IELTS Essay # 77 - Some people believe that sport competitions are a source of emotional stress for young people. Therefore, youth should be banned from participating in sport competitions. Do you agree or disagree?

Essay # 77

Some people believe that sport competitions are a source of emotional stress for young people. Therefore, youth should be banned from participating in sport competitions. Do you agree or disagree?

Playing and competing in sports is a very common activity in any young person’s life. Some people opine to not let youth participate in sports competitions as the stress of competing might affect them emotionally. Although this doesn’t seem very logical, this essay shall elaborate both these views and present a personal stand.

There is no doubt that there is a high amount of tension involved in and around sports competitions. Every participant is under tremendous pressure to win the tournament. Experienced sportsmen may be used to such pressure and intensity, but the young players may not be. They might be heavily disheartened if they lose any match, which might take a toll on their confidence and mental condition. Not to mention, the media sometimes makes a big deal out of every victory and defeat, so as to make the sportsman feel more harassed and stressed about his performance. This is why the people who believe youth should be banned from participating in sports competitions say so.

In disagreement, I believe sports competitions make a young person stronger and determined in life. Competitions teach us how to accept defeat gracefully. They teach us how to work in pressurized conditions, giving our best outcome. Competitions assess our level of expertise and motivate us to keep excelling in our field of sport. Sure, nobody likes to lose, but I do not believe defeat can make anyone too stressed to participate at all. If given proper guidance while training – physical as well as psychological – the youth might not be as troubled by stress of competitions as it is being depicted. There are emotional setbacks in every phase of life; banning oneself from facing the situation is not the answer.

To sum up, I disagree with youth being banned from taking part in sports competitions. There would not be any fear of youth suffering from emotional stress in sports competitions if they are given proper psychological training also, enabling them to handle stress effectively.

(330 words)