| Physical education has always been important to
the people of the Czech Republic. In 1862, a Czech professor of art history
at Charles University, Miroslav Tyrš, founded a gymnastic organization
called Sokol, which means "falcon" in Czech. Sokol promoted
calisthenics and gymnastics. Tyrš believed a healthy, strong nation must
be made up of physically fit citizens. Sokol became an important
part of Czech nationalism. The Communist government closed the Sokol
clubs, fearing that the meetings held at the clubs might foster opposition
to the Communist regime. Sokol has been revived in the 1990s. |
| Many
Czechs play in the National Hockey League, including Jaromir Jágr
and Dominik Hašek. |
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| Spartakiade is an eight-day national sports
event held every five years. More than 70,000 adults and children participate
in gymnastics and dance performances. The country's most popular sport
is soccer. Huge crowds go to watch the games at the Letná stadium
in Prague. The second most popular sport is ice hockey. The Czech national
hockey team won the gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics.
In winter, outdoor ice-skating, bruslení,
is a popular pastime for people of all ages. Sections of parks are flooded
with water and turned into ice rinks for skaters. Some Czechs enjoy skiing
in the mountains, while children go tobogganing. |
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| During the summer vacation, many Czech children
go to holiday camps in the mountains where they hike, camp and play team
sports. In the late summer and early autumn many people spend their weekends
at their country homes picking mushrooms in the forests. They dry, pickle
or freeze them for later use. Cycling in the countryside is another popular
summer pastime. |
| Martin
Doktor, a Czech canoeist, won two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Atlanta
in 1996, for the 500-metre and 1000-metre races. |
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| Martina
Navrátilová and Ivan Lendl, who are among the best tennis
players in the world, are of Czech origin. The oldest tennis club in the
Czech Republic was founded in 1893. |
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