Here, our experts run through the most famous and infamous speeches in their sports.

You tend to hear more about the bad team talks in football than the good ones.

Take the now infamous address that Sven-Goran Eriksson gave to his England players at halftime of their 2002 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil. They needed a pep-up after conceding just before the break, but the understated Swede apparently did not deliver. Or, as a then-unnamed player said at the time: “We needed Winston Churchill but we got (famously ineffectual and uncharismatic politician) Iain Duncan Smith.” It later turned out that the mystery player was now England manager Gareth Southgate.

Some are more obvious to the outside observer. In 2008, Hull City manager Phil Brown kept his players on the pitch at halftime when 4-0 down to Manchester City, sat them on the turf like a misbehaving under-12s team and gave them a dressing down in front of the watching world.

Sometimes, managers outsource their motivational addresses. In 2014, Jose Mourinho once asked the Chelsea team masseur to deliver a halftime team talk. Senior players are frequently asked to step in. During Arsenal ’s Invincible season of 2003-04, defender Martin Keown addressed his teammates at halftime of a tense match against Liverpool , which they went on to win.

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Brevity is often the key, but Sir Alex Ferguson took that to an extreme before facing some notoriously flakey and mentally fragile opponents, simply telling his Manchester United players: “Lads, it’s Tottenham ”. At halftime of the 2017 Champions League final with Real Madrid drawing 1-1 with Juventus, Zinedine Zidane offered a masterclass in concise instructions, calmly telling each player what they needed to do to win. Madrid prevailed, 4-1.

On Saturday night, ahead of the Champions League final, Jose Mourinho recalled his speech before his two winning appearances at the showpiece game.

He said: “I told (the players) both times … make sure at the end of the match that their families are crying, not ours. Thinking about them in this moment gives them something extra.”

But arguably the most famous, successful motivational speech came before extra-time of the 1966 World Cup final. West Germany had equalised to make it 2-2 late on, and England’s players were demoralised.

Alf Ramsey simply told them: “You’ve won it once. Now go out there and win it again.”

Phil Brown's Hull City team talk on the pitch

— Nick Miller

Kobe Bryant didn’t necessarily want to play against Pau Gasol. That man was like his brother. They would win championships together with the Los Angeles Lakers .

Gasol was the second-best player on a title team that Bryant needed; he was good enough to get him those rings, but not so good as to threaten his hierarchy in the throes of NBA history.

But the late, great Kobe Bryant would always be Kobe Bryant. So, in 2008, when Team USA met Gasol and Spain with the gold medal on the line, Gasol ceased being a brother. He became the man standing between Bryant, his team and another notch on the historical resume — and Bryant responded in kind.

“Kobe said, ‘I’m going to set the tone to start the game’,” LeBron James said. “He said, ‘I’m running through Pau Gasol’s f—ing chest’.”

“Kobe said, ‘I know what they’re going to run,'” Dwyane Wade said. “‘Pau’s going to be the last guy to screen. I’m running through him.’ We were like, ‘What?'”

True to his word, on the first play of the gold medal game, Bryant ran right through Gasol and sent him flying. An eerie silence fell over the gym. Gasol laid on his back for a moment, stunned. After all, he and Bryant had broken bread together the night before.

Bryant’s play inspired his teammates and it set the stage for Team USA winning the gold medal. But it’s another example of how much of a leader he had become — and not just with his voice but his actions. By the end of that Olympic run, it was obvious who the alpha on a roster full of alphas was. A simple foul at the beginning of a game spoke volumes.

Like most sports and competitions, the beauty of NBA basketball is carried in part by the speeches that come before, during or after the competition. They lay the groundwork for a lot of what happens on the court. A word, a gesture, a comparison; anything to gain an edge.

Sometimes, the effect of a great speech is delayed. Such was the case of Monty Williams in his season coaching the Phoenix Suns : “I gotta tell you guys, this is therapeutic for me to be around a group like this. I gotta tell you guys: man, I love you. I truly do.”

Much like a hockey assist, sometimes it’s the season that leads up to the season that leads to the breakthrough. Williams, in his first season coaching the Suns, can attest.

Sure, they went 8-0 in the final regular season games played in the 2020 COVID bubble. Sure, at that point, neither Williams nor the Suns had any idea if they would make the playoffs, and as history showed, they didn’t make it that year. But Williams wasn’t worried. At that point, this was about team building. And on that day, in Florida’s sweltering heat, Williams galvanized a basketball team.

“I don’t care what happens tonight,” Williams said. “I know what I got in this room. Us making the playoffs? That’s out of our control, whether we get better now or we get better in the offseason. Our next step is being the team that controls our own destiny. It has been a pleasure to watch you guys work and battle and gain the respect of your peers. We’re not the Phoenix Suns of old.”

The Suns went on to win 51 games in the next season. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They got out of the first round by beating the Los Angeles Lakers. They made it to the NBA Finals and came within two games of winning an NBA title.

A short-lived championship window ultimately closed without the Suns winning a title. But that night in the bubble in 2020 — not knowing whether or not they would play another game — saw the Phoenix Suns become relevant again within the walls of the NBA. That relevance remains to this day.

But sometimes, the payoff is instantaneous — such as when Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry challenged his teammates before a 2023 first-round Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings .

“We just got embarrassed in Game 6,” Curry told his teammates. “We never showed up. So, I don’t care if you don’t play a minute, if you’re getting on this bus, do everything you can to help your team win.”

And then Curry did everything he could: going out and dropping 50 on the Kings and leading the Warriors to the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Unlike many of those speeches, this one was planned … kind of. When the Kings defeated the Warriors in Game 6, forward Draymond Green sent a 3 a.m. text to Warriors teammate Curry saying he couldn’t sleep. Curry responded in kind but told Green to allow him to address the team before Game 7.

He did, and the Warriors went out and played one of their best games of the series.

— Tony Jones

College football

In college football, the vast majority of speeches that make it out of the locker room for public consumption lean positive, because access to major college football programs is much more restrictive than in the pros. The motivational talks that do surface can often give fans goosebumps.

Georgia fans could feel the passion pulsating from Kirby Smart’s voice in 2021 when audio of his halftime address during the Bulldogs’ annual rivalry game against Florida leaked. He urged his team to “f—ing break” the Gators. Georgia was already up 24-0, but Smart told the Dawgs to treat it as if it were “zero to f—ing zero — and you make them never want to play again.”

The Bulldogs cruised to a 34-7 win and eventually won the national championship.

Kirby Smart at halftime vs UF. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/JXUxB1taRD — Pat 🐺 (@CFB_Pat) November 16, 2021

Most of the sport’s memorable speeches are delivered with similar intensity (if not always similar profanity): Nick Saban telling Alabama players to “make his ass quit!” before their 2008 meeting with LSU ; ex-Florida quarterback Tim Tebow declaring that the Gators were playing the next “30 minutes for the rest of our lives” at halftime of the 2009 national championship; and former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp punching a whiteboard while screaming at the Longhorns’ defenders to “DO YOUR JOB!”

Football’s physicality prompts coaches and players to appeal to emotions, goading them to dig deep to emerge victorious.

Pre-game or halftime motivational speeches are as old as the sport itself.

Legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne is known for his “Win one for the Gipper” speech in 1928, where Rockne told the tale of former star halfback George Gipp’s tragic death and spurred the Irish to victory over Army . A plaque with the speech’s text still hangs in Notre Dame’s locker room.

Bo Schembechler’s “The Team” speech, delivered to Michigan ahead of the 1983 season, lives in Wolverine lore: “No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. The team, the team, the team.”

Modern-day speeches are often recorded by a school’s internal media crew or by TV networks, making them easily go viral. Dan Lanning’s pre-game speech before playing Deion Sanders-led Colorado in 2023 attained that status, when he quipped, “They’re fighting for clicks; we’re fighting for wins.”

Although polished speeches can be effective, short (and profane) is sometimes best.

— Sam Khan Jr.

College basketball

The text came in around midnight: “Be at Coach K’s house in 30 minutes”.

That type of message could only mean one thing — and nothing good. It was January 2017, hours after Jayson Tatum and his Duke teammates lost at home to rival NC State — the Blue Devils’ third loss in four games, and more embarrassingly, the program’s first home defeat to the Wolfpack since 1995. But the really bad part about that text?

That Mike Krzyzewski wasn’t even coaching at the time; he’d watched the game from afar, during his month-long leave for back surgery.

But as Krzyzewski made abundantly clear once his team arrived, even without him on the bench, he was not pleased with their efforts.“One by one, he cusses everybody out,” Tatum recalled during a 2023 podcast. “He tells every player, basically, why they’re not s—.”

Months before, Tatum became the third pick in the NBA Draft. Coach K had specific words for his latest star freshman: “You’re so full of yourself. All you care about is getting drafted, you don’t care about this team!”

As the team left Krzyzewski’s house later that night, another text: “Be at the locker room at 5:30 in the morning”.

When players arrived, they found trash bags in front of each of their lockers. A classic Krzyzewski tactic, and one he’d used multiple times in his four decades of coaching: clean out your lockers, and dump all your Duke gear inside them, because the way you’ve been playing, you don’t deserve to wear it or be in this locker room.

Practice that day was in plain white T-shirts and unbranded navy shorts. Message sent.

What came next? An expected turnaround. Duke won its next seven games, then the ACC tournament title, en route to becoming a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

— Brendan Marks

Thanks in large part to NFL Films ( take it away, Vince Lombardi ) and films about NFL-like entities ( Al Pacino doing Al Pacino things ), the motivational speech is as much a part of professional gridiron football as it is any sport.

The method of motivation can run the gamut. Sometimes you’re just looking for hype, and when it came to hype, Hall of Fame Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis did it better than anyone . He also did it for quite a while: his two Super Bowl rings came 12 years apart.

Sometimes motivation can come from a simple statement of fact; anyone who’s been the intended audience of a speech by the legendary coach Bill Belichick knows that. There was the leadup to Super Bowl XXXIX, when he told his New England Patriots team that the city of Philadelphia had already planned a parade route for their championship game opponent, the Eagles . (The Patriots won that Super Bowl 24-21.)

There’s little doubt about the least motivational address a team has ever been subjected to. The NFL has long used American patriotism as part of its brand, including commemorations of the 9/11 attacks. Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott took a different tack during a 2019 address to his team when, according to Go Long , he “cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection.”

— Gary Gramling

“This ain’t a football game,” the Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver once said. “We do this every day.”

Indeed, the marathon nature of baseball’s gruelling 162-game season doesn’t lend itself to too much speechifying. Rah-rah motivational addresses aren’t part of the culture. But it happens — and those instances can be memorable.

The 2014 Kansas City Royals were mired in midseason malaise when the newly acquired veteran Raul Ibanez found the right words for a promising young club that had yet to find its footing. “So I told them that looking in from the outside, every team hated to play them,” Ibanez said years ago . “Everyone saw the talent they had. This was their opportunity. They were on the cusp of greatness. I just thought they needed a belief.”

It resonated. That year the Royals won the pennant — though in the World Series, they encountered a San Francisco Giants team that also used words to fuel a turnaround.

They came from Hunter Pence, who demanded more time from his teammates during an impassioned pre-game speech during their playoff run . “Look into each other’s eyes,” Pence said. “Now! Look into each other’s eyes, I want one more day with you. It’s the most fun, the best team I have ever been on — and no matter what happens, we must not give in. We owe it to each other. Play for each other. I need one more day with you guys.”

Pence had more than one more day: The Giants went on to beat the Royals to win the World Series.

Ichiro Suzuki was an American League All-Star from 2001 to 2010, and in the clubhouse before every game, he was customarily given the last word by the manager. He offered some version of the same phrase — “Let’s go kick their f—ing fat asses!” — although witnesses say that the F-bombs and decibel level only intensified with the year. Speaking of F-bombs, David Ortiz once used one to great effect, this time while addressing the Fenway Park crowd as Boston was still reeling from the Boston Marathon bombing. “This is our f—*ing city,” Big Papi told the crowd, “and nobody is going to dictate our freedom”.

Then there are the speeches that come with a championship on the line.

Shohei Ohtani sensed that kind of moment in the Japanese clubhouse just before the 2023 World Baseball Classic final against the U.S. “ Let’s stop admiring them. … If you admire them, you can’t surpass them,” he told his Japanese teammates. We came here to surpass them, to reach the top. For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning.”

That admiration was nowhere to be found when Ohtani struck out his Angels teammate, Mike Trout , to secure the final out and the title. Ortiz sensed it during the 2013 World Series when he huddled with his teammates in the dugout for an in-game pep talk. As did Chris Sale five years later, though he looked more like a football coach while urging his Red Sox teammates to snap out of an offensive funk on the way to the 2018 World Series title.

Arguably the best baseball speech ever came from an unlikely source, in an unenviable spot, with his team wavering while on the brink of snapping a 108-year-old championship drought. By looking solely at his on-field results and the eight-year, $184 million (£144.4m) contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs , it would be hard to deny that Jason Heyward underperformed during his time with the team. But his words to his teammates during the 17-minute rain delay in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series is what firmly secured his legend on the North Side of Chicago.

Heyward wasn’t the most vocal of players. He was never one to get overly emotional or ride the waves that come throughout a long season. He led by example. He earned the respect and trust of all those around him by his impeccable work ethic and professional attitude.

The 2016 Cubs had won 103 games, but that playoff run featured multiple tests of their mettle — none bigger than what they faced in the World Series. The Cubs faced a 3-1 series deficit before forcing a Game 7, which they led by as many as four runs and blew a three-run lead in the eighth. Heyward sensed the tension and disappointment. It was during that short rain delay that he etched himself in Cubs lore, taking that moment to do what he had rarely done and address the group .

“I didn’t know if it was going to come or not,” the soft-spoken Heyward said as champagne glistened in his bushy beard after the game. “But I just felt like we needed to be reminded how good we are.”

That well-timed reminder brought the Cubs their first World Series championship since 1908.

“For Jason to speak up, he had to be emotional,” said David Ross, Heyward’s teammate, and later his manager with the Cubs. “He wasn’t yelling and screaming, he was just talking. It was a very deliberate message that he was sending and it was very nice to hear that come out of him.

“When a guy like Jason Heyward speaks, you listen because it’s not all the time that he speaks up.”

— Sahadev Sharma and Marc Carig

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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UFC News: Volkanovski Fancies Shot at Dustin Poirier, 'That Would be a Massive Fight'

Mathew riddle | jun 3, 2024.

Alexander Volkanovski thinks a fight with Dustin Poirier would be "massive."

'The Great' is waiting for a rematch with featherweight king Ilia Topuria but would love to face Poirier while he waits. Taking to his YouTube channel in the aftermath of UFC 302, the Aussie fighter registered his interest in the fight.

"If the timing works maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight," Volkanovski remarked. "I know he just wants good fun fights, obviously we got a lot of respect for each other. I think that would be a massive fight so that's something that I'd be willing to do while I'm waiting for that featherweight title, maybe a lightweight fight against someone like Dustin Poirier would be great."

Volkanovski vs. Poirier: Perfect Candidate for BMF Title?

Volkanovski vs. Poirier would be a good contender for the BMF title if not for a few factors. Poirier already fought and lost for the BMF belt in late 2023, and the title itself is being held hostage in negotiations between Ilia Topuria and BMF-holder Max Holloway.

'El Matador' demands the BMF title be put on the line if he fights Holloway this year, which creates a predicament for the UFC as it defeats the purpose of the contrived belt. Locking the belt at a championship level would eradicate the chance for fan-favorite 'badass' fighters to vie for extra exposure and earning potential (BMF champs get PPV points).

Perhaps the BMF title should be vacated after each pass.

Stick with  MMA Knockout  for daily coverage of the UFC, MMA, WWE, and AEW. Follow MMA Knockout on  Twitter , Instagram  and  Facebook .

MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist  and graphic designer. He joined MMAKO when it was first founded in 2023. Find his work on The Fight Fanatic & Heavy on UFC. He can be contacted on [email protected]

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Showrunner industries collaborating with ai startup scriptgen to develop writer productivity tools, breaking news.

‘Baby Reindeer’ Takes Limited Series Prize, ‘Colin From Accounts’ Wins Twice At Inaugural Gotham TV Awards

By Dade Hayes

Business Editor

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Baby Reindeer captured the Breakthrough Limited Series award and Colin From Accounts was the only two-time winner at Tuesday’s inaugural Gotham TV Awards .

While the dress was black tie, the event moved at a remarkable clip, with barely an hour and 20 minutes required for the seven competitive awards and three career honors. Previously, the Gotham Film & Media Institute had included TV awards in its film-centric gala, which is held just after Thanksgiving as Oscar season is gearing up. This is the first year TV has had its own event.

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Ted Sarandos Says 'Barbie' & 'Oppenheimer' Would Be Just As Big On Netflix; Credits Algorithm For 'Baby Reindeer's Success

“It’s weird that a show as messed up as this has gone on to strike a chord with so many people,” he said of the darkly comic show about a stalker. “I think it speaks to the fact that I think a lot of people in the world are struggling right now. I can’t offer much in the way of advice, but I do know that nothing lasts forever. So if you are in a rut, just keep going. Persevere, persevere, persevere and I promise you things will get better.”

Colin , an Australian import seen in the U.S. on Paramount+, won Gothams for Breakthrough Comedy Series and for Harriet Dyer for Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series.

Law & Order: SVU mainstay Mariska Hargitay, who has appeared in 550 episodes over 25 seasons of the show (more than any other scripted TV actor), received the Anniversary Tribute. Peter Morgan, creator and showrunner of The Crown , was given the Creator Tribute, and Lulu Wang, showrunner, writer and director of Expats, got the Spotlight Tribute.

Breakthrough Nonfiction Series went to Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show . Breakthrough Performance In a Drama was awarded to Zine Tseng of  3 Body Problem. Mr. & Mrs. Smith captured Breakthrough Drama Series, while Ripley ‘s Andrew Scott beat out nine other nominees in the Oustanding Performance in a Limited Series category.

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‘peaky blinders’ movie with cillian murphy set at netflix; knight & harper aboard.

Patrick Burleigh Adapts Hannah Gold’s Beloved Kids Book For Movie

Town hall delayed, nears finish line with skydance; plans to explore streaming jvs, kevin hart, obamas’ higher ground fast-track ‘fatherhood’ series for netflix & sony tv.

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The late Grayson Murray is still part of golf’s world ranking for another few weeks

FILE -Grayson Murray hits off the 18th tee during the first round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Thursday, April 20, 2023. Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning, May 25, 2024 at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Charley Hull, of England, hits off the ninth tee during the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, right, and his father and caddie, Dougie MacIntyre, left, pose for photos with the championship trophy after Robert won the Canadian Open golf tournament in Hamilton, Ontario, Sunday, June 2, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Adam Scott of Australia watches his tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament in Hamilton, Ontario Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

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DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Payne Stewart perished in a plane crash on Oct. 25, 1999, when he was the U.S. Open champion and No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He remained in the ranking for an additional three weeks before his name was removed.

That is what the OWGR is likely to do with Grayson Murray, who died by suicide on May 25.

Murray was at No. 61 in the world this week, and given the rolling two-year formula, he could actually climb back into the top 60 briefly. The OWGR officially said it is “currently discussing how this delicate item could be managed.”

But a person with direct knowledge of the OWGR’s plans said Murray would stay on the ranking for a four-week period, similar to Stewart, and would be removed in the June 23 ranking after the Travelers Championship. The person spoke on condition of anonymity without being authorized to share the plans.

Murray’s ranking matters because the OWGR will be used again Sunday for the top 60 players not already exempt for next week’s U.S. Open. One of those spots will go to Robert MacIntyre, who went from No. 76 to No. 39 by winning the Canadian Open.

There is a mathematical chance Murray would move back into the top 60, though it is unlikely with so many players right behind him who are at the Memorial.

According to an email from the USGA as it relates to that exemption category, Murray would be removed from the OWGR list used to determine the top 60, an indication that it would go to No. 61 if that player isn’t already in the field.

CHARLEY’S BIG WEEK

Charley Hull played in her first Solheim Cup at age 17. She has five wins on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour and has been runner-up three times in the majors.

And then she became one of the most popular players at the U.S. Women’s Open last week.

“All over a cigarette,” said Hull, a 28-year-old from England who shoots from the hip in speech and with her aggressive golf game.

It all started with a picture of her last week on social media with a cigarette dangling from her lips as she signed an autograph for a young fan at Lancaster Country Club.

Let her explain.

“I genuinely was walking to the range, had my hands full, someone asked me for an autograph,” Hull said. “I’m not going to say, ‘No,’ because I always like signing autographs. Had a cigarette in my mouth, signed it, and then it’s gone viral.”

Smoking and golf have been around for years, it’s just more rare these days. In her case, it apparently runs in the family.

“My dad smokes 40 a day since he was 12 years old and now he’s 75, and my nephew smokes, who is like 25. My whole family smokes, so it’s not something that I’ve noticed being odd,” she said. “I hate smoking. I used to curse at my dad when I was younger for smoking, but I think it’s to do a little bit when I’m stressed.”

She said she tried vaping last year but prefers to light up when she’s outdoors.

“When it’s a slow round on the golf course I smoke quite a few more than I should,” she said.

Hull has always been known as a character. It took a cigarette to bring that out to the masses, and it was quite a week.

“All my friends always say I should have a TV show with what goes on in my life. If you think I’ve got a lot of personality on the golf course, you should see what my life is like at home,” she said. “You don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. I’m just me. I’m not going to change for the world.

“I’ll just be me, and people will either like it or lump it.”

INKSTER AWARD

Juli Inkster is so bullish about players getting their college degree — she got hers from San Jose State before embarking on a Hall of Fame career — that she started the Inkster Award to recognize the highest-ranked college golfer in her final year of eligibility.

The winner this year was Ingrid Lindblad of LSU, an obvious choice with a twist.

“Our first five-time All-American,” Inkster said with a laugh. Lindblad wound up getting five years of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award began in 2020. The winner gets $50,000 from presenting sponsor Workday and a spot in the Portland Classic the first week in August. Lindblad could not be at the presentation because she makes her pro debut this week on the Epson Tour.

US OPEN FIELD

The U.S. Open now has 150 players for next week at Pinehurst No. 2, holding back six spots for anyone who qualifies through top 60 in the world ranking or as a multiple winner since last June of PGA Tour events that offer full FedEx Cup points.

One of the goes to Robert MacIntyre, who moved to No. 39 by winning the Canadian Open. There are six players at the Memorial who can still get in — Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Riley Davis and Patrick Rodgers. A win would assure them moving into the top 60, and for Hodges, it would be his second victory.

Then it’s a matter of filling the field from the alternates. The order of alternates from the 13 qualifying sites is not published. The USGA uses a formula based on the strength of field at the qualifier and how many spots it received.

Of particular interest is Sergio Garcia, who is believed to be high on the list of the alternate order. He hasn’t missed a U.S. Open since 2000. Adam Scott is first alternate out of Springfield, Ohio. He hasn’t missed a major since the 2001 British Open, the longest active streak.

For now, the field includes 16 amateurs, 10 of whom made it through qualifying Monday. It also includes 11 players who had to go through two stages of qualifying — 18 holes of local qualifying and 36 holes of final qualifying. Chris Naegel pulled that off for the third time.

U.S. captain Jim Furyk has selected Stewart Cink, Kevin Kisner and Justin Leonard to be assistant captains in the Presidents Cup matches later this year at Royal Montreal. ... Robert MacIntyre flew home to Scotland to celebrate this first PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open, withdrawing from the Memorial and its $20 million purse. ... Yuka Saso’s victory in the U.S. Women’s Open shot her up to No. 6 in the women’s world ranking and assured her returning to the Olympics for the second time, this time for Japan. She tied for ninth competing under the Philippines flag in 2021 outside Tokyo. ... Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the first freshman to sweep all the award as the top college player, has been added to the Memorial field without counting against the four exemptions for signature events. The Jack Nicklaus Award winner could never play because the Memorial — previously held a week earlier — was the same week as the NCAA men’s championship.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Robert MacIntyre became the eighth first-time winner on the PGA Tour this year.

“The first thing you do is the same thing you’re doing right now, is you go win.” — Jack Nicklaus, when asked by Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun how he separated himself from everyone on the PGA Tour. Koivun won the Nicklaus Award as the nation’s best golfer.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The late Grayson Murray is still part of golf's world ranking for another few weeks

Grayson Murray remains part of the official world ranking since he died May 25

DUBLIN, Ohio — Payne Stewart perished in a plane crash on Oct. 25, 1999, when he was the U.S. Open champion and No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He remained in the ranking for an additional three weeks before his name was removed.

That is what the OWGR is likely to do with Grayson Murray, who died by suicide on May 25.

Murray was at No. 61 in the world this week, and given the rolling two-year formula, he could actually climb back into the top 60 briefly. The OWGR officially said it is “currently discussing how this delicate item could be managed.”

But a person with direct knowledge of the OWGR’s plans said Murray would stay on the ranking for a four-week period, similar to Stewart, and would be removed in the June 23 ranking after the Travelers Championship. The person spoke on condition of anonymity without being authorized to share the plans.

Murray’s ranking matters because the OWGR will be used again Sunday for the top 60 players not already exempt for next week’s U.S. Open. One of those spots will go to Robert MacIntyre, who went from No. 76 to No. 39 by winning the Canadian Open.

There is a mathematical chance Murray would move back into the top 60, though it is unlikely with so many players right behind him who are at the Memorial.

According to an email from the USGA as it relates to that exemption category, Murray would be removed from the OWGR list used to determine the top 60, an indication that it would go to No. 61 if that player isn’t already in the field.

CHARLEY'S BIG WEEK

Charley Hull played in her first Solheim Cup at age 17. She has five wins on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour and has been runner-up three times in the majors.

And then she became one of the most popular players at the U.S. Women’s Open last week.

“All over a cigarette,” said Hull, a 28-year-old from England who shoots from the hip in speech and with her aggressive golf game.

It all started with a picture of her last week on social media with a cigarette dangling from her lips as she signed an autograph for a young fan at Lancaster Country Club.

Let her explain.

“I genuinely was walking to the range, had my hands full, someone asked me for an autograph,” Hull said. “I’m not going to say, ‘No,’ because I always like signing autographs. Had a cigarette in my mouth, signed it, and then it’s gone viral.”

Smoking and golf have been around for years, it’s just more rare these days. In her case, it apparently runs in the family.

“My dad smokes 40 a day since he was 12 years old and now he’s 75, and my nephew smokes, who is like 25. My whole family smokes, so it’s not something that I’ve noticed being odd,” she said. “I hate smoking. I used to curse at my dad when I was younger for smoking, but I think it’s to do a little bit when I’m stressed.”

She said she tried vaping last year but prefers to light up when she’s outdoors.

“When it’s a slow round on the golf course I smoke quite a few more than I should,” she said.

Hull has always been known as a character. It took a cigarette to bring that out to the masses, and it was quite a week.

“All my friends always say I should have a TV show with what goes on in my life. If you think I’ve got a lot of personality on the golf course, you should see what my life is like at home,” she said. “You don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. I’m just me. I’m not going to change for the world.

“I’ll just be me, and people will either like it or lump it.”

INKSTER AWARD

Juli Inkster is so bullish about players getting their college degree — she got hers from San Jose State before embarking on a Hall of Fame career — that she started the Inkster Award to recognize the highest-ranked college golfer in her final year of eligibility.

The winner this year was Ingrid Lindblad of LSU, an obvious choice with a twist.

“Our first five-time All-American,” Inkster said with a laugh. Lindblad wound up getting five years of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award began in 2020. The winner gets $50,000 from presenting sponsor Workday and a spot in the Portland Classic the first week in August. Lindblad could not be at the presentation because she makes her pro debut this week on the Epson Tour.

US OPEN FIELD

The U.S. Open now has 150 players for next week at Pinehurst No. 2, holding back six spots for anyone who qualifies through top 60 in the world ranking or as a multiple winner since last June of PGA Tour events that offer full FedEx Cup points.

One of the goes to Robert MacIntyre, who moved to No. 39 by winning the Canadian Open. There are six players at the Memorial who can still get in — Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Riley Davis and Patrick Rodgers. A win would assure them moving into the top 60, and for Hodges, it would be his second victory.

Then it’s a matter of filling the field from the alternates. The order of alternates from the 13 qualifying sites is not published. The USGA uses a formula based on the strength of field at the qualifier and how many spots it received.

Of particular interest is Sergio Garcia, who is believed to be high on the list of the alternate order. He hasn’t missed a U.S. Open since 2000. Adam Scott is first alternate out of Springfield, Ohio. He hasn’t missed a major since the 2001 British Open, the longest active streak.

For now, the field includes 16 amateurs, 10 of whom made it through qualifying Monday. It also includes 11 players who had to go through two stages of qualifying — 18 holes of local qualifying and 36 holes of final qualifying. Chris Naegel pulled that off for the third time.

U.S. captain Jim Furyk has selected Stewart Cink, Kevin Kisner and Justin Leonard to be assistant captains in the Presidents Cup matches later this year at Royal Montreal. ... Robert MacIntyre flew home to Scotland to celebrate this first PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open, withdrawing from the Memorial and its $20 million purse. ... Yuka Saso’s victory in the U.S. Women’s Open shot her up to No. 6 in the women’s world ranking and assured her returning to the Olympics for the second time, this time for Japan. She tied for ninth competing under the Philippines flag in 2021 outside Tokyo. ... Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the first freshman to sweep all the award as the top college player, has been added to the Memorial field without counting against the four exemptions for signature events. The Jack Nicklaus Award winner could never play because the Memorial — previously held a week earlier — was the same week as the NCAA men’s championship.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Robert MacIntyre became the eighth first-time winner on the PGA Tour this year.

“The first thing you do is the same thing you’re doing right now, is you go win.” — Jack Nicklaus, when asked by Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun how he separated himself from everyone on the PGA Tour. Koivun won the Nicklaus Award as the nation’s best golfer.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf