Page 65 - Olympism in Socialism

network of physical-training and sports facilities.
Czechoslovak sportsmen have at their disposal
about 6,300 football grounds, 460 handball
grounds, over 2,000 tennis courts, 1,715
gymnasiums. over 300 regular swimming pools,
of which 115 are indoor pools, over 250 winter
stadiums, mostly with artificial ice, 12,425 open
playgrounds and other physical- culture
facilities. Thousands of sports grounds are found
in complexes of elementary and secondary
schools, at trade-union holiday centres and other
places. Facilities for sports are also provided
during the construction of new residential areas
in towns.
Czechoslovakia’s largest sports stadium is the
Spartakiad Stadium in Prague. The size of its
sports grounds is 200 x 300 metres, and 40,000
persons can perform gymnastics simultaneously
in this area. The stadium can hold 240,000
spectators.
The 15 Congress of the Communist Party of
th
Czechoslovakia, held in 1976, noted that “the
conditions being created by our society make
possible an even broader expansion of mass-
based physical training and sports and more
successful representation of our state”. All the
above- mentioned facts confirm that this
conclusion is fully justified.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA AT OLYMPICS
Czechoslovakia first participated at
the Olympic Games in 1920, after having
competed as Bohemia from 1900 to 1912. The
nation sent athletes to compete in every Summer
Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984
Games when they were part of the Soviet-led
boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Czechoslovakia has participated in every Winter

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