Olympic English Interactive vocabulary guide

This interactive vocabulary guide may be useful for those who are connected with sports or Olympic Games. It will tell you about the Olympic movement symbols and the names of the Olympic objects in Sochi. Also you can check your sports vocabulary and learn some amazing sports idioms. All sections are organised in the alphabetical order. It is easy to use – just press the buttons and follow the links.
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“Olympic” English
Sports vocabulary
The Olympic movement symbols
Olympic objects in Sochi
Sports idioms
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The Olympic movement symbols
Anthem
Flag and rings
To promote the ideals of the Olympic Movement throughout the world, the International Olympic Committee uses the Olympic symbols and attributes.
Olive wreath
Oath
Motto
Mascot
Olympic flame and torch relay
Medals

Anthem
This piece of music was written in 1896 by Greek composer Spiros Samaras with the lyrics by Costis Palamas. It was declared in 1958 by the IOC as the official Olympic anthem. The Anthem of the Olympic Games marks raising of the Olympic flag during the Opening ceremony and during competitions.

Flag and rings
The idea of the Olympic Flag was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1913. The flag is a white silk cloth with the Olympic logo embroidered on it. The five interlocking rings: blue, yellow, black, green, red. They represent the Union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the World at the Olympic Games.

Mascot
The tradition to create a special mascot of the Olympic Games, bringing good luck to athletes and fans, first appeared in 1968 in Mexico City. The mascot of the XIX Summer Olympic Games was the Jaguar. New Olympic tradition all at once fell on the soul, and thereafter every Olympic Games had their character.

Mascots of the Olympic Games

Medals
Olympic medals, gold, silver, bronze are awarded to three athletes, who showed the best results in competitions. Gold medals are usually made of silver with a small addition of gold. Until 1960 medals were made without fastenings and were awarded to winners in hand. Later chains or bands were used.

Motto
The Olympic motto «Citius, altius, fortius!» (Latin «Faster, higher, stronger!») – the credo of those who are ready to strive for setting new records.
This idea embraces the spirit of competition. However, it is not just about the victory over the others, but above all about the victory over oneself: to set the goal and surpass it.

Olympic oath
The Olympic Oath is one of the rituals of the Olympic Games. It is taken by an athlete from the host country, on behalf of all the athletes.
"In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams".
The first Athletes’ Oath was taken at the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920 by Victor Boin, a Belgian fencer.
The modern oath, mentioning doping and drugs, was first introduced in the 1999 December Olympic Charter and first pronounced that way during the opening ceremony in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Since 1972, a referee has taken an oath on behalf of all the referees and officials.

Olive wreath
The olive wreath also known as kotinos (Greek: κότινος), was the prize for the winner at the ancient Olympic Games. It was an olive branch, of the wild-olive tree that grew at Olympia, intertwined to form a circle or a horse-shoe. According to Pausanias it was introduced by Heracles as a prize for the running race winner to honour his father Zeus. In the ancient Olympic Games there were no gold, silver, or bronze medals. There was only one winner per event, crowned with an olive wreath made of wild-olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. Olive wreaths were given out during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in honor of the ancient tradition, because the games were being held in Greece.

Olympic flame and torch relay
Another ancient Olympic symbol is the Olympic Flame. It is lit in the Greek city of Olympia, at the foot of Mount Kronos, through a special parabolic mirror and with the help of a torch relay race passes from athlete to athlete. Thus, the fire crosses all 5 inhabited continents of the Earth and arrives to the venue of the Games.

Olympic objects in Sochi
Maly Ice Palace
Sochi Olympic Oval
Biathlon and Ski Complex “Psekhako”
Rosa Khutor Ski Centre
Main Olympic village
Sochi Olympic
Skating Centre
General picture
Bolshoi Ice Palace
Sochi Olympic
Curling Centre
Sochi Olympic Stadium

Objects on the map
Hotel for the members of the IOC (500 rooms)
The Olympic village
Canteen for sportsmen
Shopping and entertainment center
Residential area for the press
International TV broadcasting center
and the main press-center
Hotel for the press (600 rooms)
Olympic Oval
Training center for figure-skating
Ice Palace for figure-skating and short track
Olympic Curling center
Bolshoi Ice Palace
Hockey training arena
Area for Awards ceremonies
Maly Ice Palace
Olympic Stadium
Open Skating Rink
Observation tower
Hotel for sponsors
Staff residence
Olympic shopping center
Adler Airport
Biathlon and Ski Complex “Psekhako”
Ski Center “Rosa Khutor”
Krasnaya Polyana
the Black Sea
General picture

Bolshoi Ice Palace
Ice Palace «Bolshoi» - the stadium, that will be located in the Olympic Park in Sochi. It will be the major hockey stadium during the Olympiad - 2014 in Sochi.

Maly Ice Palace
Ice Palace «Maly» is a stadium in the Olympic Park in Sochi. This is the second in importance hockey stadium of Olympiad - 2014 in Sochi. The planned capacity of 7,000 seats. There is an Ice Palace «Bolshoi» and a training stadium near it.

Sochi Olympic Oval
«Adler-arena» («Olympic oval») - indoor speed skating stadium in Adler, Sochi. During the Olympic games - 2014 there will be held competitions in speed skating.

Sochi Olympic Skating Centre
The Winter Palace of Sports - Ice Palace of sports in Adler with an ice rink and a training rink for figure skating and competitions in short-track. It will be used during The Winter Olympic games of 2014.

Sochi Olympic Curling Centre
The Ice Cube Curling Center is a multi-purpose arena in Sochi, of a 3000 seat, that is currently in the construction stages. After it is completed, it will host all the curling events at the 2014 Winter Olympic games.

Sochi Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium «Fisht» - the stadium of the city of Sochi is currently being built for The XXII Winter Olympic games in Sochi in 2014 and will be located in Adler, the Olympic Park. In this stadium there will be held the opening and closing ceremonies of The Winter Olympic games.

Main Olympic village
The Olympic village is being built on the territory of resort complex «Sochnoe». It will consist of 47 buildings and is designed for 3 thousand people. There will live sportsmen, journalists and some members of the IOC in the Olympic village. After the competition the Olympic village will be the off-season resort complex «Sochnoe».

Rosa Khutor Ski Center
The Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort is located at Aibiga Ridge along the Rosa Khutor plateau near Krasnaya Polyana. Constructed from 2003 to 2011, it is scheduled to host the alpine skiing events for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, based in nearby Sochi. The resort is 40 km from the Black Sea at Sochi; the majority of the slopes at Rosa Khutor face northeast, with the backside slopes facing southwest.

Biathlon and Ski Complex “Psekhako”
The Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex is a skiing venue located on the crests and slopes of Psekhako Ridge in Krasnaya Polyana. For the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in neighboring Sochi, it will host the biathlon and the cross-country skiing portion of the Nordic combined events.

Sports vocabulary
Olympic sport activities
Sport equipment
Words related with sports
Sportspeople
Sport areas
Sports measuring
Sports verbs and expressions

Olympic sport
activities
Winter Olympics
Summer Olympics

We use many various types of equipment and clothing to play different sports:

American Football: ball, protective pads, cleats
European Football: cleats, ball, net
Tennis: ball, racket
Chess: board, piece
Swimming: suit
Horse Racing: saddle
Ice Hockey: puck, stick, net, pads
Boxing: gloves
Volleyball: ball, net
Athletics: cleats
Baseball: bat, glove, ball, pads
Ping Pong: paddle, ball, net
Racketball: racket, ball
Squash: racket, ball
Golf: clubs, ball
These sport activities are played with the following types of equipment and clothing:

Time, the score and distance are measured in various ways depending on which type of sport you are speaking about.

These time, score and/or distance measurement are used in each of the sports below:
American Football: point, down, quarter, half, yard
European Football: point, meter, half
Tennis: point, game, set, match
Chess: move, game
Swimming: length, meter
Ping Pong: point, game
Horse Racing: lap, length
Ice Hockey: point, quarter, half, game
Boxing: round
Volleyball: point, game
Athletics: meter, yard
Motor Racing: lap, miles, meters
Baseball: point, inning, out
Racketball: point, game
Squash: point, game
Golf: stroke

Sports take place on/in all sorts of different areas:

American Football: Field
European Football: Pitch
Tennis: Court
Chess: Board
Swimming: Pool
Ping Pong: Table
Horse Racing: Track
Ice Hockey: Rink
Boxing: Ring
These sports are played on/in the following areas:
Volleyball: Court
Athletics: Track
Motor Racing: Track
Cricket: Pitch
Baseball: Field
Racketball: Court
Squash: Court
Ice Skating: Rink
Golf: Course

People who do different kinds of sports
athlete
badminton player
basketball player
boxer
cyclist
diver
footballer /football player
golfer
gymnast
hockey player
jockey
ice-skater
racing driver
rider
rugby player
skater
skier
snooker player
squash player
surfer
swimmer
tennis player
volleyball player
weight-lifter

Words related with sports
amateur
ace
basket
captain
cup
game
goal
kit
match
medal
net
professional
race
record
referee
skill
spectators
team
whistle

Sport verbs and expressions
beat
box
catch
cycle
dive
draw
hit
kick
lose
miss
pass
pot
practice race
ride
save
score (a point / a goal)
serve
shoot
skate
ski
swim
surf
tackle
train
throw
volley
win
to do sports
to go in for sports
to be fond of sport
to be fan of
to take part in sport competition
to watch sport programs
to be a member of the team
to be a winner
to get good results
to become a champion
to win medals

Sports idioms –
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