Volume - V Issue - V Season 3 Volume - V Issue - V Season 3 | Page 43

Author 4 Author 1 Author 2 Author 3 Author 6 Author 5 Author 7 Author 8 “In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best.” ― Eric Liddell SPORTS Did you know?? Turkey is one of the rare countries in the world which has an article related to sports in her Constitution. Article 59 of the Constitution says, "The State takes measures to develop the physical and mental health of Turkish citizens of all ages and encourages the spread of sports among the masses. The State protects successful athletes." Game of Jereed is a traditional Turkish equestrian team sport played outdoors on horseback in which the objective is to score points by throwing a blunt wooden javelin at opposing team's horsemen. POPULAR GAMES Turkey is a country greatly involved in sorts of sports ranging from soccer, kite boarding, trekking to river rafting, canoeing and windsurfing. Although soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey, basketball, volleyball, handball, track-and-field and wrestling (which is considered as the ancestral sport) are also popular. Furthermore, important international successes have been attained in weightlifting, boxing, taekwondo-do, judo and archery in recent years .Turkey obtained her first Olympic Championship with Yaşar Erkan in wrestling at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Ruhi Sarıalp's Olympic third place in triple long jump at the 1948 London Olympic Games and Mehmet Terzi's first place in the marathon at the 1983 Mediterranean Games are great successes that were obtained in the track and field. Kite boarding or Kite surfing is one of the latest popular water sports in the world, as well as in Turkey. In the past 10 years many kite boarding centres are opened along the Turkish coastline, frequented by the locals and foreigners during the summer months . There are several good kite boarding locations and kite board schools in Turkey where it's possible to practice this sport for about six months during the summer, such as in Akyaka at Gokova Gulf near Marmaris, Pirlanta beach and Alacati in Cesme, Icmeler - Urla near Izmir, and Burc beach in Istanbul. Turkey's rivers provide perfect conditions for canoeing and rafting, for both beginners and experienced, because of their length, depth and water regime. Some of the best rivers for rafting are: Coruh, Barhop, Berta, Firtina, Colak, Koprucay , Manavgat, Dragon, Goksu (Silifke), Zamanti, Goksu (Feke), Kizilirmak and Dalaman Cayi . Especially Coruh river (grade 5 and 4) is rated as one of the Top 10 white water rafting places in the world. 4th World Water sports Championships was held here in 1993 with approximately 300 competitors from 28 countries. Kayaking is also getting popular in some of the rivers. By - Injy 43