For this week, I’ll post French-English terms for various summer sports.
Did you know that there are over 150 kinds of sports in at least 13 categories (athletics, winter, team, gymnastics, combat, etc) and more than 200 international and national sports associations? With that variety, there is no excuse NOT to make an effort to engage in a sport you learn and enjoy. If we have the Special Olympics for the disabled, it is to encourage the physically and intellectually challenged to participate. The Special Olympics web site writes about 10 ways you can get involved with the Special Olympics in your community. http://www.specialolympics.org/Get_Involved.aspx.
Today’s blog: Golf and Water Skiing Terms
My father was an avid golfer. When he was alive, he played golf every weekend; when he retired, he played at least 3-4 times a week. He stopped playing golf when he was diagnosed with colon cancer and I knew how this self-deprivation affected him profoundly. When he was younger and stronger, he looked forward to his golf games, getting up as early as 4:30 in the morning so he and his golf buddies would beat the crowds. He was an admirer of Tiger Woods and he followed Tiger’s tournaments on TV. I dare not think of the kind of emotions that raged in him when he watched Tiger swing that iron while he dealt with the nostalgia of his golfing days.
(“I don’t know if I even have an aura, man. I just try to win.” Tiger Woods).
There are two types of golf competitions: match play and stroke play. Match play victory is based on the majority of holes while stroke play victory is based on the number of strokes. The player with the fewest strokes wins.
A few golf terms:
| FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| bâton de golf | golf club |
| bois | wood |
| fer | iron |
| fer droit | putter |
| parcours de golf | golf course |
| allée | fairway |
| vert (aussi: pelouse d’arrivée) | putting green |
| handicap (aussi: marge d’erreur) | handicap |
| partie par trou | match play |
| partie par coup | stroke play (also: medal play) |
| caddie | caddie |
| fosse de sable | bunker |
| oiselet | birdie |
| bogey | bogey |
Water Skiing
As a child, I thought of water skiers as an elite group of pleasure-seekers and listened to them with envy as they nattered about their bold and graceful movements. I told myself then that I’d learn it one day and excel in it.
I never did.
Life got in the way and I have not once been on water skis. Tennis yes…which became an addiction. But I still envy water skiers and watch them from a distance, marvelling at their form and grace.
The sport is divided into three sections: jumping, slalom and trick riding. In jumping, the ramp is an inclined plane, and the boat must be parallel to the ramp on the right side. In slalom, the boat has to go through the middle area of the slalom course and the skier has to swing across it to pass six buoys. The skier then follows the boat through the central gate. Trick riding, the last section, requires the skier to perform on a straight course with buoys on each side.
Some water skiing terms:
| FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| ski nautique | water skiing |
| saut | jumping |
| slalom | slalom |
| figures | trick riding |
| embarcation pour le ski | ski boat |
| fixation | foot binding |
| remorque | towing line |
| bouée | buoy |
| goofy | goofy (a skier who leads with the right food forward) |
| combinaison humide (aussi: vêtement non-étanche | wet suit |
| vêtement étanche | dry suit |
Next post: swimming and baseball terms!
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