Sports (or sports) is any form of regularly competitive physical activity that, through organised or casual activity, attempt to employ, improve or develop certain physical abilities while still providing entertainment for participants, and sometimes, spectators. These activities may be recreational, such as playing games, exercising at the gym, or participating in competitive events, or athletic, such as playing sports for money, participating in marathons or other races, or any other similar kinds of physical competition. Sports are often organised around a common topic – such as football or basketball – or around a common theme, such as gymnastics, motor racing, or skiing. Sports can also take the form of team sports; for example, ice skating and football.
There are many types of physical activities that constitute sports. The most popular ones include track and field events, such as swimming, running, tennis, and polo, as well as contact sports such as wrestling, boxing, rugby and hockey. Track and field events test the athlete’s ability to run, jump, throw, dive, and tackle; the player must also demonstrate good upper-body strength. The field events in ice skating and hockey require a lot of speed and physical dexterity, whereas motor-racing games require sprinting, balancing and turning.
Some popular competitive sports are contact sports such as football or lacrosse, wrestling, boxing, rugby, hockey, wrestling, bobsledding, and surfing. Some popular spectator sports include auto racing, motor biking, bicycle racing, gymnastics, and skiing. Professional wrestling matches are among the most watched sports in the world. Horseback riding, bowling, and badminton are also popular spectator sports.
Competitive physical education has been developed to ensure that children gain physical fitness through participation in different kinds of sports. In the United States, the National Council on Physical Education and Sports develops this curriculum, which is required by the schools. The curriculum is designed to develop strength, flexibility, endurance, and coordination. This prepares students to participate in competitive sports from a young age.
Association football is a well-known contact sport that has a reputation of being violent. However, there are various other less violent sports that may appeal to more gentle sports enthusiasts. Rugby, for example, is a game where players take turns attempting to get the ball into a goal post without sending it in the opposite direction. Blocking, tackling, jumping, and grounding are the main techniques used in this game.
There are various ways of organizing sports competitions, such as the Olympics, the World Games, or the Super Bowl. In the latter case, the athletes are allowed to wear whatever they want, as long as it does not alter the level of competition significantly. Other kinds of competitions have no restrictions on the materials that participants may use. The main article is that all participants play an equal and virtual game with no pressure to compete with others.