Importance Of Sportsmanship In Sports

"One who plays a sport fairly and loses gracefully" is how The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines sportsmanship. What is a sportsman? The definition seems to have undergone a big change over the years.

My name is Alauna Torres and I am a student in the eleventh grade at Inderkum. I work hard to maintain grades in the IB Diploma program and struggle, just as any other student does. Last year, I joined Inderkum’s first swim team in six years. After practicing everyday for two hours, I made a bond with many people on my team. As a team, we couldn 't wait to get out of school, huddle together in the atrium, share food, stories, jokes, and insecurities. We tried to get everyone involved, hoping they wouldn’t feel alone or unimportant. As peers around, our job can’t always be fulfilled if our teachers, staff, and coaches don’t do the same to their students.

Imagine taking one step into a chlorine-filled arena. The humid air rushes onto your skin. An immense smile spreads across your face. This is because you know everything is about to change. In less than 24 hours you will be holding a glistening gold medal in your hand, standing up on the podium while the Star Spangled Banner blares for the whole world to hear and tears will stream down your face. Taking one look back at your coach, Teri McKeever, you realize if it wasn’t for her you would not be here. Graciously, you run up, swing your arms around her body, and embrace her in a powerful hug that says it all. Swimming is a very intense sport and consumes every second of a swimmer’s free time. However, putting in hundreds

I woke up nauseous, too sick to eat. The whole drive there I was praying it would be cancelled. The fear consumed me; I couldn’t move. I just wanted to be home in my warm, comfy bed, instead I was diving into an ice cold pool. After warm-up my coach gave me a pep talk, but I was too nervous to listen. Sometimes I got so nervous I’d throw up, right before my event. To this day I still don’t understand why I got so anxious at swim meets. For the past several years, I have had a love hate relationship with swimming. I always struggled with swimming, and many times I wanted to quit. The time commitment and the physical requirements have always been a little too much for my mind to handle and it all comes to a crescendo when it is time to compete. I often wondered why I continued to put

Throughout my life, I have frequently been a part of a team. Whether it was in an athletic, academic, or employment sense, I have learned many life lessons and values solely because I was a part of these teams. Growing up, I was involved in countless team-based sports in which I had a number of roles. There were times when I had to step up and lead, and times where I had to learn to take a step back and follow. I learned that I was only a small part of the success that happens and that the ultimate goal of the team was

When it’s lacrosse season, I know I have to make sacrifices and manage my time wisely. It is important to me that I remain dedicated to lacrosse when I make the choice to play because I not only made the commitment to myself, but more importantly to my teammates and to my coach. Swimming is another activity that exemplifies my dedication. I have been swimming on Three Village Swim Club since I was 10 years old. There is no doubt that Three Village requires the highest level of dedication. With deciding to continue to swim each year, I commit myself to practice 2 to 3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over the many years I have been a team member, there were definitely times I wanted to just quit and give up, but I knew this was something I loved to do and I would have to overcome the hard times in order to continue doing what I loved. Swimming allowed me

During this positivity mission, one of the most memorable moments occurred at the Niagara LSC Championships. A few newer faces joined us this year, which was a perfect opportunity to get to know some of the swimmers in other levels. Following one of the new swimmer’s races, I turned to him on the bench and complimented his excellent race. I will never forget the smile looking back at me when he asked in disbelief, “You know my name and you watched me?”. My answer was simple, “Of course, you are my teammate”.

In a culture where sportsmanship is lacking, it is critical that stakeholders in high school athletics work together to reestablish sportsmanship and ethics to the forefront of education-based athletics. In fact, “ The National Federation, the governing body for public high school sports, would like for the number one priority of high school athletics to be GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP” (as cited in Churdar, 2015, p. 2). Sportsmanship means respecting the opponent, the officials, and the game. There are many people and groups who influence the actions and beliefs of athletes either in a positive or negative manner, so it is important that these groups maintain a high view of sportsmanship and take proactive measures to ensure that good sportsmanship is a priority for high school sports.

When I first joined the North Attleboro Swim Team my freshman year of high school, I did not know what to expect. Prior to joining, I had never swam on a team before so it was a whole new experience to me. As the first week of swim started, I was apprehensive if I wanted to continue since I was not on the same caliber as my other teammates were. The practices were brutal but extremely rewarding, as I strived to prove myself and to my coaches. As my freshman season was under way, a couple of upperclassmen took

It is important to have deep and wholesome relationships with people in the community, unlike the relationships of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451. My swim team, and the people on it have given me a fulfilling,

During the spring of 2015, I missed all of the time cuts to make Speedo Sectionals, forcing me to compete in a much slower meet at the end of the season. There are few things I have experienced that are more crushing than trying my hardest and falling short of my goal. Despite the heavy disappointment, I used the opportunity to harden my resolve and use my strengths to my greatest advantage. Along with my coach’s help, I used my ability to think strategically and hone my technique through focus on the smallest details from how I would approach a swim mentally to how I would warm up. My coach had many important and useful suggestions and lessons from his past experience that required me to be an active learner that could apply his information.

At Emory, I feel that I could most accurately be described as a student-athlete. Academic success takes priority while I’m at Emory, but swimming is a close second. Spending hours daily in the pool, I have become a part of a tight-knit collection of academically and athletically prosperous students. Struggling through difficult sets and disappointing races together makes celebrating success even sweeter. We lean on each other for strength when we feel as if we don’t have enough individually. This team is comprised of caring individuals who work together to make the whole better than the individuals. From this community I have become a better team player and now I can add to the uplifting environment by drawing upon some of my innate qualities that make me a good teammate: I am supportive, dedicated, patient, kind, and hardworking. One of the unique characteristics of the swim team is that we don’t only work on creating a great community within the team, but we try to spread that excitement and desire for success to other communities. The swim team makes great contributions the Emory community by hosting Special Olympics every week at our pool and making appearances at many events such as sporting events and freshman move

Throughout my time as a high school student, I have learned the importance of sportsmanlike behavior. While participating in athletic and academic programs, I have found that good sportsmanship is what makes a good program and a good student-athlete. It requires you to not only look out for yourself but also to look out for the well-being of others, both on your team and on the opposing team. It is important to possess positive sportsmanship because you learn to care for and help others regardless of differences, which is a quality that is beneficial in an academic setting, athletics, and life as a whole. During my high school career, I have demonstrated good sportsmanship while participating in various extracurricular activities, such as the National Honor Society, diversity club, rocket cheerleading, track, competitive cheer, and sideline cheer.

By this time I had started to go through puberty and became taller which enabled me to swim faster. The morning group was full of dedicated swimmers who were crazy enough to get up every morning to go jump into a pool and practice. Of course I was no different, but during April of that season I had started to lose my motivation. I began to skip practices and gave my parents excuses, which then they told me to take it easy. After two months of periodic practices, I realized that swimming was an activity that I wanted to do and that I loved, and I decided that I would not allow myself to quit, no matter how hard it became. When the new season started, I started to push myself, trying to keep up to the faster swimmers. I became close with my team mates as people who go through pain together get closer. We started to have more fun together from going out, to having funny conversations in the locker rooms. I also began to do travel meets where we would spend a few days together, eating, sleeping, and swimming. I spent more time out of the pool with my friends and even became romantically involved with one. Now, swimming has become one of the most important things to me, it has been the activity that has the most influence on my life. From my work ethic, sleeping habits, to my choice of friends, all of them are tied to

tend to forget the reason for sports for children. They get caught up in the excitement