By Claudia Bertrán
On Thursday we went on tour with the class. We went to the Olympic Canal for rowing and using kayaks. It was funny but we ended all wet!
At first it was a bit hard but then with the mates it was funny.
After finishing the kayak and rowing we went back to school at lunch time. Everyone was very hungry. It has been a very cold day and we were still all wet.
By Daniela Mendoza
Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu was born in Barcelona on February 2nd 1987. He grew up in a wealthy Catalan family. His father is a lawyer and his mother is the director of a medical institute. His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is the vice-president of BFC.
He is a Catalan footballer who started out in the junior Barça team. He left the club to go to Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years. Then he returned to Barça and helped the club to become the first Spanish club to win the treble. Piqué has also played with the Spanish national team. He was in the Spanish team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He has won 27 caps and he scored four goals.
By Unai Sanchez and Bryan Veintimilla
Xavi Hernández Creus is a footballer who was born in Terrassa in 1980. He has been regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world because his unique game. He protects the ball as anyone thanks to his technique.
He joined the “Masía” when he was 11 years old.
In the 1998 season he played with the Barcelona B and the first team. He debuted in the “Primera Division” of Spain on October 3, 1998 in the game Valencia CF - FC Barcelona.
He has played in 500 matches and has scored 34 goals.
He has achieved with BFC:
5 Glasses of Spanish League.
4 Super Cup Spain.
1 Cup King.
2 Champions League UEFA.
1 Euro cup.
1 European Super Cup.
4 Cups Catalonia.
5 Joan Gamper Trophy.
And, furthermore, 25 individual awards.
Now he has a permanent post in the selection.
He scored his first goal in the Euro Cup with Russia.
Titles with the Spanish selection:
Euro Cup.
FIFA World Cup.
By Berta Ros
I’m going to explain the concept of dance, and of two particular types of dance. Dance is an art form that involves self-expression through body movements to the rhythm of music. Dance is a way to express feelings and emotions but may also have a strong social or religious component.
We can distinguish various types of dance but perhaps some of the most important, although not the only ones, are: classical dance, contemporary dance, jazz dance, belly dancing, Spanish dancing, capoeira, hip-hop and tap dancing.
I have chosen two types of dance, jazz and contemporary. I have chosen them because they are the ones that I know best.
Jazz
Jazz dance was born in the early 20th century.
It originated from black dances but has evolved and taken elements from ballet and other modern dances. It was called jazz, because it took the typical elements of jazz music: improvisation and individual style.
Every jazz dancer interprets and executes moves and steps in his or her own way. There is no single jazz style, everyone has their own. It is better to know the basics of ballet, although it is not necessary.
Jazz dance is often referred to as tap dance.
Notable directors, dancers, and choreographers are Katherine Dunham and Bob Fosse.
Contemporary
Contemporary dance originated at the end of the 19th century, as an alternative to ballet. That is why the basis comes from ballet, although the movements are not rigid.
Contemporary dance allows the dancer to express an emotion or a message. Contemporary dance is 100% acting. It is often present in great visual spectacles such as circus, theatre and opera. Contemporary dance shows may include audiovisual techniques, such as videos, images or transparencies.
The music used is not necessary classical.
Sometimes dancers dance barefoot and with loose hair.
Notable directors, dancers, and choreographers are Isadora Duncan and Merce Cunningham.
Laia Esquerrà
This year's European Athletics Championships, held in Barcelona, had a colourful opening ceremony with some very courageous acrobatic displays.
The ceremony, held in the Font Màgica de Montjuic, marked the beginning of the first European Athletics Championships held in Spain.
These European Athletics Championships were the 20th in a sequence that started in Turin, Italy, in 1934.
The event lasted from July 26th until August 1st and presented some great athletes, as well as new revelations.
Some British athletes had already been strutting their stuff around the world in preparation for this major event. The triple jumper Phillips Idowu (who had achieved his best performance of the year a week earlier in Rio de Janeiro and eventually won first place in these European Championships), the sprinter Dwain Chambers (who obtained some great qualifying times but came fifth in the final) and the heptathlete Jessica Ennis (who came first and broke the Championships Record – and achieved her own personal record – as well as becoming the world leader at this event) are some examples of British athletes.
France was also expected to perform well and it certainly did. Their two sprinters, Christophe Lemaitre (gold medal in 100 and 200m) and Martial Mbandjock (bronze medal in 100 and 200m) were involved in a very close 100m final, in which four runners clocked the same time and could not be identified at the photo finish. These two runners formed part (along with two other athletes) of the French 4 x 100 m team, which also won the gold medal.
However, in the final ranking by country, neither of these came first. This ranking was headed by Russia (24 medals), with the most gold and bronze medals, obtaining 10 golds, 6 silvers and 8 bronzes. In second place was France with 8 golds, 6 silvers and 4 bronzes, leaving it with a total of 18 medals. Great Britain was third, with the most silver medals and a total of 19 medals. Nevertheless, it won fewer golds. Spain was in sixth place with only 8 medals, of which two were gold, three silver, and three bronze.
This competition is proof that Barcelona is working on the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and would be a good option.
By Mercè Cid
Rhythmic gymnastics is an old sport that was updated at the end of the 1950s. The world championships were held for the first time in 1963 and the sport was included as an Olympic discipline in 1984. In 1983 the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup was established.
Rhythmic gymnastics were not always the same as they are nowadays. Many changes were made in order to make it more attractive to wider audiences. It has been influenced by many factors, from fashion to social changes.
This sport can be practiced individually, in pairs or in groups, originally consisting of six gymnasts, although in the 1980s this number went up to eight. A performance can last from one and a half minutes (individual) to two and a half minutes (groups).
Gymnasts can use various props in a performance.
In this sport, the disciplines are characterized by the use of different props, such as balls, clubs, hoops, ropes and ribbons, which are used to accompany the music.
Rope: Material: hemp or any other synthetic material. Length: this depends on the height of the gymnast; it is measured from the tip of the foot up to the shoulders, folded in half.
Hoop: Material: wood or plastic (it must be rigid). Between 51 and 90 cm in diameter. It weighs at least 300 g.
Ball: Material: rubber or plastic. Between 18 and 20 cm in diameter. It weighs at least 400 g. Balls with figurative drawings are not accepted; only geometric designs are allowed.
Club: Material: wood or plastic. 50 cm long, more or less. It weighs 200-400 g.
Ribbon: Material: Satin or a non starchy material. Width: 4 cm to 6 cm. Length: at least 6 m. It weights at least 35 g.
By Victoria Englert & Cecilia Rinciari
The FIFA international football tournament was created in 1928 by Jules Rimet. The first FIFA World Cup was hosted in Uruguay in 1930 and the tournament continued until 1938. The 1942 event was cancelled due to World War II, as was the 1946 event, in the aftermath of World War II. It restarted in 1950, hosted by Brazil. The 2014 World Cup will also be hosted in Brazil.
Every four years, soccer fans from all over the world gather in the stadiums of a chosen country to see their favourite country, or any country for that matter, play and compete to become the world football champion. Match by match, countries are eliminated and only the 32 best countries are classified.
These 32 countries are divided into eight groups of four countries each, and the two winning countries from each group go through to the next round, and so on, until to the semi-finals, where the last four teams compete to qualify for the final. The two losing teams classify to compete for third place. The two teams that win the semi-finals classify for the finals and compete for the first and second places.
Every four years, the venue for the World Cup is changed. For example, the 2006 World Cup was hosted by Germany, where the winner was Italy. In 2010 the World Cup took place in South Africa and the winner, for the first time, was Spain. Interestingly, some teams have won two consecutive cups: for instance, Italy won in 1934 and in 1938, and Brazil won in 1958 and 1962.
By Daniel Belvis
2010 was a good year for Spanish sports. After Spain had won the football World Cup for the first time, and on the same day that Fernando Alonso won the German Grand Prix and Jorge Lorenzo the United States Moto Grand Prix, 27-year-old Alberto Contador claimed his third Tour de France. This time it was difficult for him because he showed some weaknesses in the mountains, but he benefited from Schleck's chain problem and gained 39 seconds. Contador wore the yellow jersey again and attended a celebration in his village of Pinto.
