CELPIP Vocabulary for Sports and Recreation
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
Sports & Recreation collocations for CELPIP
Sports and recreation fit many CELPIP prompts, from team games to a weekend hike. Writing Task 1 may ask you to email a community centre about a program that changed its schedule, or invite a friend to join a league. Writing Task 2 surveys may ask whether a city should build a new rink or a new swimming pool. In Speaking, Task 1, Giving Advice, may involve a coworker who wants to get in shape; Task 2, Talking about a Personal Experience, may ask about a game you will never forget; and Task 5, Comparing and Persuading, may ask you to choose between two activities. These collocations help you talk about playing, training and watching sports precisely.
Verb + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| play a match | compete in a game, often soccer or tennis | Our club plays a match every Saturday morning. |
| score a goal | put the ball or puck into the net | She scored a goal in the final minute of the game. |
| break a record | do better than the previous best result | He broke the school record for the 100-metre sprint. |
| join a team | become a member of a team | I joined a team at my local community centre. |
| attend practice | go to a training session | Players must attend practice twice a week. |
| win a championship | become the top team or player in a competition | Our softball team won the city championship last summer. |
| take up a sport | start doing a sport as a new hobby | I took up tennis after moving to Ottawa. |
| hit the gym | go and work out at the gym | I try to hit the gym before work most days. |
| go for a run | do a running session | She goes for a run every morning before breakfast. |
| build stamina | increase physical endurance | Swimming laps helps build stamina over time. |
| suffer an injury | get hurt, often during play or training | The goalie suffered an injury during practice. |
| set a goal | decide on something you want to achieve | I set a goal to run a half-marathon this year. |
Adjective + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| fierce competition | very strong rivalry between competitors | There's fierce competition for spots on the national team. |
| gruelling training | extremely hard, exhausting training | Olympic athletes go through months of gruelling training. |
| an intense rivalry | strong, long-standing competitiveness | The intense rivalry between the two clubs fills every seat. |
| a narrow victory | a win by a very small margin | The team secured a narrow victory in overtime. |
| a crushing defeat | a very heavy, decisive loss | They suffered a crushing defeat in the semifinal. |
| an avid fan | an enthusiastic, dedicated supporter | He's an avid fan who never misses a home game. |
| a competitive edge | an advantage over rivals | Better equipment gives professional cyclists a competitive edge. |
| physical fitness | general bodily health and strength | Regular exercise improves physical fitness at any age. |
| team spirit | a feeling of unity and support among teammates | Good coaches build team spirit early in the season. |
| a personal best | your own best result so far | She set a personal best in the 400-metre race. |
| a season-ending injury | an injury that stops you playing for the rest of the season | A season-ending injury kept him off the ice until next fall. |
| home-field advantage (home-ice advantage in hockey) | the benefit of playing in your own stadium or arena | Home-field advantage often decides close games in the playoffs. |
Phrasal verbs
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| warm up | prepare the body before exercise | Always warm up before a hard workout. |
| work out | exercise, often at a gym | I work out three times a week. |
| train for | prepare for a particular event | She's training for her first marathon. |
| team up with | join with someone to do something | I teamed up with a coworker for the relay race. |
| gear up for | prepare for an upcoming event | The club is gearing up for the provincial finals. |
| cheer on | support someone loudly | Fans cheered on the home team from the stands. |
| keep up with | move at the same speed as someone | It's hard to keep up with more experienced runners. |
| back out of | withdraw from something you agreed to do | He backed out of the tournament because of a sore shoulder. |
| tire out | make someone very tired | The long hike tired out even the fittest people in our group. |
| psych up | mentally prepare yourself or someone else | Athletes often listen to music to psych themselves up before a game. |
| level up | improve your skill, often quickly (informal) | Joining a stronger league helped her level up quickly. |
| sign up for | register for a class, team or event | I signed up for a beginner yoga class at the rec centre. |
Formal and spoken phrases for sports and recreation
These phrases belong to sports and recreation situations. Use the formal ones in a Writing Task 1 email to a community centre or a Writing Task 2 survey response about recreation facilities, and the spoken ones when you talk about games, training and staying active in Speaking.
Formal phrases for Writing
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| engaging in regular physical activity | exercising consistently (formal) | Engaging in regular physical activity is linked to lower stress levels. |
| participation in organized sports | taking part in sports run by a club or league | Participation in organized sports teaches children discipline and teamwork. |
| youth sports programs | organized sports for children and teenagers | Youth sports programs in our neighbourhood have long waiting lists. |
| contribute to overall well-being | help a person's general physical and mental health | Team sports contribute to overall well-being among teenagers. |
| the physical health benefits of | the ways an activity improves the body | The physical health benefits of cycling to work are well documented. |
| a growing emphasis on fitness | more and more attention paid to being fit | There has been a growing emphasis on fitness in workplace wellness programs. |
| access to recreational facilities | the chance to use pools, rinks, gyms and fields | Access to recreational facilities varies widely between neighbourhoods. |
| foster a sense of community | help people feel connected to each other | Local sports leagues foster a sense of community among new residents. |
| reduce the risk of chronic illness | make long-term health problems less likely | Regular exercise can reduce the risk of chronic illness. |
| promote an active lifestyle | encourage people to move and exercise more | Schools should promote an active lifestyle from an early age. |
| a registration fee | the money you pay to join a program or league | The registration fee covers twelve weeks of games and a team jersey. |
| a recreation centre | a public building with sports and fitness facilities | The recreation centre offers drop-in skating on Sunday afternoons. |
Spoken phrases for Speaking
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I'm not really into (a sport) | I don't enjoy it much | I'm not really into contact sports, to be honest. |
| we got crushed | we lost very badly | We got crushed 5–0 last weekend. |
| it came down to the wire | the result was decided at the very last moment | The game came down to the wire, and we won by one point. |
| I'm training for... | I'm preparing for an event | I'm training for a half-marathon in the fall. |
| let's hit the trail | let's go hiking or trail running | Let's hit the trail early before it gets crowded. |
| squeeze in a workout | find time to exercise on a busy day | I try to squeeze in a workout before work. |
| I'm out of shape | my fitness level is low | I've been out of shape since I stopped playing soccer. |
| that was a close call | we nearly lost, or nearly had an accident | That was a close call. We almost lost in the last minute. |
| I could really use some exercise | I need to be more active | I could really use some exercise after sitting all week. |
| let's shoot some hoops | let's play basketball casually | Want to shoot some hoops after class? |
| get back on the ice | return to skating or hockey | I'm dying to get back on the ice this winter. |
| we're on a winning streak | we have won several games in a row | We're on a winning streak, five games in a row. |
Connectors such as "in terms of" and chunks such as "to be honest" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.
Worked examples
Writing Task 1: A hockey program schedule change
Prompt: You signed up for an adult hockey program at your local community centre. The centre has changed the time of the weekly games. Write an email to the program coordinator. In your email:
- describe the program and why you joined it;
- explain the problem the new schedule has caused;
- suggest a solution.
Dear Ms. Tremblay,
In September, I signed up for the adult recreational hockey program at Westview Community Centre. I had not played since I moved to Canada, and I wanted to join a team, build stamina and meet people in my neighbourhood. Until last month, the program was everything I had hoped for, and the team spirit in our group has been wonderful.
Unfortunately, the Thursday games have now been moved from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Like most of my teammates, I work downtown until five, so I cannot get to the rink in time. Four players have missed the last two games, and last week we almost did not have enough people to play.
I would like to suggest moving our games back to the evening, perhaps by switching times with the youth practice that now uses the 7 p.m. slot. If that is not possible, I would ask for a partial refund of the $180 registration fee.
Programs like this promote an active lifestyle for adults, and I would love to keep playing.
Sincerely,
Amir Haddad
The email covers the three bullets in order, gives specific times and numbers, and offers a solution plus a reasonable alternative.
Speaking Task 1: Giving Advice
Prompt: Your coworker wants to get in shape, but he has never played a sport and says he is too busy to exercise. Give him advice.
Hey Marcus, I think it's great that you want to get in shape, and honestly, it's easier than you think. Here are a few ideas.
First, don't try to do everything at once. Set a goal that's realistic, like walking or jogging three times a week. A lot of people hit the gym every day for two weeks, get sore and quit.
Second, you said you're busy, so squeeze in a workout where you can. You could go for a run at lunch, or get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way. Twenty minutes still counts.
Third, think about taking up a sport with other people. Our community centre has a beginner volleyball league, and you could sign up for it with a friend. When people are counting on you, it's much harder to skip.
And one more thing: always warm up first. My brother started running without stretching and suffered an injury in his first month, so he had to stop for six weeks.
If you start small, you'll build stamina quickly. And if you want company on those runs, just let me know.
Three pieces of advice plus a safety tip, each with a reason or a personal example, fill the 90 seconds.
CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways
CLB 7 version: We won the game, but it was very close because we only won by one point.
CLB 9 version: The game came down to the wire, but we held on for a narrow victory.
What changed: "it was very close" became the spoken idiom "came down to the wire", and "won by one point" became the collocation "a narrow victory".
Common mistakes
- "We won the other team" → we beat the other team. You win a game, a match or a prize; you beat an opponent.
- "I made a goal" → I scored a goal. Goals, points and baskets are scored.
- "I do sport every weekend" → I play sports every weekend, or name the activity: I go swimming, I do yoga. Canadians usually say "sports" in the plural.
- "I go to jogging" → I go jogging. Activities ending in -ing follow "go" with no preposition: go skiing, go skating, go hiking.
- "I began a sport last year" → I took up a sport last year. "Take up" is the natural phrasal verb for starting a hobby.
- "I'm training to a marathon" → I'm training for a marathon. You train for an event.
- "He gave up of the tournament" → he backed out of the tournament or he pulled out of the tournament. "Give up" doesn't take "of".
- "It came to the wire" → it came down to the wire. The idiom needs "down".
- "We had a big victory" (when the score was 3–2) → we had a narrow victory. A big victory is a win by a lot, the opposite of narrow.
- "I'm out of form" (meaning unfit) → I'm out of shape. "Out of form" means playing badly, not being unfit.
- "I practice every day" in Canadian writing → I practise every day. In Canadian spelling, "practice" is the noun and "practise" is the verb.
- "Doing sports is good for health" (in a formal survey response) → engaging in regular physical activity contributes to overall well-being. The casual sentence is fine in Speaking, but too vague for Writing Task 2.
- "Promote active lifestyle" → promote an active lifestyle. The singular noun needs "an".
- "Let's shoot some hoops" in a formal Writing Task 1 email to a community centre → I would like to register for the drop-in basketball program. Spoken chunks such as "hit the trail" belong in Speaking or a friendly email.
Practise
- Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
- Writing Task 1 practice: write an email to a community centre or a sports club and use at least five collocations from this page.
- Speaking Task 1 practice: give a friend advice about getting active using "set a goal", "squeeze in a workout" and "take up a sport".
- Speaking Task 5 practice: compare two activities and persuade someone using "build stamina" and "physical fitness".