YMCA

The London draper, temperance advocate and devout Christian George Williams was appalled at the degradation of workingmen in London and began a work among his fellow drapery employees. A go-getter in business, too, he rapidly advanced to partnership in his firm (a drapery house) and used his own substantial wealth to support evangelical causes.

Si George Williams

Williams was motivated to form the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) by the terrible conditions and the consequent temptations for sin he perceived in London for young men. The first YMCA meeting was held in Williams’ drapery shop in St Paul’s Churchyard on June 6, 1844 and included 12 young men in total. Their objective was the “improvement of the spiritual condition of the young men engaged in houses of business, by the formation of Bible classes, family and social prayer meetings, mutual improvement societies, or any other spiritual agency.”

George Williams wasted no time in organising YMCA branches throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. Over the next 10 years, YMCA movements also began to develop across Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India and North America.

The first YMCA in North America was established in Montreal, Quebec in 1851. Later that year, the first YMCA in the United States opened in Boston on December 29, 1851. It was founded by Captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan (1800–59), an American seaman and missionary. By 1853, the Boston YMCA had 1,500 members, most of whom were merchants and artisans.

First YMCA in Montreal By Denis Jacquerye

The idea of creating a truly global movement with an international headquarters was pioneered by Henry Dunant, Secretary of YMCA Geneva, who would later go on to found the International Committee of the Red Cross and win the first Nobel Peace Prize.

Henry Dunant successfully convinced YMCA Paris to organise the first YMCA World Conference. The Conference took place in August 1855, bringing together 99 young delegates from Europe and North America. They met just before the 1855 Paris World Exposition of the same year. The delegates discussed joining together in a federation to enhance cooperation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs.

Emblem of 1881

The similar Young Women's Christian Association or YWCA was founded in 1870.

Long before Williams' death in 1905, the YMCA had achieved a membership of 150,000 in Britain and half a million in America with thousands of branches worldwide.

One of George Williams aims for the YMCA was to promote a muscular Christianity. He wanted to put Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit". The organisation was very influential during the 1870s and the 1930s in promoting good sportsmanship in athletic contests in gymnasiums and swimming pools. Three sports: basketball, volleyball and racquetball were invented in YMCA facilities.

YMCA Association Men cover, June 1919

Basketball was invented at the YMCA International Training School (later named Springfield College) in Massachusetts in 1891. Its inventor was Canadian YMCA trainer James Naismith.

Volleyball was invented in a Holyoke, Massachusetts YMCA in 1895. Its inventor was a YMCA physical education instructor William George Morgan.

Racquetball was invented in the Greenwich, Connecticut, YMCA in 1950. Its inventor was Joe Sobek a tennis, handball and squash player who worked in a rubber manufacturing factory,

Late 19th century Baseball star Billy Sunday started his evangelist career touring YMCAs. Sunday drew enormous crowds at YMCAs across the USA, who clamored to hear the famous baseball player recall his faith journey.

On January 13, 1979 The YMCA filed a libel suit against the Village People for their "YMCA" hit. It considered the song defamatory. The two sides settled out of court and the YMCA later expressed pride towards the band for their song as a salute to their organization.

Today the YMCA is a worldwide organisation with its headquarters based in Geneva, Switzerland. it now operates in 120 countries and reaches 58 million people.

In its early years, the YMCA organization provided beds and shelter to young men leaving the countryside for work in the cities. Many YMCAs throughout the world still maintain residences as an integral part of the programming. YMCAs in the United Kingdom are known now predominantly as organizations that provide accommodation for vulnerable and homeless young people. Across the UK the YMCA provides over 8,000 bed spaces, and is thus one of the largest providers of safe supported accommodation for young people.

Source YMCA

Yachting

Yachting  is pleasure cruising or racing a small and light vessel, whether sailing or power-driven.

Pixiebay

FAMOUS YACHTS

One of first ever yachts was the 100 tonne "Mary" which was presented by the Dutch to King Charles II for his own use.

Former New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett, Jr. once owned a 300 ft. yacht, the $635,000 ($17.8 million today) Lysistrata built by William Denny & Son of Dumbarton, Scotland. Among many other luxuries, the yacht included a padded stall for a cow, so he'd always have fresh milk, cream, and butter while he was at sea.

Yachting was French author Jules Verne's favourite relaxation. In 1867, he bought a small yacht, the Saint-Michel, which he successively upgraded with the Saint-Michel II and the Saint-Michel III as his financial situation improved.

The American-made schooner Meteor III was the largest yacht in the world when built for Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi's two-masted steam yacht Elettra served as a floating laboratory fitted with an eight kilowatt transmitter and a loop aerial capable of transmitting wireless signals over a 1,000 miles distance. From 1921, he lived aboard his yacht, cruising in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Elettra

Adolf Hitler's personal yacht, the Aviso Grille, which the Fuehrer hoped to sail to London to take the surrender of Britain in 1940, was crewed by 230 men.

From 1933 until 1977 there was a Presidential Yacht, but it was sold off by Jimmy Carter, and today raccoons live in it.

The royal Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, was in service from 1954 until 1997.  It had a displacement of 4000 tons and overall length of 126 metres (413 feet). During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe.

The World is the largest privately owned residential yacht. The 150-200 residents who live aboard make decisions about the ship's itinerary, finances, and lifestyle and are looked after by a crew of 280. Apartments cost between $2-15 million.

MS The World By VirtualSteve

YACHT RACING

On American waters, races are held for virtually every size and class of sailboat. The most famous international yachting competition is the America's Cup race.

The America's Cup Race originated with an invitation for the Great Exhibition of 1851 by the Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), inviting the recently formed New York Yacht Club (NYYC) to enjoy the facilities of the clubhouse of the RYS. A race took place around the Isle of Wight as part of the 1851 Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta. The yacht America beat the Royal Yachting Squadron leading to the trophy being named "America's Cup".

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was a keen yachtsman. He was on board Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht Shamrock when a sudden squall wrecked the boat during a practice run for the America's Cup in May 1901.

For 132 years, from 1850-1980, and through 25 challenges, the America's Cup had been held by the United States. In 1983 Alan Bond and his team from of Australia defeated Dennis Conner and his team from the United States to capture the America's Cup of yacht racing. It was the first time an American crew had been beaten time since the race series began.

The O-Jolle was a sailing event at the 1936 Summer Olympics program in Firth of Kiel. Germany. The Bronze medal winner was Peter Scott, son of Robert Falcon Scott of South Pole fame.

At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, six categories existed. They were RS;X (windsurfing), Laser, Finn, 470, 49er and Nacra 17.

Source TodayIfoundout

Wrestling

Wrestling was a sport popular in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and included in the Olympics from 704 BC.

The chief international Styles are Greco-Roman concentrating on above waist holds and freestyle which allows the legs to be used to hold or trip, in both the aim is to throw the opponent to the ground.

Pixabay

Japanese sumo wrestling is one of the martial arts, and involves very overweight participants who throw each other to the ground or out of the ring.

WRESTLING IN ANCIENT TIMES 

About 5,000 years ago, in ancient Assyria and Egypt, the technique of wrestling was highly developed and practically all present-day holds were known.

Archaeological discoveries and extant pictures supply evidence of the early existence of barehanded combat in Mesopotamia and Egypt. A cast Bronze figurine has been found at Khafaji in Iraq that shows two figures in a wrestling hold that dates to around 2600 BC. Wall paintings in an Egyptian tomb at Beni Hasan, dating from about 1850 BC, include numerous pictures of wrestling with most of the holds and falls still used today.

Detail of the wrestling scenes in tomb 15 (Baqet III) at Beni Hasan.

At first, wrestling was more a test of brute strength than of skill, and victory often went to the heavier and more ruthless adversary. A tribe's champion wrestler was greatly honoured and matches were often arranged with the experts of other tribes.

From Assyria and Egypt, wrestling found its way to Greece, although later legend ascribed its introduction there to the Athenian hero, Theseus. He was the first, it was said, to understand and lay down the principles of the sport. Greek mythology tells how the murderous Cercyon used to challenge strangers passing through Eleusis, a city-state 14 miles (22.40 km) west of Athens. The loser (always the passer-by) was murdered, though Cercyon promised his kingdom to anyone who won. When Theseus entered the city and came face to face with Cercyon, he accepted the challenge. Boldly, he dashed his opponent to the ground and killed him. It was Theseus' knowledge of wrestling that enabled him to overcome, not by strength but by skill, the lethal Cercyon.

Theseus fights Cercyon (kylix painted by Aison, 5th century BC)

Homer described classic contests. In the Iliad, Homer wrote of a great wrestling match in which Odysseus defeated Ajax for the shield of the slain Achilles.

Historically, wrestling was introduced into the Olympic Games only in the eighteenth Olympiad in 704 BC as part of the Pentathlon. A competition in five events, it was devised to suit the all-round athlete. Probably only those who proved themselves superior in running, jumping, throwing of the javelin, and the discus were permitted to wrestle.

The Geeks made wrestling both a science and an art and it was regulated by strict rules. Manuals of wrestling were published, carefully explaining every detail. Fragments of such an early textbook have been discovered in the form of an ancient Egyptian papyrus.

Wrestling eventually became so popular that, just as nowadays we may invite a friend for a round of golf or a game of bowls, Greeks asked each other to go wrestling together.

Ancient Greek wrestling rules varied for men and boys. The different holds, throws, and movements were taught systematically, advancing from the simplest to the most complex style. Some states included women as wrestlers and even permitted them to compete with men.

With the growth of the sport, individual schools developed their own methods. One favoured upright wrestling. The aim was to throw the opponent to the ground who, after three "throws," had to concede defeat. Another type permitted the struggle to continue on the ground to end only when one of the wrestlers was pinned down by both shoulders.

The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified is to poke someone's eye out.

Wrestling caught on in Britain from the earliest days. The Saxons and Celts were partial to it.

A contract dating from 267AD, between the father and trainers of two teen wrestlers competing in ancient Egypt reveals the first match-fixing agreement. It states that Demetrius, the wrestler, must fall three times to concede victory in return for 3,800 drachmas, while other clauses reinforce the contract.

MODERN WRESTLING

During the 1520 month-long Cloth of Gold pageant, Henry VIII of England challenged his royal colleague Francis I of France. The French king could not refuse without loss of face. Soon the English king's strength became apparent, but the Frenchman was well aware that his opponent had a bad leg. Suddenly he grasped it and pinned Henry. The French rejoiced at their King's unfair victory while Henry's followers were silenced.

Picture below is a tapestry showing wrestling at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Francis I is shown top right, above an actual cloth of gold.

American Indians were acquainted with wrestling long before the advent of the white man. It became popular among America's early pioneers and accounts abound of their matches with Indians.

The first wrestling matches in the United States were rough-and-tumble bouts in pioneer days. Rules permitted any hold except strangling, and both arms and legs could be used. Formal regulations adopted later legalized almost unlimited action, including tripping and tackling. The only tactics outlawed were those that endangered life and limb and that could cause permanent injury to an opponent.

Michiel Sweerts, Wrestling Match, 1649.

Wrestling became a favorite competitive pastime in Australia soon after the landing of the First Fleet. Matches - often mere impromptu bouts - took place between soldiers and convicts.

The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), took place in Madison Square Garden in New York in 1985.

Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki competed in the main event of Collision in Korea before a crowd of about 165,000 at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium on April 29, 1995. It was the highest attended professional wrestling event of all time.

FUN WRESTLING FACTS.

The famous ring announcer Michael Buffer has earned over $400 million from his trademarked phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!"

Despite not existing for the past 30 years, the Soviet Union still holds the most Olympic gold medals for wrestling.

The ancient Greek wrestling arena was covered with a thick layer of sand to soften the impact of falls. As matches were held in the open air and therefore were subject to weather conditions, at times heavy downpours changed the ring into a mud bath. To be prepared for such eventualities, training was pursued in two types of ring, one the customary sandy arena, the other "wet," colloquially described as "beeswax." In the training, wrestlers changed over from one ring to the other, giving rise to a vivid phrase, speaking of going "out of the sand into the mud," anticipating by millennia our own saying, "out of the frying pan into the fire".

The phrase 'upset the apple cart', meaning to spoil a plan or disturb the status quo, comes from the 18th century, when the ‘apple cart' was a wrestling term for the upper body and to upset it meant to throw an opponent to the ground and destroy his chances of winning.

Sources Europress Encyclopedia, Compton's Encyclopedia, The Observer

Wrestler

Milo of Croton: (6th-c BC) was a legendary Greek wrestler from the Greek colony of Croton in South Italy. An athlete of extraordinary strength, he was six times victor in wrestling at the Olympics, and six times at the Pythian Games.

A man of huge stature, Milo boasted that no one had ever brought him to his knees. It is said that he carried a live ox upon his shoulders through the stadium at Olympia, then ate it all in a single day. He played a leading part in the military defeat of Sybaris in 511 BC.

Milo of Croton by Joseph-Benoît Suvée (18th century, oil on canvas)

Ancient Greek Wrestlers used to oil their bodies before starting a match. The suggestion that its purpose was to render the body so slippery that the opponent should be unable properly to get a hold is incorrect. It was done for hygienic reasons: to cover the pores of the skin lest the sand and dust of the arena clog them. This view is confirmed by the additional practice after oiling the body to rub it in with fine powdered clay, which certainly helped the wrestlers to gain a better grip.

Aristophanes alludes to some cunning and unsportsmanlike wrestler who, apparently unobserved, rubbed off the dust from his shoulders so that his adversary should not be able to get a grip on this vulnerable part of the body.

The Black Knight from Monty Python was based on a real person: Arrichion of Phigalia, a Greek wrestler who famously refused to give up during a particularly tough wrestling match. He died during the match, but still won because his opponent surrendered, not realizing he was dead.

Khutulun, the great-great-great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, was a fearsome warrior and a superb wrestler. It was said that she refused to marry unless her suitor beat her in a wrestling match, and that if she won, she would gain a horse from the loser. She accumulated a herd of 10,000.

In his younger days, Abraham Lincoln was famed for his wrestling ability earning his county's wrestling championship. Lincoln was touted as being defeated only once in roughly 300 matches and has been inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Local gang leader Jack Armstrong challenged Lincoln to a wrestling match. It ended with Abe grabbing him by the throat, hoisting him up, giving a little shake, then throwing him to the dirt. It was the first chokeslam used in wrestling.

The actor Kevin James was the number one spot on his high school wrestling team, until he had a season ending back injury. His friend took over his place and became WWE star Mick Foley.

Sputnik Monroe was a Memphis wrestler who fought between 1945 and 1968. As part of his villainous act, he fought against segregation and frequented black neighborhoods. Monroe succeeded in ending segregation in wrestling arenas and became one of the biggest draws in wrestling history

Aleksandr Karelin (born September 19, 1967) was the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. He won three Olympic golds, twelve European Championships and nine World Championships. His PhD was devoted to countermeasures against suplex throws. Karelin suffered two losses, one of which was against a Wyomingite farmer who wrestled cows.

Marvel collected royalties from Hulk Hogan for 20 years and it all stems from originally being introduced as "The Incredible Hulk Hogan." Once the WWF used it, they couldn't just drop "The Incredible" to avoid infringement. Had he been "Hulk Hogan" from the start, there wouldn't have been an issue.

Source Europress Encyclopedia

World Cup (football)

The World Cup (formally called the FIFA World Cup) is contested every four years by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. (FIFA).

HISTORY

The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930, and 13 countries entered their national teams. 

Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in FIFA World Cup history during the inaugural game of Group 1. The game was played on July 13, 1930, between France and Mexico at the Estadio Pocitos in Montevideo, Uruguay. Laurent's goal came in the 19th minute of the game and helped France to a 4-1 victory. 

 Uruguay won that first competition beating Argentina 4-2.

At the first World Cup Egypt missed their boat, Bolivia wore berets, a player was suspended for opening a cafe, a referee called the final whistle after 84 minutes, another referee did all his games in suit, tie and knickerbockers, and a Romanian was believed to have died before turning up at his wake.

In 1950, Brazil were so sure they would win the World Cup final against Uruguay that the local media hailed them as "future champions" before the match and 22 gold medals had already been made with the names of Brazilian players. They lost 2-1.

The opening game of the Maracanã Stadium, shortly before the 1950 FIFA World Cup

In the 1962 World Cup, the Chilean team ate Swiss cheese before beating Switzerland, spaghetti before beating Italy, and drank vodka before beating the USSR. Then they drank coffee before their match against Brazil but lost.

LOS ramblers, a respected Chilean rock group, created "El Rock del Mundial" ("World Rock") which is regarded as the first official World Cup anthem. The rock and roll song was created in support of the Chilean team, hosts of the 1962 tournament. The song became the most sold single in Chilean music history, achieving cult status. Its success gave birth to the traditional World Cup anthem, with different styles and integrating cultures.

The first World Cup was made of gold plated sterling silver and lapis lazuli and depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. When Brazil won the tournament a third time in 1970, they were allowed to keep the real trophy in perpetuity.

The current trophy (held by France forward Ousmane Dembélé in 2018) By Антон Зайцев - 

RECORDS 

Three football players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal (1950–1966) and Rafael Márquez (2002–2018); and Germany's Lothar Matthäus (1982–1998) all played in five tournaments.

Miroslav Klose's goal in Germany's 7-1 win over Brazil in the 2014 World Cup was his sixteenth in all World Cups, breaking the record he had previously shared with Ronaldo.

France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.

Fontaine playing for France at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

FUN WORLD CUP FACTS

Japanese football fans always clean up their stadium after their World Cup Finals games, a tradition stemming back to the 1998 World Cup.

Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups.

The Jules Rimet Trophy for the World Cup is named after the Frenchman who was President of FIFA from 1921-1954. Jules Rimet served as an officer in the French Army during the First World War and was awarded a Croix de Guerre.

Shirt swapping was officially banned in the 1986 World Cup because FIFA did not want players to bare their chests on the field.

Brazil is the only country to have appeared in all 21 World Cup tournaments.

The 2018 World Cup was witnessed by around 3.572 billion viewers worldwide. It means that more than half the world’s population watched the tournament that was held in Russia. The final match between France and Croatia was watched by 1.12 billion viewers.

Here is a list of World Cup songs.

Source Daily Express

Winter Olympics

FIRSTS

The first Winter Olympic Games begun at Chamonix, in the French Alps on January 25, 1924, in connection with the Paris Summer Olympic Games held three months later. 16 nations took part and the host country failed to win any gold medals.

Dusan Zinaja at 1924 Winter Olympics Chamonix

The 1924 event in Chamonix was run by the French Olympic Committee but only recognised by the International Olympic Committee as official Winter Olympics after they had finished.

Ice hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. The first Winter Olympics didn't take place until 1924.

The 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, were the first to be shown on television. The 1968 Games in Grenoble, France, were the first to be broadcast in color.

Man-made snow was used in the Olympics for the first time at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid.

When Australian short track speed skater Steven Bradbury won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, he became the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Winter Olympic gold medal. Bradbury won because his four rivals all collided and he skated alone past the finish line. He named his autobiography Last Man Standing.

RECORDS

Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen has won the most Winter Olympic medals of any athlete: 15 (8 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze).

Marit Bjørgen 2013 By Frankie Fouganthin

Norwegian professional biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen has won more Winter Olympic medals than any other male (8 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze).

The oldest man to receive a Winter Olympics medal is 83-year-old Anders Haugen. The Norwegian-American actually received his ski jump bronze medal 50 years after he competed in 1924 when a scoring error was discovered in 1974.

Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya won gold in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, aged 15 years, 249 days. However, she is not younger than South Korean short track speed skater Kim Yun-Mi, who won gold medal in the 3000 m relay at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics aged 13.

Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany) is the only athlete to ever win medals in both Winter and Summer Games in the same year: In 1998 she won speed skating gold at 1,000m (winter) and match sprint cycling silver (summer).

FUN WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES FACTS

Until 1992 Winter Olympics were held in the same year as Summer Games. Since then it has been in years midway between Summer Olympics.

The USA is the only country to have won at least one gold medal in every Winter Olympics. But Russia and Norway have both won more Winter Olympic medals and Winter Olympic golds than the USA.

No country in the southern hemisphere has ever even applied to host the Winter Olympics.

Philip Boit, became the first Kenyan to participate in the Winter Olympics, when competing in the 10 KM classic cross-country race at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. He came in last. The winner, Bjørn Dæhlie, waited for Boit to reach the finish line in order to hug him. The moment affected him so much Boit named his son after Dæhlie.

Steven Bradbury, a speedskater and Australia’s first gold medalist in the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, won his medal by purposely going slower than the other four skaters and hoping that one or more of them would crash to secure at least a bronze. All four crashed near the finish line.

Sources Daily Express, WKYC

Wimbledon (tennis)

The Wimbledon Championships is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is regarded by many as the most prestigious. The Championships are unique because they are the only Grand Slam played on a grass court.

It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877.

Simona Haleb at Wimbledon. Pixiebay

HISTORY 

In 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier, was added to the activities of the All-England Croquet Club at Wimbledon.

In spring 1877, the club was renamed "The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club".

The inaugural Wimbledon Championship was held to raise money for repairs to the club's pony-drawn lawn roller. The competition started on July 9, 1877.

The first Wimbledon Tennis Competition was solely as an amateur competition. Men's singles was the only event that took place. Entrants had to pay a guinea (£1.05) each.

The first Wimbledon tournament featured 22 male tennis players competing for a 12-guinea prize, plus a silver challenge cup valued at 25 guineas.

Just 200 people turn up to the first Wimbledon final at the original venue in Worple Road, paying a shilling each to watch Spencer Gore stroll past William Marshall 6-1, 6–2, 6–4 on July 19, 1877.

Old Harrovian Spencer Gore was heard to remark afterwards: "Lawn tennis is a bit boring. It will never catch on."

Spencer Gore

Spencer Gore was the first player who ever used the technique of volleying, therefore he is considered the creator of the style of volley. He was also a first-class cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club in the mid-1870s.

The first Wimbledon Championship made a profit of £10.

The Wimbledon women's event began seven years later in 1884 with a a field of thirteen competitors. Playing in a white corset and petticoat, 19-year-old Maud Watson defeated her older sister Lilian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3 in the final.

Maud Watson's first prize was a silver flower-basket worth 20 guineas.

Ladies Championship, 1884.

In 1907 Norman Brookes of Australia becomes the first international Wimbledon Men's Singles champion.

King George VI, as Prince Albert, played in 1926 at the All England Championships at Wimbledon in the men's doubles.

At Wimbledon in 1932, the English player Henry “Bunny” Austin became the first to wear shorts at a major championship.

In 1967, BBC Two screened four hours of live Wimbledon tennis as Britain's first color television broadcast.

Wimbledon adopted yellow tennis balls in 1986 with the advent of color television; before that, white balls were used.

RECORDS 

Roger Federer (2003–2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)  holds the record for the most men's singles titles with eight.

Martina Navratilova (1978–1979, 1982–1987, 1990) holds the record for most women's singles titles with nine.

The fastest ever serve at Wimbledon was 148 mph in 2010 by Taylor Dent of the USA in his match against Novak Djokovic.

The loudest known "grunt" came from Maria Sharapova during the 2009 tournament, recorded at about 105 decibels – the equivalent of standing three feet from a motorcycle.

A Miss M.H. de Amorim of Brazil entered the record book for having served 17 consecutive double faults to begin her match at Wimbledon in 1957. She lost.

The oldest ever Men’s Single Champion was Arthur Gore of Great Britain who won the title at the age of 41 in 1909.

At 17 years and 227 days old, Boris Becker was the youngest player (and first unseeded player and first German) to win the men’s singles title.

Mita Klima from Austria is the youngest player to ever compete in the tournament. She was 13 when she lost a first-round match in the 1907 tournament and was never heard from again.

The shortest player ever was Gertrude Hoahing, who stood 4 ft. 9 in. tall.

FUN WIMBLEDON FACTS

An average men's match at Wimbledon takes two-and-a-half hours during which the ball is in play for only 20 minutes.

52,000 balls used are used each year during the two weeks of the Wimbledon tennis championships.

Goran Ivanisevic is the only Wimbledon winner whose name alternates consonants and vowels.

Wimbledon champions have worn a straw hat (M.E.A. Watson, 1884), a cloche hat (Suzanne Lenglen, 1919). an eye shade (Helen Wills Moody, 1927-38), and a white jockey cap (Alice Marble, 1939).

An inscription from Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" adorns the doorway through which the players walk onto Centre Court at Wimbledon. It reads "If you can meet with Triumph & Disaster; And treat those two impostors just the same."

In 1998, Yevgeny Kafelnikov's match with Mark Philippoussis was interrupted when a mouse ran onto the court during play.

Source Daily Mail

Weightlifting

Weightlifting is a test of strength by lifting weights attached to both ends of a metal pole (barbell).

There are two lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. The aggregate weight lifted at both is taken into consideration.

Pixabay

Competition to establish who can lift the heaviest weight has been recorded throughout civilization, with the earliest known recordings including those found in Egypt, China and ancient Greece.

Weightlifting formed part of the Ancient Olympic Games.

In the 19th century weightlifting was a popular attraction at many of the leading circuses.

Weightlifting was introduced as a sport in mid nineteenth century and held its first world championship in 1891. The weightlifters were not categorized by weight at this time.

The first Olympic Games of 1896 included weightlifting. It featured in the Field event of the predecessor to today's track and field or athletics event.

The actor who played "Oddjob" in Goldfinger, was a Japanese-American who won a Silver weightlifting medal at the 1948 Olympics.

Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev set 80 world records between 1970 and 1977 more than any other athlete in any sport. He received bonus funds every time he set a world record by the Soviet government (Soviet athletes were funded by the state); so he made it a point to gradually increase his world records by 1.1 pounds or 0.5 kg.

Weightlifter Chua Koon Siong fainted for seven minutes after smashing his face with the barbell during his first lift at the 1981 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship. Still bleeding, he completed his remaining lifts and won the gold medal with a final lift of 137.5 kg.

As early as 1986, there were official world championships awarded to women weightlifters such as Karyn Marshall and Judy Glenney However, it was not until the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney that an official Olympic competition for women was introduced.

Source Europress Encyclopedia

Water skiing

Water skiing is the propulsion of a person across water on a ski, or skis, wider than those used for skiing on snow, by means of a rope (23 metres or 75 foot long) attached to a speed boat.

Pixiebay

The first person known to have "danced on water" on a wooden plank was Eliseo of Tarentum in the 14th century.

18-year-old Ralph Samuelson pioneered the sport as it is known today on June 28, 1922 in Lake City, Minnesota. An expert aquaplane (standing on a board while being pulled by a powerboat), he had put on his skis while riding his aquaplane on Lake Pepin and had cast off, one foot at time, until he was planning on the two boards. Samuelson actually skied for several yards before he fell.

Samuelson experimented with different positions on the skis for several days until on July 2, 1922 he discovered that leaning backwards in the water with ski tips up and poking out of the water at the tip was the optimal method. His older brother Ben towed him and they reached a speed of 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph).

Samuelson spent 15 years performing shows and teaching water skiing to people in the United States but never patented his water skis.

The first patent for water skis was issued to Fred Waller, of Huntington, New York, on October 27, 1925, for skis he developed independently of Samuelson's and marketed as "Dolphin Akwa-Skees." Waller's inventive genius also gave the world the Cinerama.

Waller's water skis were made out of kiln-dried mahogany as were some boats at the time. They were twice the length of the snow ski, and the tips of each ski were linked with a bridle (to keep the two ropes apart) which in turn was attached by a single line to the launch. The rider balanced himself by means of two ropes joined to the bow-end of each ski.

Waller eventually discarded his original water skis and evolved a type more or less identical with the modern Free Tow Boards. Its advantage was that the skis were no longer pulled directly by the boat. The rider himself held the tow-rope while his feet were secured to the skis by shoe-like bindings.

For years, Waller was credited as the inventor of the sport. But, clippings in Samuelson's scrapbook and on file with the Minnesota Historical Society were beyond dispute, and in February 1966 the American Water Ski Association officially recognized Samuelson as the first recorded water skier in history. Samuelson was also named as the first ski racer, slalom skier, and the first organizer of a water ski show.

Dick Pope Sr, creator of Florida Cypress Gardens became interested in water skiing during the 1920s, while working with his brother promoting and selling speed boats in Florida. He introduced jumping into the sport when he made the first leap from a low slanted ramp off Miami Beach in 1928. Referring to it in his book on Water Skiing he wrote: "Sometimes the first person to do something sets off a reaction that reverberates through the world. My 'first' did just that . . . The record I set was 25 feet as I soared through the air thinking I would never come down."

In 1939 the American Water Ski Association (AWSA) was organized by Dan B. Hains, and the first National Water Ski Championships were held at Jones Beach, on Long Island the same year.

The governing body for all towed water sports, The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) was founded in Geneva in 1946. It has 91 affiliated member federations worldwide.

The National Water Ski Championships were broadcast on national television for the first time at Callaway Gardens, Georgia, in 1962.

There are water ski participants worldwide. In the United States alone, there are approximately 11 million water skiers while Australia boasts 1.3 million water skiers.

In the United States, there are over 900 sanctioned water ski competitions each summer. Orlando, Florida is considered to be the competitive 3-event water skiing capital of the world. Competitions are for overall performances, slalom , tricks, and jumping.

Sources Waterskihalloffame, Thoughtco, Europress Encyclopedia, Hutchinson Encyclopedia,

Water polo

Water polo is a game played in a swimming pool where the idea is to score goals like in soccer. An inflated ball is passed among the players, who must swim without touching the bottom of the pool.

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Two teams play a match each comprising six field players and one goalkeeper.

Each water polo match has four periods called quarters. The length of each period is usually between 5 to 8 minutes. Because the amount of time spent on fouls or out throws is not counted in the quarter time, an average quarter really lasts around 12 minutes.

Water polo was first developed in England with the intention of creating a new water sport. In 1869, patrons who had busied themselves with finding a new stimulus, conceived the idea of "football in water."

The rules of water polo in fact are based on those of soccer. England had been the first country in the world to make swimming a competitive sport and the first nation to build indoor pools. Now it became the first to combine football and swimming in the new game of water polo.

One of the earliest recorded viewings of water polo was conducted at the 4th Open Air Fete of the London Swimming Club, held at the Crystal Palace, London on September 15, 1873. It was held in the boating lake that still exists.

One of the first recorded games of water polo was played at Bournemouth, England on July 13, 1876.  The game of water ‘handball’ was played by 12 members of the Premier Rowing Club in the water near to the midpoint of Bournemouth Pier. It lasted for 15 minutes until the ball burst.

The first rules for water polo were established in 1877 by William Wilson, the First Baths Master of the Arlington Baths Club in Glasgow.

The Swimming Association of Great Britain recognized the game of water polo in 1885.

Water polo goalkeepers in the 1880s were allowed to stand on the pool deck and leap onto an opponent's head.

Men's water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic Games in 1900.

Water polo final at the 1908 Summer Olympics

After taking top scores in the qualifying examinations for medical school, Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in Paddington, London in 1903. He'd had a choice of three to choose between. Knowing little about them, Fleming chose St. Mary's because he had played water polo against them.

Ernest Hemingway attended Oak Park and River Forest High School in Chicago between 1913 and 1917. He took part in a number of sports there including water polo.

The bloodiest Water Polo match in Olympic history took place in 1956. During the match between the Soviet Union and Hungary, one month after the Hungarian Revolution, there was fighting in the water. The authorities suspended the game after Hungarian player Ervin Zádor emerged during the last two minutes with blood pouring from above his eye after being punched by Soviet player Valentin Prokopov. It was the final straw for a crowd already in frenzy. 

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team game played on a court 9 m × 18 m (29.5 ft × 59.1 ft) divided into two by a net. It is a combination of basketball, baseball, badminton, tennis, and handball.

The top of the net is 2.43 m (7 ft 1111⁄16 in) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 m (7 ft 43⁄16 in) for women's competition.

The six players of each team rotate in position through the six sub-sections into which each half of the court is divided behind the attack line.

The ball, slightly smaller than a basketball, is hit with palm or fist, the aim being to ground it in the opponent's court.

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Volleyball was invented in a Holyoke, Massachusetts YMCA on February 9, 1895. Its inventor was a YMCA physical education instructor William George Morgan.

The game was first called "mintonette", because of its similarity to badminton and was played by hitting a basketball over a rope. When an observer named Alfred Halstead saw the game being played, he noticed the volleying action used to get the ball over the net, so the following year the name was changed to "volley ball." It was called Volley Ball until 1952 when it became a compound word.

The first volleyballs were the bladders of basketballs until Spalding Company invented a separate volleyball in 1898.

An international federation, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was founded in 1947 to monitor men's play and in 1952 added women's rules and guidelines.

Volleyball was first a demonstration sport in the 1924 Olympics held in Paris. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964.

Beach volleyball, a variation of the game played on sand and with only two players per team, became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1987 and was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Volleyball is the world’s fifth most popular sport with over 1 billion players. The sport is now popular in Brazil, Europe, Russia, Asia, as well as in the United States.

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After the town of Naco was split in two by border patrol, the residents of Naco, Arizona and Naco, Mexico started an annual tradition of having a volleyball match over the dividing fence.

Wilson, the volleyball from the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away was inspired by screenwriter William Broyles, Jr.'s personal research. Broyles stranded himself on a deserted island for a week, and a volleyball washed ashore.

Wilson the Cast Away volleyball won a Critic's Choice Award and an MTV movie award.

When al-Qaeda played volleyball, Mohammed Atef and Osama Bin Laden had to be on separate teams since they were both tall, skilled players.

As well as volleyball, the YMCA has been home to the invention of two other sports: basketball and racquetball.

Source Thoughtco