I love to see examples of great sportsmanship! Otherwise, it’s sometimes too easy to forget that a sport is a game.

There’s a great quote by former Major League Baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr.:

“I go out there and have fun. It’s a game, and that’s how I am going to treat it.”

That can be applied to many aspects of life. Enjoying every moment of sport and life will help us keep things in perspective.

And I like the Chant Chargers Volleyball Rules to Play By (find link on page to download rules). There are lots of great quotes in their rules along with some rules of sportsmanship.

Always be a good sport, no matter how the game ends.

If we lose …

• Don’t get mad! ( There’s always the next game! )

• Don’t be a whiner!

• Don’t blame it on the refs!

• Don’t blame it on your teammates!

• Don’t have a bad attitude … it’s JUST a game.

• Think about what you can to do play better or improve our game next time.

 

No one likes to play with a poor loser.

If you’re a good sport, more kids will want to play with you and you’ll have more fun.

If we win …

• Don’t show off

• Don’t rub the other team’s face in it

 

It’s fun to celebrate a victory, but don’t overdo it!

ALWAYS congratulate your opponents and your teammates for playing well.

Be an example to others. There is always someone watching and listening to you. We represent ourselves, the Lady Chargers [insert your own team or club], our family, and God. We want to be good role models for those around us!

Win With Style, Lose With Style

“Win with Style, Lose with Style” Word-Art Freebie

Showing good sportsmanship isn’t always easy. That’s probably why we all appreciate examples of great sportsmanship so much. Here are some other posts I published with examples of great sportsmanship.

Here are a couple more examples of great sportsmanship:

An example from June 2010 – “Perfect Sportsmanship – No hard feelings between pitcher and the umpire who denied him a perfect game.”

An example from this week – “Teen rowers give up medal dreams to help capsized foes” from Yahoo Sports.

Whatever our sport or challenge in life is, I hope we can all learn to win with style, lose with style.

Photo Credit: Photo by Kathy McEldowney at Flickr Creative Commons (License).

Linked with Thought-Provoking Thursday.

Every now and then I hear about examples of great sportsmanship. I love the inspiration of seeing athletes rise above their own feelings and fears to reach out to their competitors.

An Example of Great Sportsmanship from Figure Skating

Recently at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Team USA pairs skater Mark Ladwig had his skate break during his short program. He was given the allowed three minutes to return to the ice and finish the program.

While he was trying to decide whether to use duct tape or screws to fix his skate boot, he was handed a boot from a friend – and pairs competitor – Rudi Swiegers of Team Canada. Because Rudi and Mark wear the same size skates, Mark and his partner were able to complete their short program and the competition. Here’s more about the story from Team USA: Swiegers gives Ladwig the boot.

An Example of Great Sportsmanship from Softball

I first saw this video at The Zen Mama’s Blog in her Inspirational Movie Monday. It’s an amazingly beautiful example of sportsmanship … I still get teary-eyed every time I see it.

Become the Blessing

The description for the “Girls Softball Miracle” video on YouTube says simply

Throw away the selfishness…and let the beauty of helping others comes into our hearts. Be a blessing!

I can’t help but think of Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts. Ann talks about finding joy through gratitude. And then she talks about the greatest gift – to become the blessing:

Here I can become the blessing, a little life that multiplies joy, making the larger world a better place. (p. 200)

That’s what true sportsmanship can do in sports – and in life. I think we all need to look at how we can show the best possible sportsmanship, whether it’s in a sport, in school, at work, or in any life situation. Let’s focus on what’s more important than “winning” – being a person of character and integrity … encouraging our friends and competitors … being a blessing whenever we can.

“How You Played the Game” Word-Art Freebie