Complete Sports List

3D Archery — a form of archery in which the goal is to strike targets in the shape of animals at unknown distances.
3x3 — a variation of basketball played on a half court with just three players in each team.
Abseiling — an adventure sport where the participants descend a steep formation using a rope. (not really a sport).
Acrobatic Gymnastics — team of gymnasts work together to perform acrobatic moves in combination with dance moves.
Acroski — athletes on snow skis perform various choreographed routines (once called Ski Ballet)
Adventure Racing — an event combining two or more endurance disciplines, such as Orienteering, Cross-Country Running, Mountain Biking, Paddling and Climbing. It
is also called Expedition Racing.
Aerials — a freestyle skiing discipline in which athletes ski along a take-off ramp, then perform various in-air tricks.
Aerobatics — sport aerobatics involves aircraft maneuvers such as rolls, loops, stall turns (hammerheads), and tailslides.
Aesthetic Group Gymnastics — a team sport where a large group of gymnasts perform coordinated continuous movements.

Aerobic Gymnastics — another name for Sport Aerobics.

Aeromodeling — activity using remotely controlled flying model aircraft (not really a sport).
Aeronautical Pentathlon — despite the name, the sport has 6 events: shooting, fencing, orienteering, basketball skills, obstacle course and swimming.
AFLX — a new version of Australian Football played on a rectangular field with seven players on each team, created to showcase some of the most thrilling elements
of the sport to attract new fans.
Aggressive Inline Skating — Aggressive inline skating is a form of inline skating executed on specially designed inline skates with the focus on grinding and spins.
Aikido — Shodokan Aikido (also called Sport Aikido) is a style of the martial art Aikido that is used for competitions.
Air Hockey — played on an air-hockey table, participants try to hit a puck elevated on a cushion of air into the opponent's goal.
Air Racing — a sport involving flying airplanes over a fixed course low to the ground.
Airsoft — a skirmish sport in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting them with spherical non-metallic pellets from replica firearms. Similar sports are Laser
Tag and Paintball.
All-Terrain Boarding — another name for Mountainboarding.
Alpine Skiing — commonly known as Downhill Skiing, involves racing down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. There are alpine skiing competitions in
disciplines such as slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom, and downhill.
Alpinism — the sport of mountain climbing.
American Football — a team sport played on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. Each team attempts to advance an oval ball down the field into the end
zone by running or passing it. It is also known in some parts of the world (outside of the US) as Gridiron. In the US it is referred simply as football. Variations
include Arena Football, 6-Man Football.
American Handball — players use their hands to hit a small rubber ball against a wall. There are three versions (four-wall handball, three-wall handball and one-wall
handball) that can each be played by either two, three or four players. It can be compared to squash without rackets. It is very different from the Olympic sport
of (Team) Handball.
Angling — often used to refer to fishing, it is the principal method of sport fishing
Aquabike — a variation of Triathlon, with no running leg. Athletes swim followed by cycling.
Aquajogging — water running competitions, athletes race in water while maintaining an upright position.
Aquathlon (1) — an underwater sport where two competitors wearing masks and fins wrestle underwater in an attempt to remove a ribbon from each other's ankle
band. It is also known as Underwater Wrestling.
Aquathlon (2) — a continuous race involving swimming followed by running. It is usually over a shorter distance than the similar Biathle.
Archery — competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a set distance or distances. The main forms of archery are Target
Archery and Field Archery, and others include Clout Archery, 3D archery, Crossbow Archery, Flight Archery, and Ski Archery.
Arena Football — a variety of American Football (Gridiron), played indoors on a smaller field resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game.
Arena Polo — a minified version of polo which is played on horseback on a field much smaller in size and enclosed by walls on all sides.
Arena Rugby — a variation of Rugby Union, played indoors on a smaller field resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game.
Arm Wrestling — a type of Wrestling where each participant place one elbow on a surface while gripping the other participant's hand. The aim is to pin the other's
arm onto the surface.
Arnis — the national martial art sport of Philippines which emphasizes weapon based fighting.
Artistic Billiards — a Carom Billiards discipline in which players score points for performing 76 preset shots of varying difficulty. It is sometimes called fantasy billiards.
Artistic Cycling — a form of competitive indoor cycling in which athletes perform tricks for points on specialized, fixed-gear bikes in a format similar to ballet or
gymnastics.
Artistic Gymnastics — an Olympic sport where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, such as the Vault, Floor (men and women), Pommel
Horse, Rings, Parallel Bars, High Bar (men), and Uneven Bars, Balance Beam (women).
Artistic Pool — a trick shot competition on a pocket billiards table in which players score points for performing 56 preset shots of varying difficulty.
Artistic Roller Skating — is a sport which consists of a number of events (Figures, Dance, Freestyle and Precision Teams) usually accomplished on quad skates, though
sometimes inline skates are used.
Association Croquet — an advanced game of Croquet played at international level involving four balls teamed in pairs, with both balls going through every hoop for
one pair to win.
Association Football — more commonly known as Football or Soccer. It is the world's most popular sport, played between two teams of eleven players with a
spherical ball. The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object is to score by using any part of the body except the arms and hands to get
the ball into the opposing goal.
Athletics — commonly known as Track and Field, though it is an umbrella sport, which in addition to Track and Field it also comprises Cross Country Running, Road
Running and Racewalking.
Australian Football — a fast paced football code from Australia, played between two teams of eighteen players on a large oval field. Six points are scored by kicking
the ball between two tall goal posts, or one point for passing the ball either side of these. Alternative names are Australian Football, Aussie Rules, AFL, Australian
Rules Football.
Australian Handball — similar to Squash, though played without a racquet.
Auto Polo — like polo though the players are on automobiles instead of horses.
Auto Race — a Japanese motorcycle speedway competition which is held on tarmac tracks, predominantly a gambling sport.
Auto Racing — a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. There are numerous different categories including Formula 1, Touring Car, Rally Cars, Drag
Racing, Stock Car Racing, Vintage Racing. Also known as Car Racing, Motor Racing or Automobile Racing.
Autocross — a type of Auto Racing in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface in the shortest time.
See also the motorcycle version Motorcycle Gymkhana.
Autograss — a type of Auto Racing on natural surfaces such as grass or mud, usually held on quarter-mile oval tracks.
Autospeedway — a motorsport similar to motorcycle speedway, but with cars.
Axe Throwing — competitors throw axes at a circular target.
B Sports
Ba Game — a version of Medieval Football played in Scotland, a type of Mob Football where two parts of a town have to get a ball to their respective sides.
Backstroke — a swimming stroke performed on the back with the arms lifted alternately out of the water in a backward circular motion and the legs extended and
kicking.
Badminton — an indoor game with rackets in which a shuttlecock is hit back and forth across a net.
Balance Beam — a female Olympic Games gymnastics event in which a gymnast balances on a narrow horizontal bar raised off the floor, while performing exercises.
Balkline — a Carom Billiards discipline. A point is scored each time a player's cue ball makes contact with both object balls on a single stroke. It is played on a
pocketless table that is divided by balklines on the cloth marking playing regions. Its precursor was a game called Straight Rail.
Ball Badminton — a racket game native to India, played with a yellow ball made of wool, with similarities to Badminton.
Ball Hockey — a variation of Ice Hockey, a lot like Street Hockey, in which the game is played on foot on a non-ice surface, and a ball is used instead of a hockey puck.
Ballooning — competitive hot air ballooning is a test of accuracy, not speed. The aim is to fly as close as possible to a target and drop a weighted marker.
Bandy — a team sport played on ice using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal, a precursor to ice hockey. A variation is Rink Bandy.
Banger Racing — racing event which is done on a dirt track using scrap cars.
Barefoot Skiing — involves skiing barefoot on water without the use of water skis.
Bare-knuckle boxing — two individuals participate to fight against each other without using boxing gloves or any other type of padding on their hands. Also called
Fisticuffs.
Barrel Racing — a rodeo event where participants and horses complete a clover-leaf pattern around barrels.
Baseball — a bat and ball game in which the aim is to hit the ball and score runs by running around four bases.
BASE Jumping — involves parachuting from a structure or cliff, with competitions based on landing accuracy.
Basketball — players attempt to shoot the ball through the hoop on the opponent’s court, moving the ball by throwing and dribbling.
basketball game
Basque Pelota — a variety of court sports which involves hitting a ball against a wall using the hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket. Other forms include Pala
Corta, Rubber-paleta, Paleta-Leather, Xare, Cesta Punta, Frontenis, Hand-Pelota, Valencian Pilota, Valencian Frontó. Jai Alaiis a variety of Basque Pelota.
Basse — a bag ball game from Norway in which the ball is kept from landing in the player's area, using any part of the body except the hands.
Bat-and-Trap — an old English bat and ball game, in which a ball is projected into the air out of a trap using a bat, and then hit between posts 21 feet away.
Baton Twirling — a metal rod called a baton, is manipulated, while simultaneously making coordinated dance moves
Bavarian Curling — another name for Ice Stock Sport.
Beach Basketball — a version of basketball played on sand with two teams of three players.
Beach Flags — a surf lifesaving sport in which competitors race in the sand to collect a flag.
Beach Golf — a simplified version of golf played on sand with a polyurethane foam ball.
Beach Handball — a variation of Team Handball, played on sand instead of indoors. This sport is sometimes called Sandball.
Beach Polo — polo on horseback though played on a sand field with sideboards so the ball is always in play.
Beach Rugby — a version of rugby played on the sand.
Beach Soccer — similar to association football but played on a beach or sand.
Beach Tennis — a sport which has elements from tennis and volleyball, and played on the beach.
Beach Volleyball— a version of Volleyball played on and with teams of two players, in which a ball is hit by hand over a high net, the aim being to score points by
making the ball reach the ground on the opponent's side of the court.
Beach Woodball — a version of Woodball played on sand which involves using a mallet to pass a ball through gates.
Beach Wrestling — a standing up position style of wrestling conducted on beach sand.
Behcup — similar to putting in golf, though the balls are putted into a small goal and not into a hole.
Beikou Tarkbei (also called Daur Hockey) — a team sport unique to the Daur ethnic group in Inner Mongolia, that has a lot of similarities to field hockey.
Belt Wrestling — the aim is to knock down the opponent by grappling with their belt.
Benchpress — the barbell bench press is one of three lifts in the sport of powerlifting. Participants lie on their back holding the weight on both hands, push it
upwards, and then lower the weight again to the chest level.
Benchrest Shooting — a shooting sport where the participant shoots with a rifle at the bench.
Biathle — consist of swimming and running as part of a single race. It is usually over a shorter distance than the similar Aquathlon.
Biathlon — a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
Bicycle Motocross (BMX) — a cycle sport which involves BMX bikes.
Bicycle Polo — similar to Polo, though played on bicycles instead of horses.
Bikejoring — a single dog or a team of harnessed dogs pull along a rider on a bike
Billiards — billiards is the historical umbrella term for a range of cue sports, though in some countries it refers to the specific game of English Billiards.
Biribol — an aquatic version of volleyball developed in Brazil.
Blind Cricket — a modified version of cricket with a larger ball with bells inside which is designed to be played by blind athletes.
Boardercross — a snowboard competition on a course similar to motocross. Also called Snowboard Cross.
Bobsleigh — winter sport on a sled making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, ice tracks.
Bocce — is part of the boules sport family, similar to bowls and pétanque.
Boccia — a ball sport similar to bocce, bowls, and pétanque for athletes with physical disabilities.
Bodyboarding — a water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard.
Bodybuilding — participants show their developed muscular build through poses, and are judged based on muscularity, conditioning, and symmetry.
Bodyflight — an acrobatic sport involving skydiving or a vertical tunnel to perform manoeuvres while in the air.
Bolas Criollas — a traditional Venezuelan team sport like bocce and pétanque in which players throw a set of balls as close as possible to the small target ball.
Boli Khela — a form of wrestling which is practiced in Bangladesh and India.
Boomerang Throwing — competitions involving throwing and catching boomerangs.
Borden Ball — see Handball.
Bossaball — played on an inflatable court with trampolines on each side of the net
Boßeln — a sport similar to the field style of Klootschieten played in Germany.
Bouldering — a type of sport rock climbing which is done without the use of a harness.
Bowling — a general term of a large range of sports in which the player rolls a ball to knock down objects. The most common variation is Tenpin Bowling.
Bowls — commonly refers to Lawn Bowls. For other types of bowls sports, see Bowling.
Box lacrosse — a version of lacrosse which is played on a smaller indoor arena (box), with six players in each team.
Boxing — a combat sport in which two players throw punches at each other.
Breakdancing — an athletic style of street dance
Brännboll — a Scandinavian game which has similarities to rounders, but with no pitcher.
Breaststroke — one of the major swimming strokes, performed with the swimmer with his chest forward and facing towards to bottom of the pool.
Bridge — a card game which is played by four players, playing in two competing partnerships. Players score points based on the number of tricks achieved.
British Baseball — a bat-and-ball game played in Wales and England similar to rounders.
Broomball — a game like ice hockey played with a broom.
Bull Fighting — involves one or more bulls which are being fought in a bullring.
Bull Riding — a Rodeo Sport, which involves a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck them off.
Bunnock — a kind of skittles game which is played with bones ( commonly known as "Game of Bones")
Butterfly stroke — one of the major swimming stroke styles, swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously, accompanied by a "dolphin kick".
Buzkashi — a Central Asian sport like polo in which riders on horses attempt to drag a goat carcass toward the goal. There is a variant known as kokpar which is quite
similar.
C Sports
Caber Toss — a traditional Scottish sport in which the competition revolves around tossing forward a large tapered pole called a caber.
Calcio Fiorentino — an early form of football which was developed in 16th century Italy.
Calisthenics — a competitive team sport in which athletes perform elements of rhythmic gymnastics and ballet.
Calva — a traditional Spanish sport in which you throw a piece of metal to knock down bull's horn shaped piece of wood.
Camel Racing — racing camels with a jockey like in horse racing.
Camel Jumping — the objective of the sport is to clean jump a group of camels that are stacked together horizontally.
Cammag — a sport similar to shinty or hurling from the Isle of Man.
Camogie — the female version of hurling played in Ireland.
Campdrafting — a sport from Australia where a rider on horseback attempts to cut out a cattle from its herd and drive it into a pen.
Canadian Football — a type of gridiron football which is played in Canada.
Candlepin Bowling — a type of bowling like tenpin bowling using candlepins and smaller balls
Caneball — another name for the Myanmar (Burmese) traditional sport of Chinlone.
Canicross — a variant of cross country running in which runners have to complete the course accompanied with their dogs.
Canne de Combat — a French martial art in which opponents battle each other inside a ring with a cane in one hand. A type of Stick-Fighting.
Canoe Polo — like polo on water, the objective is to score by throwing or hitting a ball through a goal suspended two meters above the water.
Canoeing — paddle sport in which the rider kneels or sits facing forward in a canoe.
Capoeira — a form of martial art from Brazil which has a combination of aspects of dance moves, acrobatics, movements and music. (maybe not a sport)
Canopy Piloting — a parachute skydiver performs aerial feats above a small body of water. Also called Pond Swooping.
Capture The Flag — the aim is to get the other team’s flag which is located their base.
Car Ice Racing — cars race across a strip of frozen water.
Carom Billiards — A cue sport played on a felt covered table with cues and billiard balls, in which the object is to score points by caroming your cue ball off both the
opponent's cue ball and the object ball(s) with a single shot. There is a large range of disciplines including Artistic Billiards, Three-Cushion Billiards, Five-Pin
Billiards, Balkline, Straight Rail, Cushion Caroms, Four-Ball.
Casting — fishing without fish, the objective is to test the accuracy and distance of a cast.
Cestoball — an Argentinian female sport similar to netball.
Chase Tag — like the playground game of tag, a chaser has 20 seconds to tag an evader as they race round an obstacle course.
Cheerleading — a dubious sport in which groups of cheerleaders do routines that are subjectively assessed.
Chess — a strategy board game played by two players on a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid.
Chess boxing — a combination of chess and boxing.
Chilean Rodeo — two riders on horseback try to stop a calf.
Chinese Handball — a form of American handball which is popular in the streets of NY, similar to Wallball.
Chinlone — the traditional sport of Burma or Myanmar, a team sport combined with dance (also known as Caneball).
Chuckwagon Racing — a chuckwagon is pulled by four thoroughbred horses around a track.
Circle Rules Football — played on a circular field with one central goal in which teams score in opposing directions using a yoga ball.
Clay Pigeon Shooting — shooters try to shoot flying targets like the clay pigeons or clay targets.
Clean and Jerk — one of the events Olympic weight lifting competition.
Clout Archery — a form of Archery, similar to Target Archery, except you aim at a flag among a group of concentric circular scoring zones from long range.
Club Throw — a track and field disabled sports event, the objective is to throw a wooden club as far as possible.
Collegiate Wrestling — a wrestling style practiced exclusively in the United States at a collegiate level.
Combined Driving — an equestrian discipline which involves riders driving a carriage pulled by one or more horses.
Competitive Eating — involves participants competing on who can consume the most food in a short period of time.
Corkball — a sport derived from baseball with a smaller ball which can be played in a much smaller field (often referred as mini-baseball).
Cowboy Action Shooting — involves shooting targets with a variety of guns that were typical of the late 19th century.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting — involves shooting at targets while riding a horse.
Cowboy Polo — similar to regular Polo, though riders compete with western saddles, usually in a smaller arena and with an inflatable rubber medicine ball.
Court Tennis — another name for Real Tennis.
Crab Soccer or Crab Football — football with players supporting themselves on their hands and their feet, face up, which makes them look like crabs.
Crazy Golf — a common name for Minigolf.
Cricket — a team sport played on a rectangular pitch in the centre of a large grass oval, two batters protect their wicket while the fielding team try to get them out.
Forms include Test, One-Day and T20.
Croquet — players hit plastic or wooden balls using a mallet through hoops.
Crossbow Archery — an archery discipline in which a crossbow is used instead of a regular bow.
Cross-Country Equestrian — horse riders are required to jump over 30 to 40 obstacles within a fixed time, incurring penalties for exceeding the allocated time or if a
horse refuses to clear an obstacle.
Cross-Country Skiing — races over snow-covered terrain using skis.
Cross-Country Mountain Biking — off-road cycling races over rough terrain
Cross-Country Rally — another name for Rally Raid, an extended form of off-road rally racing.
Cross-country Running — distance running races over natural terrain.
Cross Triathlon — a variation of the traditional triathlon, with swim stage, mountain-biking stage and a trail-running stage.
Crossfit — a strength and conditioning program involving short but high-intensity workouts comprised of functional exercises. Not really a sport, but they do organize
fitness competitions such as the CrossFit Games.
Cue Sports (Billiards) — a general term for a large range of indoor sports played on a felt top table, with or without pockets. Examples include Pocket Billiards
(Pool) and Snooker.
Cup Stacking — see the sport of Sport Stacking.
Curling — players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards the target area.
Cushion Caroms — a cue sport and Carom Billiards discipline, played on a pocketless table with two white balls and a red ball. The aim is to carom off of both object
balls with at least one rail being struck before the hit on the second object ball.
Cutting — an American western style sport of the equestrian discipline in which the objective for a rider on a horseback is to separate a few cows from its herd and
prevent them from returning.
Cycling — there is a large range of sports involving riding a bicycle.
Cycle Ball — the game play is similar to that of association football, but is played with each player riding a bicycle.
Cycle Polo — see Bicycle Polo.
Cycle Speedway — replicating motor speedway using bicycles.
Cyclo-Cross — a type of bicycle racing, a winter sport performed over various terrain.
Czech Handball — a ball game created in the Czech Republic with similarities with Team Handball.
D Sports
Dancesport — Dancesport is the competitive form of Ballroom and Latin Dancing, in which contestants perform dances before judges.
Dandi Biyo — a game from Nepal played with two sticks; the long stick is used to strike the shorter one in the air.
Danish Longball — a bat and ball game developed in Denmark, like a hybrid of baseball and cricket.
Dartchery — a combination of darts and archery, using bows and arrows typically used for archery, but the target is a dart board.
Darts — a throwing game in which small missiles are thrown at a target, which is called a dartboard.
Daur Hockey — another name for Beikou Tarkbei — an old Chinese sport similar to field hockey.
Deadlifting — a powerlifting event where participants lift a loaded barbell off the ground to the hips, and then lower it back to the ground.
Deaf Basketball — basketball which is played by deaf people. Players use sign language to communicate with each other including the refs.
Decathlon — track and field event comprising 10 events held over two days.
Demolition Derby — involves drivers hammering their vehicles against each other
Digor — a sport from Bhutan in which a pair of spherical flat stones are hurled at two targets fixed in the ground 20 meters apart.
Disc Dog — dog frisbee competitions of distance catching and choreographed freestyle catching.
Disc Golf — frisbee golf, the objective is to traverse a course from start to end with the fewest number of throws of the disc.
Disc Sports — various sports or games played using flying discs (frisbees).
Discus — athletes attempt to throw a heavy disc object far as they can.
Diving — an aquatic sport where athletes dive into water from a raised launch pad, while performing acrobatic movements.
Dodgeball — teams throw balls at each other while trying to avoid the balls.
Dog Agility — dogs have to navigate through a course that has various types of obstacles under the direction of a handler. (not a sport)
Dog Racing — greyhounds chase a lure around a track.
Dog Sledding — teams of sled dogs pull a sled with the driver.
Dog Sports — general term for sporting activities that involve dogs (which are mostly not even sports).
Downhill Skiing — participants slide down a snow-covered hill using skis with fixed bindings.
Downhill Mountain Biking — biking sport which is held on steep and rough terrain.
Drag boat racing — drag racing which is held on water with boats.
Drag racing — automobiles or motorcycles race down a straight track.
Dragon Boat Racing — a paddling sport using a long boat with many paddlers.
Dressage — an equestrian sport in which riders and horses perform from memory a series of predetermined events.
Drone Racing — competitors race with specially built multi-rotor drones around a natural or specifically designed course (not a sport).
Drunken Boxing (or Drunkard's Boxing or Zui Quan). It is a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts.
Duathlon — similar to triathlon, running first, then cycling, then running again.
Duckpin bowling — a type of 10-pin bowling, though with smaller balls.
Dumog — a Filipino style of wrestling while standing upright.
E Sports
Eight-Ball — a cue sport, which is one of the most popular variants of pool, using 15 colored balls numbered from 1 to 15.
Eight-man Football — a mini version of American Football played by high schools with smaller enrollments.
Elephant Polo — a form of Polo, played on the back of elephants instead of on horseback.
Endurance Racing — a motorsport where teams of two or four race for long distances, that tests their physical endurance and the durability of their vehicles.
Endurance Riding — an equestrian discipline, where riders and horses compete in races over very long distances.
Endurance Running — track and field running races over distances of 3kms and greater.
Enduro — a motorcycle sport with the main objective to traverse a series of checkpoints, arriving exactly at a predetermined time. The courses are usually run over
thickly wooded terrain, sometimes with large obstacles.
Endurocross — hybrid sport combining elements from Supercross, Enduro, and Trials (also called or indoor enduro).
English Billiards — sometimes just called Billiards, requires two cue balls and a red object ball. The game features both cannons (caroms) and the pocketing of balls as
objects of play, scoring points for each of these. See Cue Sports.
Equestrian — competitions testing horse riding skills.
Equestrian Vaulting — a gymnastics and dance discipline completed on horseback
e-Sports — another name for Gaming.
Eton Fives — a handball sport derived from the English sport Fives
European (Team) Handball — another name for the sport of Handball.
Eventing — riders compete in three types of races, dressage, cross-country and show jumping, in a single competition.
Expedition racing — an endurance event combining two or more disciplines. More commonly called Adventure Racing.
F Sports
Fast Pitch Softball — the competitive form of softball, where the pitcher's arm rotates 360 degrees around the shoulder until the ball is released from the hand.
Fast5 — a variation of netball, formerly known as Fastnet, with only 5 players per team.
Fell Running — running races done off-road and mostly uphill.
Fencing — competitors face each other and attempt to touch each other with the tip of a thin sword.
Field Archery — a form of Archery which involves shooting at targets of varying distance, often in rough terrain.
Field Handball — the original version of Handball, played outdoors on a larger field and more players. It is also known as Outdoor Handball or Grass Handball.
Field Hockey — played outdoors on turf, players hit a hard round ball through goals using sticks with curved ends.
Field Lacrosse — a full contact outdoor men's version of lacrosse.
Field Target — an outdoor air gun discipline.
Fierljeppen — contestants using a long pole, vault across a canal. Also called Canal Jumping.
Figure Skating — an artistic ice skating sport where athletes perform routines on an ice rink. Includes the disciplines of Ice Dancing and Synchronized Skating.
Finnish Skittles — opposing players take turns to knock down their opponent's skittles.
Finswimming — an underwater swimming sport where athletes race against each while wearing breathing apparatus.
Fishing — usually a recreational activity, though when in competition it can be a sport. See Sport Fishing.
Fistball — an outdoor team sport similar to volleyball.
Fisticuffs — another name for bare-knuckle boxing.
Five-a-Side Football — each team fields five players a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration.
Five-pin bowling — a bowling variant from Canada with smaller balls and only 5 pins
Five-Pin Billiards — a Carom Billiards discipline popular in Italy and Argentina, in which points are gained by using one's cue ball to cause the opponent's cue ball to
knock over pins.
Fives — an English sport in which a ball is propelled against the walls in a specially designed court by using a bare or gloved hand.
Flag Football — similar to American football but instead of tackling players the defensive team have to remove a flag from the ball carrier.
Flight Archery — a form of archery in which the aim is to shoot the arrow as far as possible.
Floor (Gymnastics) — gymnasts perform a tumbling and dance routine on a floor space.
Floor Hockey — refers to a collection of indoor hockey sports which were derived from various hockey codes, played on dry, flat floor surfaces such as a gymnasium
or basketball court.
Floorball — a type of floor hockey sport played indoors, popular in Nordic countries.
Flyboarding — an extreme water sport in which athletes perform tricks while wearing a water jetpack attached to a jet ski.
Footbag — group of sports that is named after the ball ("Footbag") that is used to play the sport. Sports include Freestyle and Footbag Net.
Footbag Net — players have to kick a footbag over a 5ft high net.
Football — Around the world, Football mostly refers to Association Football, also known as Soccer in some places. In the USA, Football refers to American Football
(Gridiron). In Australia, Football refers to Australian Rules Football.
Football Tennis — also known as futnet, played by kicking a ball over a low net.
Footgolf — a mix of golf and football, where players use football skills to kick a ball into holes.
Footpool — novelty version of billiards using an oversized table and soccer balls.
Footvolley — like beach volleyball though you can only use your feet.
Formula Racing — motor racing using open-wheeled single seat vehicles.
Four Square — schoolyard ball game played in a quadrant.
Four-Ball — a Carom Billiards discipline, played on a pocketless table with four balls (2 red, 2 white), where a point is scored when a player caroms on any two other
balls, and two points are scored when the player caroms on each of the three other balls. A variant played in Asia is called Yotsudama.
Freediving — underwater diving sport which relies on the diver’s ability to hold their breath.
Freerunning — a version of parkour that adds acrobatic moves that are purely aesthetic, also known as tricking.
Freestyle BMX — stunt riding sport using BMX bikes.
Freestyle Footbag — performing various tricks with a footbag.
Freestyle Football — athletes compete to perform various tricks using a football.
Freestyle Motocross — competition based upon points for acrobatic ability on an MX bike over jumps. See also Motocross.
Freestyle Skiing — different forms of freestyle skiing including Aerial skiing, Mogul skiing, Ski ballet, Ski cross, Half-pipe skiing, Slopestyle skiing.
Freestyle Snowboarding — competitors ride on a snowboard and do tricks along as they descend snow covered slopes to earn maximum scores.
Freestyle Swimming — in these events competitors can swim using any stroke of their choice.
Freestyle Wrestling — the objective is to pin down the opponent's shoulders on to the mat, the legs are allowed to be used.
Frescoball (see Matkot).
Fricket — a ‘two-on-two’ flying disc game. Also known as disc cricket, cups, suzy sticks and crispy wickets.
Frisian Handball — similar to American handball and Fives.
Frontenis — a sport using rackets and a rubber ball on a ‘pelota court’.
Fullbore target rifle — using rifles, shooters hit the paper targets in prone position
Fußball (also spelled Fussball) — this is the German name for (Association) Football, and also the name used for Table Football.
Futsal — a variant of association football played on a smaller field usually indoors.
Fuzzball — a street version of baseball played in some regions of the US.
G Sports
Gaelic Football —a type of football from Ireland with a goal similar to that used in rugby but having a net attached below the crossbar. The object is to kick or punch
the round ball into the net (three points) or over the crossbar (one point).
Gaelic Handball — a wall based sport, played in Ireland, similar to squash though the ball is hit with the hand.
Gaming — competitive form of playing computer games (e-sports).
Gateball — a team sport played with a wooden mallet and wooden balls. Each player attempts to strike their allocated ball through all the gates and finally strike the
goal pole.
Giant Slalom — downhill skiers have to navigate through a fixed set of gates, spaced farther apart than in Slalom though not as much as in Super-G, therefore
medium sized turns.
Gilli-Danda — a South Asian game played with two sticks; the long stick is used to strike the shorter one in the air.
Gliding — an air sport in which pilots use an unpowered aircraft.
Glima — a wrestling style from Scandinavia, based on a popular sport of the Vikings from over 1200 years ago.
Goalball — a Paralympic sport for blind athletes using a ball with bells.
Golf — players use a club to hit balls into a series of holes on a course, using the fewest number of strokes.
Golf Croquet — a popular form of croquet in which each player takes a stroke in turn, trying to hit a ball through the same hoop.
Gorodki — a folk sport from Russia, where competitors strike down a group of cylindrical wooden objects by throwing a bat.
Grass Skiing — involves skiing on grass-covered slopes on skis with wheels.
Greco-Roman Wrestling — In this wrestling style, competitors are prohibited from holding any part of the opponent’s body below the waist.
Greyhound Racing — a dog sport also called Dog Racing
Gridiron Football — the term used outside of the US for American Football.
Guts — a disc sport derived from dodgeball, where players try to strike their opponents with a frisbee.
Gymkhana — a multi-game equestrian event which is performed to display the talents of the horses and their riders.
Gymnastics — a range of sports combining tumbling and acrobatic feats, usually done with apparatus. Two main sports: Rhythmic Gymnastics and Artistic
Gymnastics.
H Sports
Half-Pipe Skiing — athletes perform tricks while riding on a half-pipe wearing snow skis.
Hammer throw — an Olympic track and field event in which a heavy weight at the end of a wire is thrown for distance.
Handball — a sport usually played indoors between teams of seven players, who pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team. Also known as Team
Handball, Olympic Handball, European (Team) handball or Borden Ball. Variations include Beach Handball, Czech Handball and Field Handball.
Hang Gliding — a type of air sport in which the rider flies a non-motorized aircraft which is called a hang glider.
Hardball Squash — like the indoor court sport of squash, but with a much harder ball.
Hare Coursing — hares are chased by greyhounds using their sight rather than scent. (not a sport)
Harness Racing — horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky.
Headis — combining table tennis and soccer, players use their heads to hit a soccer ball across the table tennis table and net.
Heptathlon — a women's track and field multi-event comprising 7 events.
High Diving — athletes dive into water from considerably large heights.
High Jump — an Olympic Track and Field event in which the participants attempt to jump over the highest bar.
High Power Rifle — shooting competition using rifles such as the service rifle.
Hill Climb — riding on a motorcycle, one competitor at a time attempts to ride up a very steep hill. The rider to reach the top (if anyone makes it) with the shortest
elapsed time wins. There is also a car version of this sport, Hillclimbing.
Hillclimbing — car drivers race on an uphill course in a time trial format.
Hitball — an indoor team sport from Italy in which players strike the volleyball sized ball into the opponent’s goal post only using the upper limbs.
Hockey — a large range of indoor and outdoor team sports which involves hitting a ball into a net. See Ice Hockey and Field Hockey.
Horizontal Bar — artistic gymnastics event also known as high bar, where athletes perform aerial stunts on a horizontal bar.
Hornussen — a traditional Swiss sport (farmer's golf), where the hornusser knocks a nut through the air with a long flexible rod.
Horse Polo — the traditional polo sport. Polo is also played on other animals such as Elephants and Yaks.
Horse Pulling — one or two horses harnessed to a weighted sled pull for the greatest distance.
Horse Racing — equestrian sport which involves jockeys riding horses or being pulled along by horses.
Horse Soccer — a variation of Pushball, a team sport where an inflated ball is driven through a goal while riding a horse.
Horseball — The sport is like a combination of Polo, Rugby and Basketball, played on horseback where a ball is carried and shot through a high net to score. A similar
sport is Pato.
Horseback Archery — shooting arrows at targets while riding a horse.
Horseshoes — players toss horseshoes at stakes in the ground.
Hot Air Ballooning — see Ballooning.
Hovercraft Racing — racing events usually done on tracks, just like auto racing, but part of the track is water and there is some part which is grass.
Hunting — an activity which involves tracking and killing animals with various weapons (not a sport?).
Hurdles (Track and Field) — a track and field sport which involves running and jumping over obstacles at speed.
Hurling — a Gaelic outdoor team sport where players use a wooden stick to hit a ball between the opposing team's goalposts.
Hydroplane Racing — racing of hydroplanes on an oval course mostly on lakes or rivers.
I Sports
Ice Canoeing — a team sport in which a five-member crew complete a course, in which riders have to push their canoe on the frozen parts of the river as well as row
in the water.
Ice Climbing — athletes climb vertical ice formations with the uses of ropes and other protective gear.
Ice Cross Downhill — an extreme winter racing sport which involves direct racing of multiple skaters on a downhill course.
Ice Dancing — one of the events in Figure Skating, which has its roots in ballroom dancing.
Ice Hockey — a contact sport which is played on ice while wearing skates and using a stick to hit a puck into a goal.
Ice Racing — racing of motorized vehicles on predominantly natural ice surfaces like frozen lakes or rivers.
Ice Speedway — similar to Motorcycle Speedway Racing, though using bikes developed specifically for racing on ice. The bikes race anti-clockwise around oval tracks
between 260 and 425 meters in length.
Ice Skating — there is a range of sports that utilize ice skating, such as ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating.
Ice Sledge Racing — a winter Paralympic sport in which contestants use a lightweight sledge and propel themselves using two poles.
Ice Stock Sport — a winter sport which is similar to curling. Also called Bavarian Curling.
Ice Track Cycling — racing a modified bicycle around a 400 m frozen track.
Ice Yachting — sail boats called ice yachts are used to race on frozen lakes and rivers.
Icosathlon — a double decathlon consisting of 20 events, including the 10 traditional decathlon events with 10 additional track and field events.
Indoor Cricket — a modified version of cricket played indoor with nets for walls.
Indoor Field Hockey — indoor team sport that was derived from field hockey.
Indoor Netball — a variation of netball, played indoors with netting all around the court.
Indoor Rowing — competitions performed on a rowing machine which simulates the on-water action.
Indoor Soccer — an indoor version of Association Football developed in North America.
Indoor Triathlon — swimming in an indoor pool, cycling on a stationary bike, and running on an indoor track or treadmill.
Inline Hockey — similar to ice hockey, players move around on a wooden or concrete surface wearing inline skates.
Inline Skating — also known as roller blading, a variety of sports performed while wearing skates with two to five polyurethane wheels arranged in a single line.
Inline Speed Skating — athletes use inline skates to race around tracks.
Intercrosse — a non-contact version of lacrosse.
International Fronton — played by striking a ball onto a wall with bare hands, using rules adapted from many wall ball sports.
International Game — a team sport that is played by striking a ball with hands, created so that players from similar handball sports could play against each other.
International Rules Football — invented so that Aussie Rules Footballplayers can play games against Irish Gaelic football players.
Irish Road Bowling — competitors attempt to take the fewest throws to propel a metal ball along a predetermined course of country roads.
Ironman Surflifesaving — combines four major aspects of surflifesaving into a single race: swimming, board paddling, ski paddling, and beach running.
J Sports
Jai Alai — a sport derived from Basque Pelota, usually played indoors. Popular in many Latin American countries.
Javelin — track and field event involving throwing a spear-like implement as far as possible.
Jereed — a traditional Turkish team equestrian sport in which the objective is to throw blunt wooden javelins at players of the opposing team.
Jet Ski Racing — a water sport similar to powerboat racing, in which riders use jet skis to compete.
Jetsprint — a high-speed boat racing sport in which a team of two riders, race through a course by themselves in a time-trial format (also known as sprint boat
racing).
Jeu Provençal — a popular French form of Boules, where the objective is to throw a set of hollow metal balls as close as possible to a target ball.
Jianzi — a traditional Chinese national sport, where players aim to keep a shuttlecock type object (called a Jianzi) in the air by striking it predominantly with the legs,
usually with a net between teams. Also called Shuttlecock.
Joggling — running (jogging) races while juggling.
Jokgu — a Korean sport which resembles a mix of football and volleyball.
Jorkyball — a type of indoor soccer on a small rectangular filed surrounded by glass walls.
Judo — the objective is to throw or takedown the opposing player to the ground.
Jugger — a brutal sport inspired by the movie “The Salute of the Jugger”, the objective is for the team to get to the other team’s foam dog skull.
Jiu-Jitsu / Jujutsu — a Japanese martial art using close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent, with only a short weapon or none at all.
Jukskei — a folk sport from South Africa where competitors throw wooden pins to try and knock down a target wooden peg.
K Sports
Kabaddi — a "raider" enters the opposite team's half to tag opponents without taking a breath.
Kaisa — a cue sport (type carom billiards) mainly played in Finland. (also known as Karoliina).
Karate — a martial art developed in Japan which uses punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and some open-hand techniques.
Kart Racing — an open-wheel motorsport variant which uses small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts (or go-karts).
Kayaking — boat races using a small, narrow boat propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle.
Kegel — a German nine-pin bowling game played in Australia.
Kelly Pool — type of pocket billiard game played on a standard pool table, with fifteen numbered markers which player select from.
Kemari — Japanese traditional sport with the aim to keep one ball in the air.
Kendo — a form of Japanese martial art that originated from kenjutsu, using bamboo swords and armour.
Kettlebell Lifting — a weight lifting sport performed with kettlebells, which are heavy weights which resemble a cannonball with a handle.
Kho Kho — team that takes lesser time to tag all the opponent players wins the game, from India.
Kickball — a type of baseball where the players kick the ball, instead of striking it with a bat.
Kickboxing — a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching. Variations include Pradal
Serey (Cambodia), Sanda (China), Savate (France), Sikaran (Philippines).
Kilikiti — a traditional Tuvalu sport similar to cricket.
Kin-Ball — played with three teams and a large inflated ball.
Ki-o-rahi — a traditional New Zealand Maori game played on a circular field.
Kite Fighting — battle to cut the lines on the opponents' kites.
Kite Landboarding — using a kite and wind power to manoeuver a huge skateboard type board over land.
Kite Boarding — a group of sports which use a kite for power and a board for support, such as Kitesurfing, Kite Landboarding, Snowkiting.
Kitesurfing — a board and kite are used on the water utilizing different styles consisting of freeride, speed, down winders and racing.
Kilikiti — a traditional Samoan and Tuvalu sport similar to cricket.
Klootschieten — German sport in which participants throw a ball as far as they can.
Kneeboarding — a waterskiing event where a participant is pulled along while kneeling on a convex board.
Knife Throwing — like archery, the knife is thrown towards a target.
Korfball — a mixed gender ball sport which is similar to netball and basketball, developed in The Netherlands.
Krachtbal — a team sport from Flanders, where points are scored by throwing the ball using a neck or back throw into the opponent’s goal area.
Krolf — a mix of croquet and golf, players use a mallet to hit the ball into a hole.
Kronum — a team sport that combines aspects of football, handball, basketball, and rugby into a single sport.
Kubb — a lawn game where the object is to knock over wooden blocks ('kubbs') by throwing wooden batons at them.
Kurash — folk wrestling style from Central Asia in which wrestlers use towels to hold their opponents, and their goal is to throw their opponents off the feet.
L Sports
Lacrosse — a team game, originally played by North American Indians, in which the ball is thrown, caught, and carried with a long-handled stick with a piece of
shallow netting at one end. Versions include Field Lacrosse, Box Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse.
Lagori — from Southern India, this game involves a ball and a pile of flat stones. A member of one team throws a soft ball at a pile of stones to knock them over, then
try to restore the pile of stones while the opposing team throws the ball at them (also known as Lingocha).
Land Sailing — racing in three-wheeled vehicles moving across land powered by wind through the use of a sail. Also known as sand yachting or land yachting.
Land Speed Records — in various vehicle classes, competitors attempt to create the fastest time over a fixed distance. Two runs are required in opposite directions
within one hour to set a new mark.
Land Windsurfing — similar to traditional Windsurfing though performed on land rather than water, using a four-wheeled deck to travel across the surface. Also
known as "Terrasailing", "street sailing", "land sailing" and "dirt windsurfing".
Lapta – a Russian traditional bat and ball game. The aim of the game is to hit a ball, served by a player of the opposite team, with a bat as far as possible, then run
across the field, and if possible back again.
Laser Tag — a skirmish sport in which players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device.
Lawn Bowls — the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty".
Lawn Mower Racing — motorsport where participants use race-modified lawn mowers.
Legends Car Racing — a racing sport using identical spec vehicles, with bodyshells made of 5/8-scale replicas of American automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s and
powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engines.
Lelo Burti — a Georgian folk sport, a full contact ball game very similar to rugby.
Lethwei — an unarmed Burmese martial art similar to other kickboxing styles from the region.
Letterboxing— an outdoor sport that combines orienteering, art, and puzzle solving. Small weatherproof boxes are hidden in publicly accessible places (like parks)
and clues are distributed to finding the box. Similar to GeoCaching.
Log Rolling — two challengers attempt to stay on a floating log the longest.
Long Jump — a track and field event where the participant attempts to jump the longest into a sand pit. See also the similar Triple Jump.
Longboarding — a skateboarding sport in which athletes use a longboard to compete in races.
Longue Paume — an outdoor version of the racket sport, jeu de paume, played without a net.
Luge — a Winter Olympic sport in which competitors race down an ice track in a small one- or two-person sled lying supine (face up) and feet-first.
Lumberjack — competitions involving many different events, including log rolling, chopping, timed hot (power) saw and bucksaw cutting, and pole climbing.
M Sports
Mallakhamba — a traditional Indian sport, where athletes perform various types of gymnastics moves and hold various poses on a vertical wooden pole or a rope.
Marathon — a distance running athletics event over 42.2 km.
Marching Band — a large team of participants play musical instruments as they perform various routines while moving around on a huge outdoor field.
Matkot — a beach paddle sport from Israel which is very similar to beach tennis. Also called Frescobol.
Medieval Football — Alternative names include Folk Football, Mob Football and Shrovetide Football. Versions include Ba game, Caid, Calcio Fiorentino, Camping,
Chester-le-Street, Cnapan, Cornish Hurling, Haxey Hood, La Soule, Lelo burti, Mob football, Royal Shrovetide Football, Uppies and Downies.
Metallic Silhouette Shooting — players compete to test their skills by shooting at silhouette metal targets.
Metro Footy — a modified version of Australian football played on a rectangular field, predominantly in the USA.
Middle Distance — a set of track and field running events over distances such as 800m, 1500m, not a sprint and not an endurance race.
Military Pentathlon — a competition involving a shooting phase, obstacle run, obstacle swimming, grenade throwing, and cross-country running.
Mind Sports — a family of sports in which the objective is to test mental strength rather than physical strength. Some may be considered actual sports such as speed
cubing, while others not (memory, chess).
Minigolf or Miniature Golf — a game utilizing only the putting aspect of Golf, played on short holes on artificial putting surfaces often with obstacles. Officially called
minigolf, but also can be called by the name miniature golf, mini-golf, midget golf, goofy golf, shorties, extreme golf, put put, crazy golf, adventure golf, mini-putt and
many others.
Mini Rugby — a modified version for Rugby Union, to make the sport suitable to be introduced to children.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) — a full contact individual combat sport which includes aspects of several other combat sports and martial arts.
Mob Football — A type of Medieval Football, usually an annual traditional event with a ball, unlimited number of players and very few rules.
Modern Pentathlon — an Olympic sport that comprises five events: fencing, 200m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a combined event of pistol shooting and
3200m cross country run.
Mogul Skiing — snow skiers compete on a specially designed downhill course, in which the primary focus in on the technique used for turns, aerial maneuvers, and
speed.
Mölkky — players use a wooden pin (also called "mölkky") to try to knock over wooden pins.
Mongolian Wrestling — a folk wrestling style from the Mongolian region, in which the aim is to get your opponent to touch his upper body, knee or elbow to the
ground.
Moscow Broomball — a variation of Broomball, an ice hockey type sport, played in Moscow and only by non-Russians
Motoball — similar to football, except all players (except goalkeepers) are riding motorcycles, and the ball is much bigger (also called Motorcycle Polo).
Motocross — a form of motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits which include embankments and jumps. See also Freestyle Motocross.
Motorcycling Road Racing — a motorcycle sport involving racing motorcycles as teams or individuals around a circular track. At the elite level it is in the form of
MotoGP racing. Also known as Moto racing and Bike racing.
Motorcycle Gymkhana — a motorcycle time trial sport around cones on a paved area. The winner is the competitor who completes the course in the shortest time.
Time penalties are incurred by putting a foot down, hitting a cone, or going outside the designated area. It is similar to car Autocross.
Motorcycle Speedway — a Motorsport in which the motorcycles have one gear and no brakes, and race around a circular track. Also commonly known by just
Speedway. Variations include Ice Speedway.
Motorcycle Trials — a test of skill on a motorcycle whereby the rider attempts to cover rocky terrain without placing a foot on the ground. The winner is the rider
with the least penalty points. Known in the US as "Observed Trials".
Motorsports — includes a wide range of sports, each linked with its use of a motor to propel a driver, and all have an element of thrill and danger for the driver and
spectator.
Mountain Biking — held on steep and rough terrain, involving jumps, rock gardens, and other obstacles.
Mountain Unicycling — an adventure sport that consists of traversing rough terrain on a unicycle.
Mountainboarding — an action board sport like a snowboard with wheels or a cross-country skateboard. It is also known as Dirtboarding, Offroad Boarding, and All-
Terrain Boarding (ATB).
Mountaineering — the sport of mountain climbing
Mounted Orienteering — participants navigate from start to end through control points, usually on horseback.
Muay Thai — a full contact fighting sport in which fighters try to defeat their opponents by using different techniques that make use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.
Mud Bogging — an off-road motorsport which involves driving a vehicle through a muddy course.
Muggle Quidditch — the playable version of the sport of Quidditch invented for the Harry Potter books.
N Sports
Naginatajutsu — a Japanese martial art of wielding the naginata, a weapon resembling the medieval European glaive.
Naval Pentathlon — comprises an obstacle race, life-saving swimming race, utility swimming race, seamanship race, and an amphibious cross-country race.
Netball — a team game with seven players on a side, similar to basketball except that players are restricted to certain sections of the court, and a player receiving the
ball must stand still until they have passed it to another player.
Newcomb Ball — an early variation of Volleyball, teams throw a ball back and forth until it hits the floor or is mishandled.
Nine-a-side Footy — a mini version of Australian Rules Football, with 3 players each designated as forwards, centres and backs.
Nine-Ball — a version of Pocket Billiards played with nine balls, numbered 1 through 9. A player who legally pockets the nine-ball is the winner. Most professional
tournaments are conducted for the nine-ball format of pool.
Nine-Man Football — a variation of American Football for smaller schools.
Nine Pin Bowling — a variation of bowling with only 9 pins set up in a diamond pattern.
Ninjutsu — The traditional Japanese art of the Ninjas - incorporating stealth, camouflage and sabotage, now practiced as a martial art.
Nordic Combined — a Winter Olympics sport in which athletes compete in a combined event of Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Jumping.
Nordic Skiing — a field of competitive skiing which includes all events where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski (as opposed to Alpine skiing).
Includes Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, and Biathlon, Nordic Combined and Telemark Skiing.
Northern Praying Mantis — a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis.
Novuss — a national sport in Latvia, with similarities to carrom and pocket billiards. Played on a 1 meter square wooden board with pockets in each corner. A small
cue stick is used to strike a puck to hit small discs into the pockets.
O Sports
Obstacle Course Racing — an event requiring an athlete to run through a variety of different obstacles.
Offroad Boarding — another name for Mountainboarding
Off-Road Racing — many motor sports have competitions 'off-road', meaning on rough terrain.
Oil Wrestling — a form of wrestling called Yağlı Güreş in Turkey, is where the wrestlers cover themselves in oil.
Oină – a Romanian traditional sport, similar in many ways to Baseball and Lapta played outdoors by two teams of 11 players, taking turns either batting or catching.
Okinawan Kobudō — weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts, also known as Ryūkyū Kobujutsu.
One Day International (ODI) — a form of Cricket played in a single day, usually 50 overs per team. An even shorter version is the Twenty20.
One-Pocket — a version of Pocket Billiards where the objective is to pocket all the object balls into a single pocket.
Open Water Swimming — competitive swimming races conducted over various distances (10km at the Olympics) held in rivers, lakes and oceans.
Orienteering — participants find their way to various checkpoints across rough country with the aid of a map and compass, the winner being the one with the lowest
elapsed time.
Outdoor Handball — another name for Field Handball.
Outrigger Canoeing — racing using a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the
main hull.
Over-the-line – a bat-and-ball sport related to baseball and softball with just 3 people per team. Unlike the other sports, the batter and pitcher are on the same team.
Oztag — a form of Tag Rugby
P Sports
Paddle Tennis — a variation of tennis on a smaller court, lower net, using a solid paddle and ball.
Paddleball (1 wall) — a small rubber ball is hit against a single wall with a solid paddle.
Paddleball (4 wall) — like racquetball/squash but played with a solid paddle racket.
Padel — a mix of tennis and squash, played on a much smaller court with walls and a solid paddle racket.
Paintball — a skirmish sport in which players compete to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye propelled from paintball
guns.
Palant — a Polish sport with lots of similarities to modern baseball played using a wooden stick and a rubber ball.
Paleta Frontón — a wall based racquet sport that originated in Peru.
Palla — a traditional street game played in villages of Italy.
Pankration (Amateur) — A modern version of the Ancient Olympic sport of Pankration.
Parachuting — also known as skydiving, involving jumping from an aircraft with just a parachute.
Para-Climbing — Sport Climbing for disabled athletes.
Para-Cycling — cycle racing events using adaptations for disabled athletes, such as tandem bikes and hand-cycling.
Paragliding — riders using para-gliders perform cross country or acrobatic maneuvers.
Parallel Bars — an artistic gymnastics discipline performed by men which comprises predominantly of swings and vaults with two parallel bars.
Paralympic Football — the adaptation of association football for disabled athletes.
Paratriathlon — involves a 750 m swim, a 20 km bike with handcycles, bicycles or tandems with a guide, and a 5 km wheelchair or running race.
Pärk (or Paerk) — an outdoor team sport that originated in Gotland, where players hit or kick the ball to gain field position.
Parkour — activity involving overcoming obstacles in an urban space.
Patball — school yard game played with hands or head for hitting the ball against a wall.
Pato — a cross between Polo and Basketball played on horseback. It is the national sport of Argentina. A similar sport is Horseball.
Pehlwani — a form of wrestling from South Asia. A win is achieved by pinning the opponent's shoulders and hips to the ground simultaneously.
Pelota Mixteca — an ancient game similar to tennis without a net, the ball is hit with decorated gloves.
Pencak Silat — a fighting sport from Indonesia which collectively encompasses martial arts of various styles.
Pesäpallo — a Finnish variation of Baseball, the major difference is that the ball is pitched vertically.
Pétanque — a type of boules in which the objective is to throw hollow metal balls towards a small wooden target ball.
Peteca — played by hitting the shuttlecock with your hand over a high net.
Pickleball — a non-contact racket sport which is similar to badminton, tennis, and table tennis.
Picigin — a traditional water sport from Croatia in which the aim is to prevent a small ball from touching the surface of the water.
Pigeon Racing — the objective is for each pigeon to return back to its home as fast as possible.
Ping Pong — a popular name for Table Tennis.
Pitch and Putt — like golf, but on shorter holes and only a putter and a wedge is allowed.
Pitton — a net and racquet based sport played with a hard pickleballpaddle and a badminton shuttlecock.
Platform Tennis — a variation of tennis with modified equipment on a much smaller court surrounded on all sides by a fence.
Playboating — a whitewater sport in which athletes on kayaks or canoes perform various moves in a fixed place called the playspot.
Pocket Billiards — also known as Pool, it is the name for a range of Cue Sports played on a table with six pockets along the rails, into which the main aim is to hit balls
into the pockets. There are hundreds of pool games - popular versions include Eight-Ball and Nine-Ball, as well as Ten-Ball, Straight Pool, One-Pocket and Bank Pool.
Poker — a card game that combines gambling, strategy, and skill. The winner of each hand is determined according to the combinations of players' cards.
Pole Climbing — involves climbing very high wooden poles.
Pole Dancing — participants perform various type of acrobatic moves like spins, climbs, twists and body inversions around a pole.
Pole Vault — an athletics event in which a competitor leaps over a bar using a flexible pole.
Polo (Horse Polo) — a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to hit a ball into a goal using a long-handled mallet. Variations include Snow
Polo, Elephant Polo, Cycle Polo, Yak Polo, Cowboy Polo plus many more.
Polocrosse — an equestrian sport combining the sports of lacrosse and polo.
Pommel Horse — a male artistic gymnastics event in which the gymnast performs routines atop a symbolic horse.
Pond Hockey — a version of ice hockey played on a natural frozen body of water.
Pool — a common name for the cue sport of Pocket Billiards.
Popinjay — a shooting sport with either bows or rifles, in which the bird-like target is suspended from a pole.
Power Hockey — ice hockey played on an electric wheelchair.
Power Boat Racing — ocean-going powerboats races against each other.
Powerchair Football — indoor football for people in wheelchairs.
Powerlifting — tests of strength on three lifts: dead lift, bench press and squat.
Practical shooting — dynamic shooting sport using handguns and moving and shooting over obstacles
Pradal Serey — a type of kickboxing from Cambodia. Also known as Kun Khmer
Prizefighting — another name for bare-knuckle boxing.
Pushball — a team sport played with a large ball in which the objective is to push the ball through the opponent’s goal posts.
Q Sports
Qianball — a racket and ball sport developed in China which can be best described as a mix of aspects from tennis and squash.
Quadrathlon — an endurance sports event composed of the four individual disciplines of swimming, kayaking, cycling and running - also called quadriathlon.
Quidditch — the sport invented for the Harry Potter books has been adapted for the real world. See Muggle Quidditch
Quoits — a traditional target throwing game in which rings are thrown at a target spike, the aim is to get them as close as possible to the target.
R Sports
Racerunning — a track and field racing sport for disabled athletes, in which they use a specially designed tricycle.
Race Walking — competitors attempt to outrace one another without running.
Racketlon — a combination sport, where players compete in the sports of table tennis, tennis, squash, and badminton.
Racquetball — a squash type game involving hitting a hollow rubber ball using a stringed racket.
Racquets / Rackets — a sport similar to squash.
Rafting — the objective is to navigate downstream on river rapids using an inflated raft.
Rallycross — automobile sprint racing held on a closed racing circuit using rally type cars.
Rally Racing (car) — auto racing that mainly happens either on unpaved roads in races against the clock.
Rally Raid — an extended form of rally racing, conducted on an off-road course which spans across one or more countries.
Rally Racing (motorbike) — a navigation event on motorbikes on public roads whereby competitors must visit a number of checkpoints in diverse locations while still
obeying road traffic laws.
Real Tennis — the sport from which the modern lawn tennis was derived. It is played in an indoor court of asymmetric dimensions, using rules and scoring similar to
those of modern tennis.
Rec Footy — an accessible non-contact version of Australian Football.
Reining — equestrian riders guide their horses through a precise pattern of spins, circles and stops.
Relay Running — a track and field running race in which athletes compete as a team, passing a baton from one runner to the next.
Relay Swimming — a swimming race in which teams of four race consecutively.
Rhythmic Gymnastics — uses the elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation.
Ringball — a court game from South Africa very similar to netball.
Ringette — a very similar sport to ice hockey, though played with a blue rubber ring and a straight stick.
Rings — gymnastics routine using a pair of rings, that are suspended by straps.
Rink Bandy — a variation of Bandy which originated in Sweden in the 1960s, played on an ice hockey rink. See also Rink Ball.
Rink Hockey — a roller hockey sport.
Rinkball — very similar to Rink Bandy, though played with ice hockey sticks instead of bandy sticks which are more like those used in field hockey.
Ritinis — a team sport from Lithuania, played on a football field with goal posts with a puck thrown by bat with a handle and curved elongated end.
Road Bicycle Racing — cycle races held on paved roads, usually over several hours or days.
Road Bowling — throw a small ball along a road, to cover a prescribed distance with a set number of throws.
Road Skating — athletes use either inline or roller skates and ride on road courses.
Robot Combat — involves custom built remote control machines fighting each other (not a sport).
Robot Sports — sporting competitions involve robot machines battling other robots, often replicating the rules and equipment of sports (not a sport).
Robot Soccer — autonomous robots compete in football matches (not a sport).
Rock Climbing — competitive rock climbing is called Sport Climbing
Rodeo — a sporting event comprising many different sports, including the following Calf Roping, Breakaway roping, Team roping, Barrel racing, Steer wrestling, Goat
tying, Bronc riding, Bull Riding, Steer roping and Pole bending.
Rogaining — involves cross-country navigation over long distances.
Rollball — like handball on roller skates, players must bounce the ball while moving and score goals by shooting the ball into the opposing team's goal.
Roller Derby — two teams compete while skating in the same direction around a track.
Roller Hockey — includes traditional roller hockey (quad hockey or rink hockey played with quad stakes) and inline hockey (played with inline skates).
Roller Skating — there is a range of sports performed while wearing roller skates.
Roller Skiing — races are conducted on tarmac road courses with athletes wearing snow skis with wheels attached.
Roller Soccer — indoor sport, playing soccer while wearing roller skates.
Rope Climbing — competitors climb up a rope using their hands.
Rope Jumping (skipping) — involves a single person or more jumping over a rope that is being swung.
Roping — a rodeo event where calves or cows are caught by throwing around it a rope with a loop as quickly as possible.
Roque — an American variation of croquet played on a hard, smooth surface.
Rounders — played between two teams with a bat and ball, like baseball.
Rowing — a sport in which competitors propel a boat using oars.
Rugby Fives — an indoor court game played with gloves, hitting the ball against the wall.
Rugby League — a rough game involving tackling the players in a bid to get the ball, with each team attempting to carry it over the end line.
Rugby League Nines — like Rugby League, but with nine players.
Rugby Sevens — like Rugby Union except with fewer players and over shorter time period.
Rugby Tens — also known as ten-a-side and Xs, is a variant of rugby union that originated in Malaysia, and is popular in many Asian countries.
Rugby Union — played on a grass field by two opposing teams with two H-shaped goalposts at opposite ends.
Running — running races can range from short sprints to ultra-marathons
Russian Pyramid — a cue sport played in countries of the former Soviet Union (also known simply as Pyramid(s), Russian billiards or Russian pool)
S Sports
Sailing — a sport that involves moving a boat by using the power of the wind.
Sambo — a martial art developed for Russia's military and police force in the 1930s. The term translates as "self-defense without weapons".
Samoa Rules — a combination of Australian Rules Football and Rugby Union
Sandball — see Beach Handball.
Sandboarding — involves sliding on the sand while standing on a board.
Sandsurfing — attach a skateboard deck or other similar object to the back of an ATV or vehicle with a watersports tow rope (not a competitive sport).
Sanshou (also called Sanda) — a form of kickboxing from China, which combines full-contact kickboxing, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and
in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
Savate — a French version of kickboxing, in which only foot kicks are allowed.
Sawing — involves cutting across entire logs of wood using saws.
Schwingen — a style of folk wrestling native to Switzerland.
Scootering — doing tricks, over obstacles and terrains, on a scooter.
Sculling Rowing — a form of rowing, in which a person uses oars, one in each hand, to propel a single or double scull rowing boat.
Scurry Driving — ponies pull a carriage with two riders race around a track.
Segway Polo — similar to horse polo though players ride a segway PT.
Sepak Takraw — an Asian sport like volleyball but using the feet to kick the ball over the net.
Shinty — Scottish team sport resembling field hockey, played with long curved sticks and a small ball which is hit through tall goalposts. Derived from the Irish game
of Hurling.
Shinty-Hurling — a composite sport created to facilitate competitions between Shinty and Hurling players.
Shooting Sports — many events involving shooting at targets using guns like pistols and rifles.
Shot put — the track and field event where the participants throw a heavy metal ball for maximum distance.
Showdown — a game for blind and visually impaired people similar to air hockey.
Show Jumping — an equestrian event where riders on horseback attempt to jump cleanly through sets of obstacles within a specific time.
Shuffleboard — players use cues to push and slide weighted discs along a long court into a scoring area.
Shuttlecock — the English name of the sport Jianzi, like badminton played with the feet (Shuttlecock is also the name of the object that is hit in Badminton).
Sikaran — a form of kick boxing from the Philippines, which utilizes only the feet, the hands are only used for blocking.
Singlestick — a martial art that uses a wooden stick, which began as a way of training sailors in the use of swords. A type of Stick-Fighting.
Sipa — a sport from the Philippines in which the aim is to kick the ball to the other side of the net on to the opponent’s side without it touching the ground.
Sitting Volleyball — a version of volleyball for disabled athletes played while sitting (also known as paralympic volleyball).
Six-Man Football — a modification of American football played with 6 instead of 11 players.
Skateboarding — a rider balances and performs tricks using a skateboard.
Skeet Shooting — one of the disciplines of clay pigeon shooting, targets are thrown in singles and doubles from two traps situated 40m apart.
Skeleton — participants ride a small sled down a frozen track facing forward with the face down.
Ski Archery — involves skiing and shooting arrows at targets.
Ski Ballet — see Acroski (the sport's current name).
Ski Cross — downhill skiing on a specifically designed course featuring big jumps, rollers and high-banked turns.
Ski Flying — winter sport similar to ski jumping in which the skier will come down and take off from a ramp and fly the farthest possible distance.
Ski Jumping — a form of skiing in which an athlete will take off a ramp and jump as high and far as possible.
Ski Mountaineering — the objective is to climb up a mountain wearing skis, occasionally carrying if required, and then descend on the skis.
Ski Orienteering — the objective for athletes is to navigate from the start to the finish through checkpoints while riding on skis.
Skirmish — a general term for sports in which participants replicate firearm warfare. See Airsoft, Laser Tag and Paintball.
Skiboarding — like snow skiing, but with shorter and wider skis.
Skibobbing — a winter sport that uses a bicycle-type frame connected to skis called skibobs.
Skiing — traveling over a surface (snow, water, grass) on skis. There is a wide range of sporting activities that fall under the term skiing.
Skijøring — being pulled either by a dog, a horse or a motor-operated vehicle while on skis.
Skittles — a precursor to many bowling games, it is an indoor sport in a bowling alley, using one or more heavy balls to knock down nine skittles.
Skydiving — see Parachuting.
Skyrunning — a running sport in which athletes compete on a course that leads through mountains.
Skysurfing — a skydiver attaches a board to his feet during freefall.
Slalom Skiing — an alpine skiing discipline which involves skiing downhill through gates, with the gates closer together therefore tighter turns than in Giant
Slalom or Super-G.
Slamball — a form of basketball using trampolines to get height to shoot the ball through the hoop.
Sledge Hockey — ice hockey on double-blade sledges for people with physical disabilities on the lower body.
Slopestyle — involves skiing or snowboarding down a course of obstacles.
Slopestyle Skiing — athletes on skis perform on a course with different types of obstacles.
Slow-Pitch Softball — a version of Softball where the ball is pitched from 50 feet with a half a windmill underhand arm action.
Snatch — an event in the sport of Olympic weightlifting.
Snocross (or snowcross) — the most popular form of snowmobile racing, similar to motocross but conducted on snow.
Snooker — a Cue Sport played on a table covered with a green cloth with six pockets. It is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls and
six balls of different colors. Points are awarded for using the cue ball to pot the red and colored balls.
Snowbiking — uses a bike on snow with ski blades instead of wheels.
Snowboarding — involves descending on a slope covered in snow using a single board attached to both feet.
Snowboard Cross — another name for Boardercross.
Snowboating — a winter sport in which athletes use a kayak to descend down a slope covered with snow (also called Snowkayaking)
Snow Golf — like regular golf, however the golf course is covered with snow and ice, rather than grass.
Snowkiting — a snow based, kite powered sport, while riding on a snowboard (Kite Boarding) or on snow skis (Kite Skiing).
Snowmobile Racing — athletes ride on snowmobiles to compete on purpose built courses or on natural snow covered terrains.
Snow Polo — a variation of Polo on horseback which is played on compacted snow on flat ground or a frozen lake.
Snow Rugby — rugby union matches played on fields covered with snow.
Snowshoeing — racing in snow wearing snow shoes.
Snow Skiing — Traveling over a snow surface on skis. Competitive forms include Alpine Skiing (or Downhill Skiing), and Cross-Country / Nordic Skiing.
Soccer — the common name for Association Football in the USA, Australia and some other parts of the world.
Soft Tennis — a version of the game of tennis played primarily in Asia, very similar except they play with soft balls.
Softball — there are three styles of softball: fast pitch, "modified" fast pitch, and slow pitch.
Softball Throw — a track and field discipline in which you throw the ball as far as possible, mostly used in competitions for disadvantaged groups as a substitute for
other technical throwing events.
Sorro Wrestling — a traditional wrestling style from Niger.
Speed-Ball — an Egyptian racquet sport where players hit a ball suspended from a central pole.
Speedball — an American sport in which teams attempt to score by throwing or kicking a ball into a goal.
Speedcubing — players solve single piece 3D puzzles in the quickest time possible.
Speed Golf — a variation of golf in which the objective is to complete the course in the fewest possible number of strokes and the fastest time possible.
Speedminton — badminton played with no net adapted to make it suitable for playing outdoors.
Speed Pool — a cue sport, a Pocket Billiards game where the balls must be pocketed in as little time as possible.
Speed Skating (Long Track) — ice skaters race head to head on a 400m oval track for a set distance, between 500 and 10,000 m.
Speed Skating (Short Track) — 4 to 8 skaters racing around an oval ice track towards the finish line.
Speed Skiing — the objective is to ski downhill on a straight path as fast as possible.
Speedway — motorsports around an oval track - forms include Motorcycle Speedway, Autospeedway, Ice Speedway and Bicycle Speedway.
Spongee — an outdoor non-contact sport played on an ice rink in rubber boots with a sponge puck instead of a hard puck like in ice hockey.
Sport Acrobatics — the previous name for Acrobatic Gymnastics.
Sport Aerobics — the objective is to perform high-intensity gymnastic moves in sync with background music. Also called Aerobic Gymnastics.
Sport Climbing — rock climbing competitions, can be Lead Climbing, Speed Climbing or Bouldering.
Sport Diving — aspects of scuba diving are performed in a swimming pool.
Sport Fishing — in competition fishing contestants compete for prizes based on the total length or weight of a fish, usually of a pre-determined species, caught within
a specified timeframe.
Sport Kite — using a stunt kite to fly the kite in several patterns in tune with a background music.
Sport Stacking — stack a number of plastic cups in a pre-determined sequence as fast as possible.
Sporting Clays — one of the disciplines of clay pigeon shooting, shooters move about a course, attempting to hit varying targets projected at different angles, speed,
elevation, and distances.
Sports Car Racing — a type of auto racing, in which sports cars are used.
Sports Table Football — attempts to replicate the game of Association Football on a table top with action figures, based on the game of Subbuteo.
Sprint (Athletics) — track and field running events over short distances, such as 100m, 200m, 400m.
Sprint Car Racing — a racing sport which involves direct racing of high powered small cars.
Sprint Football — a USA varsity sport for lightweight players which emphasizes speed and agility.
Squash — a racquet sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small hollow rubber ball.
Squash Tennis — derived from both squash and lawn tennis, played on a squash court with tennis rackets and balls.
Squat — a powerlifting event in which participants attempt to perform a squat with the maximum weight on their shoulders.
Ssireum — a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea, with the aim to bring any part of the opponent's body above the knee to the ground.
Steeplechase — an athletics distance track running event with barriers and water jumps.
Steeplechase — a horse racing sport in which competitors on horsebacks race on a long distance course that has several types of obstacles.
Stick-Fighting — a type of martial arts which use a hand-held long slender wooden stick for fighting. Variations include singlestick and canne de combat.
Stické Tennis — an indoor racquet and ball based sport derived from lawn tennis in the late 19th century, using a smaller court surrounded by 4 walls.
Stock Car Racing — a car racing sport in which production-based cars, called stock cars, are used for racing.
Stone Lift or Carry — involves moving stones as a test of strength
Stoolball — a team sport played on a circular grass field, possibly the precursor to cricket and baseball.
Straight pool — a type of pocket billiards game in which a player is required to call which object ball they are going to pocket and to which pocket.
Street Hockey — a team sport that was derived from Ice Hockey, though it is played on an asphalt or cement surface instead of ice, and players wear inline skates or
shoes.
Streetluge — participants race downhill feet first on a sort of modified skateboard.
Strongman — a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of different ways.
Sumo Wrestling — two wrestlers within a circular ring try and push the other out.
Super Giant Slalom (better known as Super-G) — an alpine downhill skiing event like giant slalom but the gates to ski through are further apart.
Supercross — an indoor dirt-bike racing sport which evolved from Motocross, using specifically built indoor dirt tracks.
Supermoto — motorcycle riders compete on three different types of courses as part of a single race: a flat track course, a motocross course and a road course.
Surf Kayaking — involves surfing in the ocean using a kayak.
Surfboat Rowing — a team of riders compete using surfboats on a course out and back through the surf.
Surfing — participants stand on a surfboard, and use the waves for propulsion.
Surf Lifesaving — competitions consist of performing various tasks performed by lifeguards on the beach.
Swamp Football — a version of association football played in bogs or swamps.
Sweep Rowing — each rower has just one oar which is maneuvered with both hands to propel the boat.
Swimming — the sport of propelling oneself through water using the limbs.
Synchronized Diving — a diving sport in which two divers perform the exact same dive simultaneously.
Synchronized Skating — a sport of the figure skating discipline in which 8 to 20 skaters perform routines as a team on an ice rink.
Synchronized Swimming — athletes perform synchronized dance routines to music while floating in water.
T Sports
Table Football — also called Fußball or Foosball, using figures mounted on rows of rotatable bars to hit a ball.
Table Tennis (also called Ping Pong) — a racket sport played with small paddles and a lightweight ball on a rectangular table with a net in the middle.
Taekwondo — a self-defense discipline that originated in Korea.
Tag Rugby — a team sport similar to touch rugby in which instead of a tackle a Velcro attached tag if pulled off the ball carrier. Similar in play to Touch Rugby. Also
known as Flag Rugby. Played in several forms, such as OzTag and Mini Tag. American flag rugby played in the US K1-9 is a variation of Tag Rugby.
Tamburello — racquet and a ball based sport from Italy.
Target Archery — a popular Archery competition where competitors shoot at stationary circular targets from different distances.
Target Shooting — guns of any type used for aiming at a target.
Tee-Ball — an introductory sport for younger kids to baseball and softball, with the ball hit off a stationary tee.
Tchoukball — an indoor team sport in which the players can score by throwing a ball onto a rebound frame at either end of the court and the ball landing back on the
court without being caught.
Team Handball — a commonly used name for the sport of Handball.
Team Penning — the objective for each three-rider team on horseback is to separate three specific cattle from a herd.
Te Ano — the national game of Tuvalu, with similarities to volleyball, though using two balls at once.
Tejo — a Colombian sport in which metal discs are thrown 20m to a target which explodes when hit.
Telemark Skiing — The bindings for telemark skiing holds the boot by the toes, unlike Alpine Skiing which is fixed-heel. Also known as free hill skiing and telemarking.
Tennikoit — played with a rubber ring, in which the objective is to catch and throw the ring back on to the opponents half of the court. Also called ring tennis or
tenniquoits.
Tennis — a court sport where players use a stringed racket to hit a ball to each other over a net.
Tennis Polo — an outdoor team sport, where players attempt to throw a tennis ball through a goal defended by a goalkeeper with a tennis racket. Also called Toccer.
Tenpin Bowling — a player rolls a bowling ball on to a wooden or synthetic lane to knock down pins.
Tent Pegging — the objective for a horse rider is to pierce, pick-up and carry a target, with a lance or a sword, as they gallop towards the target.
Test Cricket — the longest form of cricket, played over 5 days.
Tetherball — two players hit a ball attached by a rope to the top of a stationary pole.
Tetradecathlon — a double heptathlon consisting of 14 events, including the 7 traditional heptathlon events with 7 additional track and field events.
Tetrathlon — composed of 4 out of the 5 disciplines of Modern Pentathlon: Swimming, Running, Shooting and either Fencing or Equestrian.
Thoroughbred Racing — horse racing sport which involves the racing of thoroughbred horses.
Three-Cushion Billiards — a very challenging cue sport and Carom Billiards discipline, where the aim is to carom the cue ball off both object balls and contact the rail
cushions at least three times before the last object ball.
Throwball — a sport very similar to Newcomb Ball (a variation of Volleyball) that is played in India.
Torball — a team sport for the visually impaired with an inflated ball with bells inside. The aim is to throw the ball through the opponent´s goal line.
Toros Coleados — involves chasing down a bull while riding on horseback (also called Bull-Tailing).
Touch Football — A version of American Football, where instead of tackling players to the ground, the person carrying the ball only needs to be touched.
Touch Rugby — a team sport derived from Rugby Football, in which the tackling is replaced with just a touch.
Touring Car Racing — a type of auto track racing, which uses heavily modified road-going cars.
Tower Running — grueling races up tall man-made structures. Also known as Stair Climbing.
Track Cycling — bicycle races conducted on velodromes or other specially designed tracks that feature a steep banking.
Track & Field — also known as athletics.
Tractor Pulling — a motorsport involving modified tractors that pull a weighted sled along a 10m wide, 100m track.
Trampolining — competitors perform acrobatics while jumping on a trampoline.
Trap Shooting — one of the variants of clay pigeon shooting, where 1 or 2 targets are thrown away from a trap situated 15m in front of the shooter.
TREC — a French equestrian sport in which the objective is to test both the horse and the rider in competitions consisting of three separate events.
Tree Climbing — competitions in which competitors climb trees as fast as possible using various techniques based on the daily working conditions of arborists.
Triathle — a shortened version of the Modern Pentathlon, athletes compete in shooting, swimming and running events as a part of a single race.
Triathlon — a race consisting of three events, usually swimming, cycling, and running in consecutive order.
Tricking — performers combine martial arts movements with flips, kicks, twists and various dance moves to show off their tricks.
Triple jump — a track and field event where the participant attempts to hop, skip and jump the longest distance. Also called the hop, skip and jump for obvious
reasons. Similar to the long jump.
Trugo — Australian sport in which players strike a rubber ring, which is called a whell, with a mallet through goal posts.
Tug of War — two teams pull on opposite ends of a rope
Tumbling — a gymnastics event involving tumbling along a mat performing flips, rolls, jumps, performing somersaults and handsprings.
Twenty20 — a fast-paced limited over cricket match played 20 overs per team. Also known as T20 Cricket.
U Sports
Ulama — a traditional ball sport from Mexico, players keep the ball inbounds by hitting it with their hips or forearms.
Ultimate — played with a disc (frisbee), with points scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone.
Ultralight Aviation — events with lightweight aircraft which have 1 or 2 seat fixed-wings.
Ultramarathon — very long distance endurance events, ranging from greater than Marathon distance to several days. Ultramarathons can either cover a specified
distance, or take place during a specified time frame, with the winner covering the most distance in that time.
Underwater Football — played in a swimming pool with snorkeling equipment, the aim is to manoeuvre a slightly negatively buoyant ball underwater (by carrying and
passing) from one side of a pool to the other. Scoring is achieved by placing the ball in the gutter on the side of the pool.
Underwater Hockey — two teams of six push a puck along the bottom of a swimming pool. (also known as 'Octopush' or Water Hockey).
Underwater Ice Hockey — A variation of Ice Hockey played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds. Participants wear snorkeling equipment and wet suits
and use the underside of the frozen surface as the playing area for a floating puck (also called sub-aqua ice hockey).
Underwater Orienteering — individual and team events in which competitors wearing scuba diving equipment swim an underwater course following a route marked
on a map prepared by the competition organizers, using a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered.
Underwater Photography — teams of competitors using scuba gear and using a digital underwater camera dive and photograph the same saltwater ocean sites at the
same time over a two-day period, with the submitted digital images assessed to find the winner.
Underwater Rugby — two teams compete for a slightly negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) and score by placing it into the opponents' goal (heavy metal
bucket) at the bottom of a swimming pool.
Underwater Target Shooting — competitors free dive in a swimming pool, using spearguns to fire at targets.
Underwater Wrestling — an alternative name for Aquathlon.
Uneven Bars — an artistic gymnastics apparatus used only by female gymnasts comprising a pair of parallel bars set at different heights. (also called or asymmetric
bars).
Unicycle Basketball — a version of Basketball with all competitors riding unicycles. The sport uses a regulation basketball on a regular basketball court with the same
rules.
Unicycle Handball — competitors ride unicycles and a handball-sized ball, with the aim to throw it into a vertical hoop placed about 6 feet (1.8 m) above the ground.
Unicycle Hockey — a team sport, similar to roller or inline hockey, though all competitors are riding a unicycle and using a tennis ball and ice-hockey sticks.
Unicycling Racing — a competition which involves racing using a unicycle.
Unicycle Trials — a form of unicycling which involves participants riding a unicycle over obstacles without any part of the rider touching the ground.
Unicycling — sports using a single wheel cycle.
Urban Golf — golf played anywhere that there's free space and not too many people about.
V Sports
Vajra-mushti — a form of Indian wrestling in which a knuckleduster-like weapon called the Vajra-mushti is employed.
Valencian Frontó — modified Valencian Pilota version of the original Basque Pelota game. The players don't stand face-to-face as in the more popular Valencian
Pilota but share a common playing area.
Valencian Pilota — is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community of Spain. The ball is usually struck with a bare hand in a game involving two
teams made from two up to five players each (depending on the particular version played). Unlike the original Basque Pelota, it is not played against a wall. Instead,
teams are placed face to face separated either by a line on the ground or a net. Versions include Valencian Frontó.
Varpa — an old outdoor game dating back to the Viking Age. It is similar to boules but played with a flat and heavy thrower known as "varpa" instead of balls, once
made of shaped stones but nowadays aluminium is more popular.
Varzesh-e Bastani — a traditional Iranian martial arts. The sport is practiced in a gymnasium called Zourkhaneh, which is another name by which the sport is known.
Also called Varzesh-e Pahlavani
Vault — an artistic gymnastics event for men and women, in which the athlete leaps over a vault or pommel horse, using the hands for pushing off.
Vert Skateboarding — an acrobatic sport in which athletes riding a skateboard perform various tricks while being airborne.
Vert Skating — acrobatic inline or roller skating sport performed on a ramp.
Vigoro — an Australian sport that combines elements of Cricket and Baseball, mainly played by women. Played on a pitch shorter than for cricket, with a bat with a
long handle like a paddle.
Vintage Racing — a form of Auto-Racing, with vehicles limited to Vintage types.
Volleyball — a game for two teams of six players, in which a large ball is hit by hand over a high net, the aim being to score points by making the ball reach the ground
on the opponent's side of the court. See also Beach Volleyball. Similar sports and variations include Throwball, Newcomb Ball.
Vovinam — a Vietnamese martial art.
Vx — a ball sport from the UK, originally known as Rock-It-Ball. It is played by two teams of five players. The court is roughly the size of a basketball court, with 5 balls
in play. Players carry a VstiX for carrying, throwing and catching the ball.
W Sports
Wakeboarding — riding a board and doing tricks on the wake behind a boat.
Walking Football — a version of association football in which players are only allowed to walk during game play, developed for older people to keep fit.
Wallball — a wall based sport similar to squash in which a hi-bounce rubber ball has to be hit onto the wall after a single bounce.
Wallyball — a variation of volleyball, which is played on a racquetball court enclosed with walls on all four sides.
Washer Pitching — a target throwing game similar to horseshoes, in which players as a part of teams take turns to toss washers into a box or hole.
Water Basketball — a mix of basketball and water polo played in a swimming pool with basketball goals.
Water Polo — a team sport played in swimming pools, the aim is to pass the ball over the water and into the goal net.
Water Skiing — riders are pulled along behind a boat skimming atop the water wearing one or two skis.
Water Volleyball — a team sport derived from volleyball in which the games are played in water.
Weightlifting — in Olympic Weightlifting competitors attempt to lift weights mounted on barbells above their head.
Weight Throw — a family of heavy weight throwing events, in which the objective is to either throw the weight as far as possible or as high as possible.
Western Pleasure — a horse show competition in which horses are evaluated for their manners and composure.
Wheelchair Basketball — basically regular basketball played on a wheelchair.
Wheelchair Curling — a variation of curling in which athletes with a disability affecting their lower limbs use a wheelchair to play the sport.
Wheelchair Dancing — all of the participants of a team perform dance routines while riding on a wheelchair.
Wheelchair Fencing — a version of Fencing in which disabled athletes fight with thin swords while sitting in wheelchairs which are tightly fastened to the floor.
Wheelchair Racing — a type of racing in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with the help of a wheelchair.
Wheelchair Rugby — a full contact indoor team sport conducted for players with disabilities.
Wheelchair Rugby League — a version of rugby league football but played using a wheelchair.
Wheelchair Tennis — a version of lawn tennis for those who have lower body disabilities.
Whitewater Slalom — a kayaking and canoeing sport in which athletes use a kayak or canoe to navigate through a course that consists of hanging gates on river
rapids.
Wiffleball — a variation of Baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas, using a perforated, light-weight, rubbery plastic ball and a long, plastic
yellow) bat.
Windsurfing — riding a modified surfboard manoeuvered using a sail on a movable mast.
Wingsuit Flying — a type of skydiving, where a person will fly in the air using a special jumpsuit called the wingsuit.
Winter Guard — an indoor sport of the color guard discipline in which teams perform several routines using supporting equipment to recorded background music.
Winter Triathlon — athletes compete in running, mountain biking and cross-country skiing.
Women's lacrosse — a limited-contact version of lacrosse
Woodball — a sport where a mallet is used to pass a ball through gates. This game can be played in grass, sand or indoor. See also Beach Woodball.
Wood Chopping — participants attempt to cut or saw a log or other types of wood in the quickest time.
Wrestling — a general term for a combat sport between two competitors involving grappling type techniques. Forms include the Olympic styles of Greco-
Roman and Freestyle. There are many regional forms of wrestling, too many to mention, but include Sumo, Yağlı Güreş (Turkish oil wrestling). Variations also
include Aquathlon (underwater wrestling), Arm Wrestling.
Wushu — a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.
X Sports
Xare — a racket sport, a form of Basque pelota, where players face each other across a net which is strung across the middle of an indoor court.
Xingyiquan — is one of the major "internal" styles of Chinese martial arts (probably not a sport).
Y Sports
Yağlı Güreş — Turkish for Oil Wrestling, also called grease wrestling. This form of wrestling, where the wrestlers cover themselves in oil. It is the national sport of
Turkey.
Yak Polo — a Mongolian variation of the sport Polo played on yaks instead of on horses.
Yotsudama — a variation of Four-Ball carom billiards played in East Asia.
Yubi Lakpi — a seven-a-side traditional football game with similarities to rugby played in Manipur, India, using a coconut.
Yukigassen — a snowball fighting-competition played between two teams with seven players each, originated in Japan.
Z Sports
Zorb Football — a team sport that was derived from association football (soccer) in which players are encased in an inflated bubble called Zorb.
Zourkhaneh — the Zourkhaneh (house of strength) is the traditional gymnasium where the sport of Varzesh-e Bastani or Pahlavani is practiced. The sport is
sometimes known by this name. Alternative spellings are Zurkhaneh, Zorkhana or Zourkhaneh.
Zui Quan — The words mean Drunken Fist in Chinese. Also known as Drunken Boxing or Drunkard's Boxing.