Bengi Güngör
10131042 / 1-A
SNOW, FOR ACTIVITY
Winter means snow, hot beverages, watching the raining snow… But for some of us it means sport. Doing activities in snow is a hobby for most people. There are many types of sports and one of them is the sport done to be enjoyed. It may be called recreational sports.
One of the recreational sports is building snowman. Most of the times it’s done by children. They think snowmen protect their house so they celebrate the winter in a traditional way by building snowman. On the snow’s melting point, it becomes available to be rolled. So, if you want to shape a snowman quickly, the best time to build it is the next warmest day after snow falling. After finishing the snowman’s body, clothes and vegetables are put on it so make it good looking and warm. It is claimed that first snowman was built in 1800’s by a 9 year-old girl.
Other activity is ice fishing, catching fish from a hole on frozen water. Practitioners do it while they are sitting on the ice or in a warm cottage close to fish catching area. A saw or an auger is needed to carve a hole in the ice. A skimmer is used for removing the slush or new ice. Today light gear, battery operated solar units, fast and powered augers are used to do ice fishing easier. Fishermen use advanced maps, GPS to find special fish’s places. While they’re going on the frozen water they check the thickness of the ice. Ice fishing can be done any time of the day. In some parts of the world ice fishing contest are done every year. The award goes to the person catching the largest and the biggest fish in the contest.
Another activity sounding dangerous is ice swimming. Ice swimmers open a hole in the frozen water or they swim where the water is cold but not frozen. Ice swimmers dip into water to be completely wet. They don’t usually swim beneath the ice because it’s easy to lose their way and find the hole they dip. There’s a system which forces water to circulate since it may freeze. In some countries such as Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, North America and China it has become a traditional.
Shinny is an informal ice hockey played on streets. It’s like playing football on the streets in Turkey. Goal is designated with simple objects or with a nest. Harsh movements are forbidden because players don’t wear special clothes. It’s usually played by children. They may use wood, stick or some items like these. It’s usually not competitive and recreational sport.
There are many activities apart from these. Even they’re competitive or not they seem enjoyable. We don’t have many winter sports in Turkey, but it’s nice to know different things. After you read this, you may want to do such activities. Who knows?