Sport - both watching and playing - has always been high on the list ofthings we enjoy doing in our spare time. And there are plenty of sports to choose from. Walking is by far the most popular for men and women ofall ages, followed by fishing, cycling and swimming.

The biggest event on the horizon is the 2012 London Olympics. This promises to be a spectacular sporting, social and cultural occasion. Youngsters are being encouraged to take up sport and train hard for the chance to take part - and maybe win a medal in front of their homecrowd.

The UK's most popular team sports are football, cricket and rugby. Football in particular is an obsession for many people in the UK.

You can also take part in many other sports - such as surfing, snowboarding, hockey and martial arts. Although these sports don't have a mass following, they do have a growing band of supporters.

Why does Britain have four teams in international sporting tournaments?

 

The United Kingdom sends four separate teams, representing the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to some international sporting tournaments, including hockey, scoccer and athletics (Commonwealth Games).

 

In Football, each team is representative of a separate national sporting association, affiliated to FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) which controls world football. Under Olympic rules, the United Kingdom is regarded as a single country. Consequently, no British football team has competed at the Olympic Games since 1972.

 

Similarly, Scotland, England and Wales each have their own hockey team, and the countries compete separately at international events.

 

The rugby union touring team, the British Lions, represents England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The side which toured Australia back in 1899 was the first to be totally representative. The team allegedly received its name during the 1924 tour of South Africa when local journalists coined the phrase because of the lion symbol on the players' ties.

 

What are the Highland Games?

 

The popularity of the Highland Games dates back to Queen Victoria's patronage of them, which began in the middle of the last century, although before that time many Highland clans had long held annual gatherings which included traditional sports and games. One of the most famous gatherings is held each year at Braemar in Aberdeenshire during early September, opening with a spectacular march of kilted clansmen accompanied by pipers playing the bagpipes. The Games at Braemar and elsewhere in Scotland usually feature displays of highland dancing and hard-fought contests for players of the bagpipes, as well as gruelling athletic events. These include 'throwing the hammer' - flinging an iron ball on a chain as far as possible, and 'tossing the caber' - tossing a long and unwieldy wooden pole, like a tree trunk, said to have originated as a way of heaving felled tree-trunks over ravines or streams!