For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of sports.

Sport in childhood. Association football, shown above, is a team sport which also provides social interaction.

Show Jumping, an equestrian sport.

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.

The term sports is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports.

Sports that are subjectively judged are distinct from other judged activities such as beauty pageants and bodybuilding shows, because in the former the activity performed is the primary focus of evaluation, rather than the physical attributes of the contestant as in the latter (although "presentation" or "presence" may also be judged in both activities).

Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition.

Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.

Terminology

Hermes, one of Olympian gods and patron of athletics

In British English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the collective noun "sport". In American English, "sports" is more common. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term used for more than one specific game. For example, "football and swimming are my favorite sports", would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to North Americans.

The term is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports. Air sports, billiards, bridge, chess, motorcycle racing, and powerboating are all recognized as sports by the International Olympic Committee with their world governing bodies represented in the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.^[1]

History

This section requires expansion.

Sport has existed for several thousand years. As the world population continues to increase and technology improves in areas such as transportation, communication, medicine, and sports equipment, sport will continue to evolve and involve more and more people across nearly all parts of the world.

Sociology of sport

This section requires expansion.

The motivations for participating in sport and being a spectator are studied in sociology.

See also

Related topics

• Combat Sport
• Disabled sports
• Fandom
• Female sports
• History of sport
• Multi-sport events
• National sport
• Nationalism and sports
• Olympic Games
• Racing
• Spectator sports
• Sponsorship
• Sport in film
• Sport governing bodies
• Sports broadcasting
• Sports club
• Sports coaching
• Sports equipment
• Sports injuries
• Sports league attendances
• Sports marketing
• Sports terms named after people

References