1.
Park
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A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of areas, rocks, soil, and trees. In North America, many parks have fields for playing such as soccer, baseball and football. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities, some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest parks are in areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables, the largest parks can be vast natural areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres, with abundant wildlife and natural features such as mountains and rivers. In many large parks, camping in tents is allowed with a permit, many natural parks are protected by law, and users may have to follow restrictions. Large national and sub-national parks are typically overseen by a ranger or a park warden. Large parks may have areas for canoeing and hiking in the months and, in some northern hemisphere countries. The first parks were English deer parks, land set aside for hunting by royalty and they had walls or thick hedges around them to keep game animals in and people out. It was strictly forbidden for commoners to hunt animals in these deer parks and these game preserves evolved into landscaped parks set around mansions and country houses from the sixteenth century onwards. These may have served as hunting grounds but they also proclaimed the owners wealth, an aesthetic of landscape design began in these stately home parks where the natural landscape was enhanced by landscape architects such as Capability Brown. As cities became crowded, the hunting grounds became places for the public. With the Industrial revolution parks took on a new meaning as areas set aside to preserve a sense of nature in the cities, sporting activity came to be a major use for these urban parks. Areas of outstanding natural beauty were also set aside as national parks to prevent their being spoiled by uncontrolled development, in some parks or time periods with high pollen counts, parks tend to be avoided. Park design is influenced by the purpose and audience, as well as by the available land features. A park intended to provide recreation for children may include a playground, a park primarily intended for adults may feature walking paths and decorative landscaping. Specific features, such as riding trails, may be included to support specific activities, the design of a park may determine who is willing to use it
2.
Barnes, London
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Barnes is a suburban district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located in the extreme northeast of the borough and it is centred 5.8 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in a bend of the River Thames. On the east riverside is the WWT London Wetland Centre adjoining several fields for the three national team sports. The Thames Path National Trail provides a promenade along the entire bend of the river which is on the Championship Course in rowing. Barnes has two stations and is served by bus routes towards central London and Richmond. Hammersmith Bridge at the north end links Barnes to the centre of Hammersmith, Barnes adjoins the South Circular Road and Putney, which forms a rival commercial hub to Hammersmith. Unlike Mortlake and Hammersmith, Barnes has no dual carriageways, the locality is one of a minority at its radius from the centre of London in the early 21st century to be defined by suburban by a Greater London Authority paper. Barnes has two railway stations, Barnes Bridge railway station Barnes railway station Its nearest tube station is Hammersmith. London Buses serving Barnes are, Historically part of Surrey, Barnes appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Berne. It was held by the Canons of St Paul of London when its assets were,8 hides and it rendered to its feudal system overlords £7 per year. The original Norman chapel of St Marys, Barnes village church, was built at some point between 1100 and 1150, and was extended in the early 13th century. In 1215, immediately after confirming the sealing of the Magna Carta, Stephen Langton, the church was added to in 1485 and in 1786. After a major fire in 1978 destroyed the Victorian and Edwardian additions to the building, some of the oldest riverside housing in London is to be found on the Terrace, a road lined with Georgian mansions which runs along the west bend of the river. Construction of these began as early as 1720. Gustav Holst and Ninette de Valois lived in houses on this stretch, the Terrace also has an original red brick police station, built in 1891. It has been remodelled as flats but still preserves the original features, the Grade II listed Barnes Railway Bridge, originally constructed in 1849 by Joseph Locke, dominates the view of the river from the Terrace. In 2009, a project began to re-paint the bridge, Castelnau, in north Barnes and on the banks of the river, has a small church, Holy Trinity. The area between Castelnau and Lonsdale Road contains a 1930s council estate, mostly consisting of Boot Houses, a 2014 survey found that Barnes had the highest proportion of independent shops of any area in Britain, at 96. 6%
3.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
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The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963 and it is governed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council. The borough is approximately half parkland – large areas of Londons open space fall within the boundaries, including Richmond Park, Kew Gardens, Bushy Park. A neighbouring authority in Surrey achieved the best quality of life in that report, demography is a diverse picture as in all of London, each district should be looked at separately and even those do not reflect all neighbourhoods. Whatever generalisations are used, the texture of London poverty by its minutely localised geography must always be taken into account according to an influential poverty report of 2010. Londons German business and expatriate community is centred on this borough, the above are arranged by post town Parks take up a great deal of the borough and include Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundary and 21 miles of river frontage,140 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The name Richmond upon Thames was coined at that time, it is now commonly but inaccurately used to refer to Richmond only, the boroughs history is reflected in the coat of arms, which was officially granted on 7 May 1966. It is, Ermine a portcullis or within a bordure gules charged with eight fleurs-de-lis or. The crest is, On a wreath argent and gules out of a mural crown gules a swan rousant argent in beak a branch of climbing red roses leaved and entwined about the neck proper. The supporters are, On either side a griffin gules, armed and beaked azure, each supporting an oar proper, the blade of the dark blue. Red, gold and ermine are the royal colours, reflecting Richmonds royal history. The swan represents the River Thames, which flows through the borough, the oars are from the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, reflecting the fact that the Boat Race between the two universities ends at Mortlake in the borough. The borough currently has a Conservative-led council which has been the most common administration since its formation, the borough is served by many Transport for London bus routes. The borough is connected to central London and Reading by the National Rail services of South West Trains, the London Undergrounds District line serves Richmond and Kew Gardens stations, both are also served by London Overground trains on the North London Line. The other stations are, Barnes, Barnes Bridge, Fulwell, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Mortlake, North Sheen, St Margarets, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames is the local education authority for the borough. The borough has a football club, Hampton & Richmond Borough F. C. who play at Beveree Stadium in Hampton. The Twickenham Stadium hosts rugby internationals and the Twickenham Stoop is home to the Harlequins Rugby Team, Richmond Rugby Club are also active and share their grounds with London Scottish F. C
4.
River Thames
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The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
5.
Fulham
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Fulham is part of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in southwest London. It is an Inner London district located 3.7 miles south-west of Charing Cross and it was formerly a parish in the County of Middlesex. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London, Fulham Palace, now a museum, served between 1900 and 1976 as the official residence of the Bishops of London. Fulham has a history of industry and enterprise dating back to the 15th-century, in the shape of its Mill at Millshot and this was followed by pottery, tapestry-weaving, paper-making and brewing in the 17th and 18th-centuries all in the area of present-day Fulham High Street. The next two centuries saw involvement with production, transportation, the automotive industry, including early aviation and food production. It is to be decommissioned by 2019, in contrast to its modest post-World War II reputation, Fulham is now considered among the prime London areas by estate agents. Two football clubs, the eponymous Fulham F. C. and Premier League rivals, There are two exclusive sporting clubs, The Hurlingham Club known for Polo and the Queens tennis club known for its annual pre-Wimbledon Tennis tournament. In the 1800s Lillie Bridge Grounds, hosted the first meetings of the Amateur Athletic Association of England, the second FA Cup Final, the Lillie Bridge area was also the former home-ground of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, before it moved to Marylebone. The manor of Fulham is said to have given to Bishop Erkenwald about the year 691 for himself. In effect, Fulham Palace, for nine centuries the residence of the Bishops of London, is the manor of Fulham. In 879 Danish invaders, sailed up the Thames and wintered at Fulham, raphael Holinshed relates that the Bishop of London was lodging in his manor place in 1141 when Geoffrey de Mandeville, riding out from the Tower of London, took him prisoner. During the Commonwealth the manor was temporarily out of the bishops hands, in recent years there has been a great revival of interest in Fulhams earliest history, due almost entirely to the efforts of the Fulham Archaeological Rescue Group. Excavations have also revealed Roman settlements during the third and fourth centuries AD, There is no record of the original erection of a Parish church in Fulham, but the first written record of a church dates from 1154 as a result of a tithe dispute. The first known parish priest of All Saints Church, Fulham was appointed in 1242, interestingly, there is a comparably old church on the opposite bank of the Thames, St Marys Church, Putney, on the other side of the river crossing. In 1642 the Earl of Essex threw a bridge of boats across the river in order to march his army in pursuit of Charles I and this is thought to have been near the subsequent wooden Fulham Bridge, built in 1729 and replaced in 1886 with Putney Bridge. In 1792 it was occupied by Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his wife and his non-political wife was Maria Fitzherbert who lived in East End House in Parsons Green. They are reputed to have had several children, during the 18th century Fulham had a reputation for debauchery, becoming a playground for the wealthy of London, where there was much gambling and prostitution and breweries. Until 1834, the village of Hammersmith had been incorporated in the parish of Fulham
6.
WWT London Wetland Centre
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WWT London Wetland Centre is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the Barnes area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest London, England, by Barn Elms. The site is formed of four disused Victorian reservoirs tucked into a loop in the Thames, the centre first opened in 2000, and in 2002 an area of 29.9 hectares was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest as the Barn Elms Wetland Centre. The centre occupies more than 100 acres of land which was occupied by several small reservoirs. These were converted into a range of wetland features and habitats before the centre opened in May 2000. It was the first urban project of its kind in the United Kingdom, many birds which have now made their home in the Centre cannot be found anywhere else in London, and there are nationally significant numbers of gadwall and northern shoveler. The site contains a large building which is occasionally used as a wedding venue. In 2012 London Wetland Centre was voted Britains Favourite Nature Reserve in the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards, list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Official website WWT London Wetland Centre on Facebook WWT London Wetland Centre on Twitter Map of Barn Elms Wetland Centre SSSI
7.
Craven Cottage
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Craven Cottage is a football stadium located in Fulham, London. It has been the ground of Fulham F. C. since 1896. The grounds current capacity is 25,700, all-seated, though the record attendance is 49,335, located next to Bishops Park on the banks of the River Thames, Craven Cottage was originally a royal hunting lodge and has history dating back over 300 years. The original Cottage was built in 1780, by William Craven, at the time, the surrounding areas were woods which made up part of Anne Boleyns hunting grounds. The Cottage was lived in by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and other notable persons until it was destroyed by fire in May 1888. Many rumours persist among Fulham fans of past tenants of Craven Cottage, sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeremy Bentham, Florence Nightingale and even Queen Victoria are reputed to have stayed there, although there is no real evidence for this. Following the fire, the site was abandoned, Fulham had had 8 previous grounds before settling in at Craven Cottage for good. Therefore, The Cottagers have had 12 grounds overall, meaning that only their former landlords, of particular note, was Ranelagh House, Fulhams palatial home from 1886–1888. When representatives of Fulham first came across the land, in 1894, a deal was struck for the owners of the ground to carry out the work, in return for which they would receive a proportion of the gate receipts. The first football match at which there were any gate receipts was when Fulham played against Minerva in the Middlesex Senior Cup, the grounds first stand was built shortly after. Described as looking like a box, it consisted of four wooden structures each holding some 250 seats. In 1904 London County Council became concerned with the level of safety at the ground, in a scheme costing £15,000, he built a pavilion and the Stevenage Road Stand, in his characteristic red brick style. Both the Johnny Haynes Stand and Cottage remain among the finest examples of Archibald Leitch football architecture to remain in existence, an England v Wales match was played at the ground in 1907, followed by a rugby league international between England and Australia in 1911. One of the clubs directors Henry Norris, and his friend William Hall, took over Arsenal in the early 1910s and this move was largely motivated by Fulhams failure thus far to gain promotion to the top division of English football. There were also plans for Henry Norris to build a stadium on the other side of Stevenage Road. During this era, the Cottage was used for singing and marching bands along with other performances. In 1933 there were plans to demolish the ground and start again from scratch with a new 80,000 capacity stadium and these plans never materialised mainly due to the Great Depression. On 8 October 1938,49,335 spectators watched Fulham play Millwall, the reason for this exceptionally large crowd was that the game at Stamford Bridge had suddenly been cancelled and so a lot of people made their way west to the Cottage that afternoon instead
8.
Rugby football
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Rugby is a type of football developed at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union, although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. Following the 1895 split in rugby football, the two rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two different forms of rugby. After 100 years, in 1995 rugby union joined rugby league, the Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. These games appear to have resembled rugby football, the Roman politician Cicero describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barbers shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis, episkyros is recognised as an early form of football by FIFA. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union, in 1892, after charges of professionalism were made against some clubs for paying players for missing work, the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, was formed. The existing rugby union authorities responded by issuing sanctions against the clubs, players, after the schism, the separate clubs were named rugby league and rugby union. Rugby union is both a professional and amateur game, and is dominated by the first tier unions, Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Rugby Union is administered by World Rugby, whose headquarters are located in Dublin and it is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar, and is the most popular form of rugby globally. The Olympic Games have admitted the seven-a-side version of the game, known as Rugby sevens, there was a possibility sevens would be a demonstration sport at the 2012 London Olympics but many sports including sevens were dropped. In Canada and the United States, rugby union evolved into gridiron football, during the late 1800s, the two forms of the game were very similar, but numerous rule changes have differentiated the gridiron-based game from its rugby counterpart. Rugby league is also both a professional and amateur game, administered on a level by the Rugby League International Federation. International Rugby League is dominated by Australia, England and New Zealand, in Papua New Guinea it is the national sport. Other nations from the South Pacific and Europe also play in the Pacific Cup, distinctive features common to both rugby codes include the oval ball and throwing the ball forward is not allowed, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it. As the sport of rugby league moved further away from its counterpart, rule changes were implemented with the aim of making a faster-paced. League players may not contest possession after making a tackle, play is continued with a play-the-ball, in league, if the team in possession fails to score before a set of six tackles, it surrenders possession
9.
Tennis
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Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return, the player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, the sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis and it had close connections both to various field games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport of real tennis. The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s, two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. Tennis is played by millions of players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. Historians believe that the ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France. Louis X of France was a player of jeu de paume, which evolved into real tennis. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, in due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. Because of the accounts of his death, Louis X is historys first tennis player known by name. Another of the enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France. It wasnt until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called tennis, from the French term tenez, an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, during the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. This in turn led to the codification of rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls. In 1872, along with two doctors, they founded the worlds first tennis club in Leamington Spa. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, Sports historians all agree that deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis, according to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield popularized this game enormously
10.
Softball
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Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago as an indoor game and it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground, softball, kitten ball, and because it was also played by women, ladies baseball. The name softball was given to the game in 1926 because the used to be soft. A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago Worlds Fair spurred interest in the game, the Amateur Softball Association of America governs the game in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series championships. Womens fastpitch softball became a Summer Olympic sport in 1996, but it were dropped from the 2012 Games, there are three types of softball. In fastpitch softball, the pitch is fast, there are nine players on the field at one time, modified softball restricts the windmill windup of the pitcher, although the pitcher is allowed to throw as hard as possible with the restricted back swing. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseball, despite the name, the ball used in softball is not very soft. It is about 12 in in circumference, which is 3 in larger than a baseball, Softball recreational leagues for children often use an 11-inch ball. In fast pitch softball the entire infield is sand, whereas the infield in baseball is grass except at the bases which are sand, the earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day,1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club at a gathering to hear the outcome of the Yale University, when the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a took a swing at it, george Hancock called out Play ball. And the game began, with the boxing glove tightened into a ball and this first contest ended with a score of 41–40. The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded, george Hancock is credited as the games inventor for his development of ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders, envisioned as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the sport was called Indoor Baseball. Under the name of Indoor-Outdoor, the game moved outside in the year. In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters, Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. Fire Station No.19 in Minneapolis, Robers post from 1896 to 1906, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part for its association with the sports development, the first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897. The name softball dates back to 1926, the name was coined by Walter Hakanson of the YMCA at a meeting of the National Recreation Congress
11.
Cricket
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Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket at each end. One team bats, attempting to score as many runs as possible, each phase of play is called an innings. After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a number of overs have been completed, the innings ends. The winning team is the one that scores the most runs, including any extras gained, at the start of each game, two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play. The striker takes guard on a crease drawn on the four feet in front of the wicket. His role is to prevent the ball hitting the stumps by use of his bat. The other batsman, known as the non-striker, waits at the end of the pitch near the bowler. A dismissed batsman must leave the field, and a teammate replaces him, the bowlers objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman. An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler, the next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler. If a fielder retrieves the ball enough to put down the wicket with a batsman not having reached the crease at that end of the pitch. Adjudication is performed on the field by two umpires, the laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit, but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours. In addition to the kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball. Although crickets origins are uncertain, it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century and it spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century. ICC, the governing body, has over 100 members. The sport is followed primarily in Australasia, Britain, the Indian subcontinent, southern Africa, womens cricket, which is organised and played separately, has also achieved international standard. A number of words have been suggested as sources for the term cricket, in the earliest definite reference to the sport in 1598 it is called creckett. One possible source for the name is the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff, in Samuel Johnsons Dictionary, he derived cricket from cryce, Saxon, a stick
12.
Track and field
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Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from the sports venue, a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and jumping events take place. Track and field is categorised under the sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running. The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, the jumping and throwing events are won by the athlete who achieves the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus and hammer. There are also combined events or multi events, such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, in these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a victor, the most prominent team events are relay races. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the mens and womens competitions are held at the same venue. It is one of the oldest sports, in ancient times, it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the city of Elis, won the stadium race. According to some traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals. In modern times, the two most prestigious track and field competitions are athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federations is the governing body. Records are kept of the best performances in specific events, at world and national levels, however, if athletes are deemed to have violated the events rules or regulations, they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased. In North America, the track and field may be used to refer to other athletics events, such as the marathon. The sport of track and field has its roots in human prehistory, Track and field-style events are among the oldest of all sporting competitions, as running, jumping and throwing are natural and universal forms of human physical expression. The first recorded examples of organized track and field events at a festival are the Ancient Olympic Games. At the first Games in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, only one event was contested, Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period, and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC
