Sports Born in the Victorian Era

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Sports born in the Victorian Era

Sports are a way of life for some individuals and without sports it would feel like a so called hole in their hearts. The Victorian Era which had a variety of sports played both professionally and recreationally took place from June 20, 1837 until January 22, 1901. It was called the victorian era because at that time Britain was under the reign of Queen Victoria. The Victorian Era helped modernize sports that are stilled played today here in the United States as well as around the world.

Track and field during the victorian era was very similar to present day with many of the same events.Track and field's line of events is from ancient athletic festivals in Greece and the British Isles. Both the original Olympics in ancient Greece and the Celtic Tailteann Games date back to around the ninth century BCE. These games played host to the best athletes throughout the world, who competed in running, jumping, and throwing events in addition to wrestling, archery, and the greeks had swimming.. Professional track and field had no regulation, with many athletes making a living by their skill and talent. There are multiple stories of sprinters who would travel from town to town in disguise, pretending that they had no talent in racing and then persuaded many local people to compete with them and sometimes spectators would place bets against them. Often the races would be handicapped events, meaning the locals were given a rough 5–10 yards' head start in a 100-yard dash. During this way the athletes were able to make a substantial living. Long distance races were also very common, often the races were promoted heavily for extra money. Though cheating happened frequently, the professional sport still had...

... middle of paper ...

... India had a caste dimension. Games, holidays, music, and leisure time activities varied greatly by the social group into which one was born. As in other aspects of daily life, accident of birth had a significant role. Thus by studying the recreational life of 19th century people, we can more fully understand the societies in which they belonged.

Work Cited

Crego. Robert. "track and field." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Apr.

2014

Crego, Robert. "soccer." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014

Salisbury, Joyce and Andrew Kersten. "Eras / Victorian England / Sports & Games in

Victorian England." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014

Salisbury, Joyce E. and Andrew E. Kersten. "Recreation in the 19th Century." Daily Life

through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

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