I see myself as a very sporty person and for some sports know everything about the activity. However, I still failed to notice the mathematics that surrounds them all. Take football for example. I play as a striker for a Sunday league team and through this module I have become aware of how many times maths is used. Firstly, we must be at the match on time. This may seem easy but when you are playing another team outside of Dundee we must estimate how long it takes to get there. This is followed by how costly the journey will be by calculating the miles travelled by each hour. Secondly, each person has a number on the back of their shirt, myself being number 14. 
Thirdly, we need 11 players for a team plus substitution players which means the manager must make sure they have exactly enough to play. The BBC (undated) states the length of a pitch must be between 100 yards (90m) and 130 yards (120m) and the width not less than 50 yards (45m) and not more than 100 yards (90m). I would not like to be the person having to measure this out. There is also the time of a match which the referee has to count. 90 minutes for a full game with half time being after 45 minutes. So, the next time you watch a game you may start to appreciate that without mathematics you can’t have a game of football. You may even want to think of any mathematics that are involved in any sports that you enjoy to play or watch. I bet you will be surprised just how big a part mathematics plays.
We can also link sport with one of Liping Ma’s (1999. Pg 122) 4 principles which is Connectedness. Connectedness means that teachers teach children maths in a way that can link different mathematical topics together. By weaving them together children can make the connections rather than being confused by individual topics. A good way to do this according to, Goodman and Williams (2000, pg 108) is to set children up in their own classroom sports day. “Many games require keeping score and scoreboards” which can be a good way to get children reading and writing numerals as well as adding and subtracting scores. This gets children involved in maths in a practical way. Mathematical equipment can also be mixed in for good practice, as stop watches can be used for races and measuring tapes can be used for activities such as throwing or long jump. By doing practical maths and linking it with the outside world instead of classroom textbooks, children will begin to enjoy the subject. Especially when they know maths is linked with something as fun as sports. This is something a lot of children do find pleasure in.
BBC. (undated). Pitch Dimensions. Viewed at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4200666.stm [Available from: 22nd November 2016]
Goodman, S and William, S. (2000). Helping Young Children with Maths. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Ma, L. (1999). Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
