The document provides information about Basque athletes competing in the Olympics and their situation. 1) Basque athletes are not allowed to compete for the Basque national team and must instead compete for Spain or France. The Basque Country football team is considered the unofficial national team but is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA. 2) Several Basque sports are mentioned, including pelota which was a demonstration sport in past Olympics. Surfing and football players also want to compete for an official Basque team. 3) Biographies are given for two Basque athletes, Naroa Agirre and Paul de la Cuesta, competing in track and field and skiing respectively.

1. London 2012
Olympic Games
Paula Castro and Erkuden Mendia 4.A
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2. A NATION, A TEAM
UNE NATION, UNE SELECTION
HERRI BAT, SELEKZIO BAT
Basque sportmen and sportwomen are not allowed to compete for the Basque
national team. Therefore, they compete for Spain or France.
The Basque Country football team (Euskal
First international Herriko futbol selekzioa) is considered the
Basque Country 6 – 1 Catalonia national team of the Basque Country greater
region as selected players from the Basque
(January 3, 1915; Basque Country) Country Autonomous Community, the
nearby Navarre and the Northern Basque
Country in France play for it. They are not
Biggest win affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore are
Denmark B 1 – only allowed to play friendly matches. As a
result, when Basque football players play
11 Basque Country international matches, they compulsory play
for Spain or France.
( August 29, 1937; Denmark)
Biggest defeat
SURFIING.. Affterr competiing fforr
SURF NG A te compet ng o
Mexico 8 – 4 Basque Country ten yearrs fforr the Basque
ten yea s o the Basque
( October 16, 1938; Mexico) Natiionall team,, the Eurropean
Nat o na team the Eu o pean
Commiittee fforrbade iit iin 2001..
Comm ttee o bade t n 2001
Basque Country 1 – 5 Hungary Howeverr,, Basque surrferrs werre
Howeve Basque su f e s we e
(August 31 1980; Basque Country) iinviited to compete at the
nv t ed to compete at the
Celltiic Games iin 2003.. Basque
Ce t c Games n 2003 Basque
surrfferrs werre so good that they
su e s we e so good that they
werre iinviited them back agaiin..
we e nv ted them back aga n
As a rresullt off wiinniing each
As a esu t o w n n ng each
yearr the Celltiic competiitiion,,
yea the Ce t c compet t on
they have taken parrt iin the
they have taken pa t n the
Games everry yearr.. The Basque
Games eve y yea The Basque
Surrfferrs Natiionall Team iis
Su e s Nat o na Team s
waiitiing fforr a courrt deciisiion to
wa t ng o a cou t dec s o n to
know iif one day they wiilll be
know f one day they w be
alllowed to compete fforr theiirr
a owed to compete o the
natiionall team
nat o na team
PELOTA.
Basque Pelota was a demonstration sport at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. It was
the third time that the sport was included in the Olympic program; it was an official Olympic
sport at the 1900 Games in Paris, and a demonstration sport in 1924. It was included as a
demonstration sport once again at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Basque Pelota has only once
been officially competed for at the Olympics in 1900. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, a Basque
pelota tournament was contested. Only two teams competed, so only one match was played.
The score is unknown. The competition was held on 14 June.
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3. LONDON 2012
THE MASCOT AND THE SONG
This is the link of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsWQQLM7eJ8
And now the chorus of the LONDON 2012 song:
The world's heading our way, And when they're both together
They're gonna come from miles You got friends that'll last forever
around
Oooh, oooh
Doo, doo, doo, doo (bis)
Who knows how far away you can go
For 2012 games, When you travel on a rainbow
When they arrive in london town
Oooh, oooh
Doo, doo, doo, doo (bis)
I hope this feeling never stops
So, if you need somebody
For always hold your hand Doo, doo, doo, doo (bis)
Mandeville and wenlock are your
friends It's hard to win in this race
It's the toughest race in town
Oh, oh, oh
Doo, doo, doo, doo (bis)
Because they're on a journey
With you till the end
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4. THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC VALUES
It’s very important for all the athletes to be in the Olympic or Paralympic
competition. All the athletes encourage and motivate themselves to be the
best they can and to respect other athletes. These are the Olympic and
Paralympic Values.
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5. NAROA AGIRRE (PROFILE)
Birthday date:
1979/05/15
Sport:
Truck and field
Trajectory:
She started doing this sport in a small sport club in Donostia. First she
began doing long jump, then she practice the cutter with Ramón Cid
Competitions:
She has participated in two Olimpic games: in Atenas 04 and in Beijing
08.
Hobies:
read, cinema, mountains and listening to music.
PAUL DE LA CUESTA (PROFILE)
Birthday date:
In 1991
Sport:
Downhill skier
Trajectory:
He has become the only Basque to be selected for the Winter Olympics 2010, starting on
12th February in Vancouver, Canada.
Competitions: Paul competed as a member of the Basque BAT Team, a project created to
develop sporting talent in the Basque Country.
This is only Paul's second season as a senior skier, after a four-year junior career in which
he competed in more than 200 races
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6. Volunteers are called London 2012 Games Makers
Volunteers have been integral to both Summer and Winter Olympic and
Paralympic Games since they were used for the first time at London 1948.
In each competition million of volunteers make it happen the Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
Games Makers’ Role
There are 32 teams, functional areas or FAs that need Games
Makers.
Each team needs a different number of Games Makers – some
require fewer than 50 while others need a few thousand. Most
roles will be Games-time specific, but some will require volunteers
to be available from spring 2012 for pre-Games preparation
Volunteers needed in different places
Most of London 2012 volunteers will be needed during the Games,
but some of them will be Trailblazers, they will be needed in the
run-up to the Games.
Over 400 Trailblazers have been recruited since January 2009. Each Trailblazer volunteers one
day a week for a minimum of four months, performing a wide range of administrative duties.
Trailblazers must:
 be aged 18 years old or over by 1 January 2011;
 have good written and verbal English;
 have excellent communication skills;
 be able to volunteer for one shift a week for a minimum of three months;
 be eligible to volunteer within the UK in accordance with immigrations rules; and
 sign both a confidentiality agreement and a letter of agreement.
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7. A London Ambassador
Being a Games Maker is just one way to volunteer at Games time - the Mayor of London is
running a separate programme during the summer of 2012.
London Ambassadors will be the face of today's London and they will come from different
backgrounds and communities and different ages: students, workers, out of work, looking to
return to work, or retired, 16 or 60.
The minimum age for London Ambassadors is 16 (born on or before 1 January 1996).
Our likes and dislikes
When we watch sports on TV, we always watch football and basketball.
We like a lot basketball and we have a team with ours friends. We have two
training sessions a week and we play basketball matches on Saturdays.
Kayaking
We like kayaking. Maialen Chourraut is an athlete that does kayaking and who
is going to go to London Olympic games.
Maialen Chourraut (Donostia, 8 March 1983)
She has on her memory her experience in Pekin. She finished 16th.
However, Maialen says that the London meeting is very different. The interval
between 2004 and 2008 was complicated for this young girl who is 28. She is
more confident now. She had two injuries of her shoulder and two operations.
She was silver in the world championship 2009 in la Seu d'Urgell (Lérida),
where she trains now and she was bronze in Barcelona. In Bratislava, in 2010,
she won the gold in the World Cup. She is an optimistic person. She said that
these Olympic games are going to be very good.
She spends 24 hours a day thinking about kayaking. She goes to the gym.
She has also done the channel of Lee Valley White Water Centrey, which is
almost 50 kilometers, where she trained in December, and she will travel
several times before the opening of games on 30 July. London will be a good
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8. place to get acclimatized. Now her physical condition is also different. She is
enthusiastic about the games. She said that she has to work hard but she is
motivated.
Olympic message
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not
to win but to take part, just as the most important thing
in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential
thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
In the Olympic games as in each kind of sports, the most
important thing is not to win, the important things is to
participate and have fun. Many people don’t know it;
we think that if you are a really sportman or
sportwoman you must know it.
If you win something it is great. You get very proud of
yourself, but if you lose, you can’t get angry and be sad.
You have taken part and enjoyed it.
Source: http://www.london2012.com
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