Summer Sports, Part 3: Volleyball & Water Polo

 

Volleyball

People say that volleyball is the second most popular sport in the world today.

William G. Morgan  invented volleyball and he introduced it in 1895 at a Massachusetts YMCA.  Six players are on each side and the ball measures 65-67 cm in circumference and weighs 260-280g.  It became an Olympic sport in 1964, and the first winners were American.  There are currently about 800 million volleyballers in the world.

Do you play volleyball?  It was popular in my school but now when I hear "volleyball", my mind wanders off to the beach.

I've compiled these French-English volleyball terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
terrain	court
filet	net
temps-mort	time out
remplacement	substitution
faute	foul
blocage	blocking
joueur arrière	back line player
service	serve
surface de service	service area
ligne de fond	back line (also: baseline)
ligne centrale (aussi: ligne médiane)	center line
ligne d'attaque	attack line
piste d'élan	approach
zone arrière	back court
manchette	bump
coup croisé	cross court shot
feinte	dink

Water Polo

In water polo, there are 13 players but only 12 of them can be in the water at the same time.  Players can toss or throw the ball with one hand but cannot be punched by others except the goalkeeper.

The dress code for water polo are trunks and caps.  Caps must be secured firmly under the chin.  If a cap falls off, the player must replace it at the next stoppage.  No player is allowed to apply oil or grease on his/her body.  When a team gains possession of the ball, players have 35 seconds to shoot it towards the goal; if not, they must concede a free throw. 

I've always wondered about the 35-second rule and where it came from.  And why 35 and not 30?  According to the NCAA, there was an attempt to change 35 seconds to 30 but somehow, the 35-second rule was maintained.  NCAA rules change every two years, so the next rules review will take place in 2010.  Officials will probably revisit the 35 second rule.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
coup de coin	corner throw
contre-attaque	counter attack
supériorité numérique	extra man advantage
joueur de champ	field player
remise en jeu par le gardien de but	goal throw
tir de pénalité	penalty throw
règle de 35 secondes	35-second rule

This rounds up our French English summer sports vocabulary (I'll be back with more terms at a future date).

The next series?  How about infectious diseases?

Summer Sports, Part 2: Baseball & Swimming

Having lived in the US for 8 years, I am aware how baseball has become an unchallenged and revered  institution. I listened in awe as Americans spoke glowingly of their favorite teams, their attention riveted to the TV screen until the final scores come out.  Canadians have the same passion for hockey. Even in summer time, you see kids in the street with a puck and stick, unmindful of the dangers of traffic.

Baseball historians insist that even if Abner Doubleday invented the sport, Alexander Cartwright is the true father of baseball.  He established the first formal rules of baseball in 1845.

Time to polish your French to English baseball terminology!

FRENCH	ENGLISH
lanceur	pitcher
receveur	catcher
premier but	first baseman
deuxième but	second baseman
troisième but	third baseman
inter	shortstop
voltigeur gauche	left fielder
voltigeur de centre	center fielder
voltigeur droit	right fielder
marbre	home base (also: home plate)
circuit	home run
masque de receveur	catcher’s mask
protège-gorge	throat protector
genouillère (aussi: protège-genou)	knee protector (also: knee guard)
manche	inning
arbitre	umpire
bâton	bat
zone de prises	strike zone
prise	strike
frappe	batting
jeu forcé	force play
vol de but	steal

Turning now to swimming, there are four competition categories:  freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.  The spearhead principle is a concept you most likely have heard about.  It means that in every competition, the fastest rated swimmer is assigned the center lane; if the number of lanes is even, he gets the right of center lane.  The other competitors are assigned alternate left/right positions of the center lane, with the slowest swimmers getting the two outside lanes.  This arrangement usually will see the swimmers fanning out into a spearhead formation as they complete the race.

A few French-English swimming terms for you:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
piscine	pool
nage libre (aussi:  natation libre)	freestyle
brasse	breaststroke
papillon	butterfly
juge-arbitre	referee
faux départ	false start
formation fer de lance	spearhead formation
nageur de quatre nages	medley swimmer
nage synchronisée (the FFN – Fédération française de natation also calls it natation synchronisée)	synchronized swimming
jambe de ballet simple	ballet leg
jambe de ballet double	ballet double leg
jambe pliée	bent knee
chevalier	knight
vertical	vertical
position groupée	tuck
carpé avant	front pike
carpé arrière	back pike

I swim occasionally and my favorite strokes are the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke.  I sometimes do the dog crawl and the scissors.  I have trouble with the butterfly.

For an English commentary on the freestyle technique, you can click on this link:  http://www.dipity.com/timetube/YouTube_Freestyle_Swimming_Technique.

For a French demonstration (no commentary), click here: http://denismimi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9C207695B264ECE3!3136.trak.

Summer Sports, Part 1: Golf/Water Skiing

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!