rock climbing, go bowling, and go fishing. With the team sports, we can use the word game or match: a soccer game, a basketball game, a tennis match, etc. You can win the game, lose the game, or tie the game – that’s when the final score is 1-1 or
2-2, for example.
A team can play a home game – when they play in their own stadium or field – or an away game – when
they play at the opposing team’s stadium or field. When there are many teams that are playing many
games to see which one is the best, we call this a tournament. When one team is winning in the middle of the game – for example, 3-1 – we say that team has the lead. However, the other team can make a comeback – score points from a losing position – and take the lead, 4-3.
With the sports that use “do” and “go,” we typically use the word competition – a gymnastics competition, a martial arts competition, a surfing competition, an ice skating competition, etc. The
exception is sports where you go from one place to another – like running, biking, and swimming – in
that case, we often call the event a race. Athletes can enter a competition and try to win first place. Some athletes try to enhance their performance with illegal substances such as steroids. But if they fail a drug test, they’ll be disqualified
from participating.
If the athlete is performing well, they may achieve a personal best – and if they perform better than
ANYONE ever has in the past, then they could even break the world record or set a new world record. If
they get injured, however, they might have to withdraw from the competition (voluntarily leave the competition).
