Sport is an extremely important part of the life of American students.
And it doesn’t matter if you play in the sports team of your university with rivals from another university or just play with friends – in any case, sport provides an invaluable social experience for both players and fans. In most American colleges, sports develop at three different levels – college sports, club sports, and university teams that are members of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association. College sports are designed to ensure that students of all athletic levels have the opportunity to take part in sports activities with their friends and fellow students. In club sports, as a rule, there is much more competition between athletes. If a student wants to play in a club team, he must prove himself and pass the selection, which is carried out by the club’s management. The level of the university team can be compared with professional teams, where the university management invites outstanding athletes to play.
Many American university students take part in sports activities from the first days of admission to keep fit and make new friends. Sometimes sports teams are mixed, i.e. they are played by both students and female students. But there are also purely male and female teams. Most often, students play volleyball, football, softball (a type of baseball), dodgeball (ball game), American football, kickball and basketball. Each season, a tournament is held between the sports teams of the university in each sport. The best teams often receive prizes based on the results of the competition.
Club sports place higher demands on athletes.
In order to join the club sports team, a student must pass tests and prove himself to the captain of the club team. Those accepted into the club team must attend training sessions in order to maintain their place in the club. Club teams from different universities meet each other in sports tournaments. However, not all club teams have serious competition between athletes. Many club teams simply provide students with the opportunity to play some new sport that students have not played before. Sports such as martial arts are booming at the country’s top universities as mixed martial arts competition grows in popularity around the world.
The most talented athletes go to the national teams of universities.
Universities often invite talented graduate athletes to strengthen their national teams, but some of the athletes enter the competition in order to take a place in the team. Unlike professional athletes, members of the university national teams do not receive fees for playing in the team, but many of them receive various scholarships. Selected athletes who play for national teams of universities are further invited to professional sports. For the rest of the athletes who will not go professional, participation in the university teams provides an opportunity to take part in the championship. The participants of the championship strive to win not only in order to become famous, but also for the glory and prestige of their university.
The most popular university sport among students is American football.
Every fall, students dress up in the colors of their varsity team and head to the stadium to cheer for them. Students spend the whole day on Saturday preparing for the match. Particularly active fans wear boldly colored costumes or shave their team emblem on their heads to support the athletes of their university.
All these aspects of varsity sports are essential if the student is to endure the hardships of study. This is a good way to get away from stress, relax after a hard week of school and just make new friends.