Sports is a comprehensive reference to 125 amateur and professional sports, featuring classic Olympic athletic events (track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, combat sports, and equestrian events), as well as team, individual and motor sports (boxing, hockey, tennis, skiing, soccer, basketball, and Formula 1). With one thousand annotated illustrations and four hundred color photographs, this book explains the games' history, rules, strategies, facilities and equipment. In addition, there are highlights of the greatest players from the past and present, analyses of changes in technology and comparisons of performance over the years. The presentation of the information is fascinating for browsers and fans. How big is a soccer pitch? What are the four types of tennis court surface? How do you throw the hammer? It is all here, plus three indices (terms, symbols and illustrations). Athlete profiles that list physical and mental requirements for each sport are invaluable guides for young athletes choosing a sport. For a full table of contents and sample page spreads, visit: fireflybooks.com/books/sports.html This book is designed to provide the reader with the history, rules, strategies, and equipment for 127 sports played worldwide. A combination of graphics, concise text, and photos enables the reader to quickly find visual guidelines and information about a variety of sports, including the classic Olympic events. Each category (Track and Field, Snow Sports, Ball Sports, etc.) is subdivided into individual events, featured on two or three colorful pages. Traditional as well as less traditional athletics are covered, such as BMX racing, inline skating, snowboarding, and skateboarding. The format is easy to use and complete with a detailed table of contents and index. A good, up-to-date reference source for public and school libraries. -- Larry R. Little ― Library Journal Published On: 2000-07-01 True sports fans know the rules to their favorite games and they will scream or even throw things at a TV set if they think a bad call has been made. But even these die-hard aficionados can't be familiar with the rules for every sport played around the world. This illustrated encyclopedia details more than 100 sports, including all the Olympic competitions as well as motor sports, rock climbing and in-line skating. For each sport there are diagrams, photographs and drawings showing the technique, practice location, tactics, equipment, modifications and other details (such as a typical training schedule). While many fans may not need this reference volume for their favorite sport, this book would enhance almost anyone's viewing of the Olympics, where there are so many events with different rules. Intriguing details and descriptions abound. For example, there is a sport known as apnea freediving. In this event, divers first perform special respiratory exercises in order to take in as much oxygen as possible. Then, the divers hold their breath before descending to the designated depth and then resurfacing. Other interesting facts: handball originated in Egypt and was later played by the Romans. Leonardo da Vinci recognized the principle of parachuting, but the first parachute fall was not recorded until 1797. The illustrations are excellent; the step-by-step figures of the different techniques and routines enable readers to perfectly visualize the moves as if they were watching someone perform in front of them. ― Publishers Weekly Published On: 2000-09-11 This volume delivers with flair. Promising to cover the "evolution of each sport into its current form," it looks at 127 mainstream and extreme sports -- from lawn bowling and apnea freediving to fencing and rock climbing. Know a student interested in BMX competitions? Choose from half pipe, street, or flatland. Have trouble understanding the scoreboard of a particular sport? Look no further. Entries under color-coded categories such as racket, equestrian, ball, nautical, and motor, cover the rules of the game, scorekeeping, and technological and equipment changes over time. Court/playing surfaces, sizes and types, the correct form and training regimens of elite athletes, safety equipment, history, and the responsibilities of the umpire or referee are also discussed. The thousands of full-color and black-and- white illustrations, photographs, and diagrams of the physical environment, equipment, and techniques are the backbone of this title. The detailed table of contents and accurate index facilitate access. This is a stunning visual guide packed with information that will provide answers to reference questions and hours of browsing pleasure. -- Michael McCullough ― School Library Journal Published On: 2000-11-01 Impressive book ... the quality of illustrations in Fortin's book are superior. This book should be popular for fans of the Olympics. -- J.A. Badics ― Choice Published On: 2001-02-01 A sure winner for any sports reference collection. ― Americ