List of sports
The following is a list of sports/games, divided by category.
According to the World Sports Encyclopedia (2003), there are 8,000 indigenous sports and sporting games.[1]
Physical sports
Acro sports
Air sports
- Gliding
- Hang gliding
- Human powered aircraft
- Model aircraft
- Parachuting
- Paragliding
- Paramotoring
- Ultralight aviation
Archery
Ball-over-net games
- Badminton
- Ball badminton
- Biribol
- Bossaball
- Fistball
- Footbag net
- Football tennis
- Footvolley
- Hooverball
- Jianzi
- Padel
- Peteca
- Pickleball
- Platform tennis
- Rocball
- Sepak takraw
- Sipa
- Table tennis
- Tennis
- Throwball
- Volleyball
- Wallyball
Basketball family
Bat-and-ball (safe haven)
- Baseball
- Bat and trap
- British baseball – four posts
- Brännboll – four bases
- Corkball – four bases (no base-running)
- Cricket – two creases
- Danish longball
- Kickball
- Kilikiti
- Lapta – two salos (bases)
- The Massachusetts Game – four bases
- Matball
- Oina
- Old cat – variable
- Over-the-line – qv
- Palant
- Pesäpallo – four bases
- Punchball
- Rounders – four bases or posts
- Scrub baseball – four bases (not a team game per se)
- Stickball – variable
- Stool ball – two stools
- Tee-ball
- Town ball – variable
- Vigoro – two wickets
- Wireball
- Wiffleball
Baton twirling
Board sports
Sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment.
Catch games
Climbing
- Abseiling
- Aid climbing
- Ice climbing
- Mixed climbing
- Mountaineering
- Rock climbing
- Other
- Canyoning (Canyoneering)
- Coasteering
- Hiking
- Rope climbing
- Pole climbing
Cycling
Sports using bicycles or unicycles.
Bicycle
- Artistic cycling
- BMX
- Cyclo-cross
- Cross-country mountain biking
- Cycle polo
- Cycle speedway
- Downhill mountain biking
- Dirt jumping
- Freestyle BMX
- Hardcourt Bike Polo
- Road bicycle racing
- Track cycling
- Underwater cycling
Skibob
Unicycle
- Mountain unicycling
- Street unicycling
- Unicycling
- Unicycle basketball
- Unicycle hockey
- Unicycle trials
Combat sports: wrestling and martial arts
A combat sport is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement.
Grappling
- Aiki-jūjutsu
- Jujutsu
- Sambo (martial art)
- Sumo
- Wrestling
Striking
- Choi Kwang-Do
- Cockfighting
- Boxing
- Bokator
- Capoeira
- Fujian White Crane
- Karate
- Kenpō
- Kickboxing
- Lethwei
- Muay Thai
- Pradal serey
- Sanshou
- Savate
- Shaolin Kung Fu
- Sikaran
- Silat
- Subak
- Taekkyeon
- Taekwondo
- Taidō
- Tang Soo Do
- Wing Chun
Mixed or hybrid
- Baguazhang
- Bando
- Bartitsu
- Bujinkan
- Hapkido
- Hwa Rang Do
- Jeet Kune Do
- Kajukenbo
- Kalaripayattu
- Krav Maga
- Kuk Sool Won
- Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
- Mixed martial arts
- Northern Praying Mantis
- Ninjutsu
- Pankration
- Pencak Silat
- Sanshou
- Shidōkan Karate
- Shōrin-ryū Shidōkan
- Shoot boxing
- Shootfighting
- Shorinji Kempo
- Systema
- T'ai chi ch'uan
- Vajra-mushti
- Vale tudo
- Vovinam
- Xing Yi Quan
- Zen Bu Kan Kempo
Weapons
- Axe throwing
- Battōjutsu
- Boffer fighting
- Eskrima
- Egyptian stick fencing
- Fencing
- Gatka
- Hojōjutsu
- Iaidō
- Iaijutsu
- Jōdō
- Jogo do pau
- Jūkendō
- Jittejutsu
- Kendo
- Kenjutsu
- Krabi–krabong
- Kung fu
- Kyūdō
- Kyūjutsu
- Modern Arnis
- Naginatajutsu
- Nguni stick-fighting
- Okinawan kobudō
- Shurikenjutsu
- Silambam
- Sōjutsu
- Sword fighting
- Wushu
- Kumdo
- Wing Chun
Skirmish
Cue sports
- Carom billiards
- Novuss (and cued forms of carrom)
- Pocket billiards (pool)
- Eight-ball
- Blackball (a.k.a. British eight-ball pool)
- Nine-ball
- Straight pool (14.1 continuous)
- One-pocket
- Three-ball
- Seven-ball
- Ten-ball
- Rotation
- Baseball pocket billiards
- Cribbage (pool)
- Bank pool
- Artistic pool
- Trick shot competition
- Speed pool
- Bowlliards
- Chicago
- Kelly pool
- Cutthroat
- Killer
- Russian pyramid
- Snooker
- Hybrid carom–pocket games
- Obstacle variations
- Table Sports
Equine sports
Sports using a horse.
- Buzkashi
- Barrel racing
- Campdrafting
- Cirit
- Charreada
- Chilean rodeo
- Cross country
- Cutting
- Dressage
- Endurance riding
- English pleasure
- Equitation
- Eventing
- Equestrian vaulting
- Gymkhana
- Harness racing
- Horse racing
- Horseball
- Hunter
- Hunter-jumpers
- Jousting
- Pato
- Reining
- Rodeo
- Show jumping
- Steeplechase
- Sur-papakh
- Team penning
- Tent pegging
- Western pleasure
Fishing
- Angling
- Big-game fishing
- Casting
- Noodling
- Spearfishing
- Sport fishing
- Surf fishing
- Rock fishing
- Fly fishing
- Ice fishing
Flying disc sports
- Beach ultimate
- Disc dog
- Disc golf
- Disc golf (urban)
- Dodge disc
- Double disc court
- Flutterguts
- Freestyle
- Freestyle competition
- Goaltimate
- Guts
- Hot box
- Ultimate
Football
- Ancient games
- Medieval football
- Association football
- Australian football
- English school games
- Eton College
- Harrow football
- Gaelic football
- Gridiron football
- Rugby football
- Hybrid codes
Golf
Gymnastics
- Acrobatic gymnastics
- Aerobic gymnastics
- Artistic gymnastics
- Juggling
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Rope jumping
- Slacklining
- Trampolining
- Trapeze
- Tumbling
Handball family
Hunting
Sometimes considered blood sports.
Ice sports
- Bandy
- Broomball
- Curling
- Ice hockey
- Ringette
- Ice yachting
- Figure skating
- Single skating (men's and ladies' singles)
- Pair skating
- Ice dancing
Kite sports
- Kite buggy
- Kite fighting
- Kite landboarding
- Kitesurfing
- Parasailing
- Snow kiting
- Sport kite (Stunt kite)
Mixed discipline
Decathlon, heptathlon, and the pentathlons consist of ten, seven, and five component contests that are scored together using one points system.
- Adventure racing
- Biathlon
- Duathlon
- Decathlon
- Heptathlon
- Icosathlon
- Modern pentathlon
- Pentathlon
- Tetrathlon
- Triathlon
Orienteering family
Pilota family
- American handball
- Australian handball
- Basque pelota
- Fives
- Frisian handball
- Four square
- Gaelic handball
- Jeu de paume
- Palla
- Patball
- Valencian pilota
Racket (or racquet) sports
Racket sports (or racquet sports) are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object.[2] Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a network of strings, but may be perforated with a pattern of holes, or be covered with a textured surface.
Sports that use a netted racket
- Badminton
- Ball badminton
- Battledore and shuttlecock
- Crossminton (previously "Speedminton")
- Frontenis
- Qianball
- Racketlon (a series of other racket and paddle sports)
- Rackets
- Racquetball
- Real tennis
- Soft tennis
- Speed-ball
- Squash
- Squash tennis
- Stické
- Tennis
- Tennis polo
- Touchtennis
- Table tennis
Sports that use a non-netted racket, or paddle
- Basque pelota
- Beach tennis
- Downside ball game
- Four wall paddleball
- Frescobol
- Frescotennis
- Jokari
- Jombola
- Matkot
- Miniten
- One wall paddleball
- Paddle ball
- POP tennis
- Padel
- Paleta Frontón
- Pan Pong
- Pelota mixteca
- Pickleball
- Pitton
- Platform tennis
- Road tennis
- Sphairee
- Stoolball
- Table squash
- Table tennis (Ping Pong)
- Tamburello
- Totem tennis
- Paddle Tennis
References
- ^ How many sports are there in the world?] (Archived July 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine). See ISBN 9780760316825.
- ^ "What is a Racquet Sports?". RacketWarriors.com. Racket Warriors. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
Remote control
Rodeo-originated
Sports that have originated from rodeos in the old Western Americas.
- Bullriding
- Miniature Bull Riding
- Barrel Racing
- Bronc Riding
- Pole bending
- Roping
- Steer Wrestling
- Goat Tying
Running
Sailing
Snow sports
Skiing
- Alpine skiing
- Freestyle skiing
- Nordic combined
- Nordic skiing
- Ski jumping
- Ski touring
- Skijoring
- Speed skiing
Sled sports
Shooting sports
Sports using a firearm.
Stacking
Stick and ball games
Hockey
- Hockey
Hurling and shinty
Lacrosse
Polo
Street sports
Tag games
- British bulldogs (American Eagle)
- Capture the flag
- Hana Ichi Monme
- Hide and seek
- Jugger
- Kabaddi
- Kho kho
- Kick the can
- Oztag
- Red rover
- Tag
Walking
Wall-and-ball
Games involving opponents hitting a ball against a wall/walls using a racket, or other piece of equipment, or merely gloved/barehanded.
- American handball
- Australian handball
- Basque pelota
- Butts Up
- Chinese handball
- Fives
- Gaelic handball
- International fronton
- Jorkyball
- Racquetball
- Squash
- Squash tennis
- Suicide (game)
- Valencian frontó
- Wallball
- Wallyball
Aquatic & paddle sports
These sports use water (a river, pool, etc.).
Canoeing
Kayaking
Rafting
Rowing
Other paddling sports
Aquatic ball sports
Surface
Underwater
Competitive swimming
- Backstroke
- Breaststroke
- Butterfly stroke
- Freestyle swimming
- Individual medley
- Synchronized swimming
- Medley relay
Kindred activities
Subsurface and recreational
- Apnoea finswimming
- Aquathlon (underwater wrestling)
- Freediving
- Immersion finswimming
- Scuba diving
- Spearfishing
- Snorkelling
- Sport diving (sport)
- Underwater hockey
- Underwater orienteering
- Underwater photography (sport)
- Underwater target shooting
Diving
Weightlifting
- Basque traditional weightlifting
- Bodybuilding
- Highland games
- Olympic weightlifting
- Powerlifting
- Strength athletics (strongman)
- Steinstossen
- CrossFit
Motorized sports
Auto racing
- Autocross (a.k.a. Slalom)
- Autograss
- Banger racing
- Board track racing
- Demolition derby
- Desert racing
- Dirt track racing
- Drag racing
- Drifting
- Folkrace
- Formula racing
- Formula Libre
- Formula Student
- Hillclimbing
- Ice racing
- Kart racing
- Land speed records
- Legends car racing
- Midget car racing
- Monster truck
- Mud bogging
- Off-road racing
- Pickup truck racing
- Production car racing
- Race of Champions
- Rally raid
- Rallycross
- Rallying
- Regularity rally
- Road racing
- Short track motor racing
- Snowmobile racing
- Sports car racing
- Sprint car racing
- Street racing
- Stock car racing
- Time attack
- Tractor pulling
- Touring car racing
- Truck racing
- Vintage racing
- Wheelstand competition
Motorboat racing
- Drag boat racing
- F1 powerboat racing
- Hydroplane racing
- Jet sprint boat racing
- Offshore powerboat racing
- Personal water craft
Motorcycle racing
- Auto Race
- Board track racing
- Cross-country rally
- Endurance racing
- Enduro
- Freestyle motocross
- Grand Prix motorcycle racing
- Grasstrack
- Hillclimbing
- Ice racing
- Ice speedway
- Indoor enduro
- Motocross
- Motorcycle drag racing
- Motorcycle speedway
- Off-roading
- Rally raid
- Road racing
- Superbike racing
- Supercross
- Supermoto
- Supersport racing
- Superside
- Track racing
- Trial
- TT racing
- Free-style moto
ATV racing
Marker sports
Fantasy sports
Sports seen in movies, literature, video games, etc.
- Quidditch
- Hunger Games (Gladiating)
- Rocket League
Other
Overlapping sports
Sports falling into two or more categories.
Mind sports
Requiring little or no physical exertion or agility, mind sports are often not considered true sports. Some mind sports are recognised by sporting federations. The following list is intended to represent anything that is likely to be referred to as a mind sport, not to argue their validity as sports.
Card games
Other
Speedcubing
Strategy board games
- Arimaa
- Backgammon
- Chess
- Chess960 (Fischer Random Chess)
- Losing chess
- Checkers
- Chinese checkers
- Diplomacy
- Dominoes
- Draughts
- Go
- Go-Moku
- Jacquet
- Mancala
- Mahjong
- Reversi
- Risk
- Scrabble
- Shogi
- Sholo Guti
- Sogo (Score four)
- Stratego
- Sudoku
- Xiangqi (Chinese chess)
Competitive model sports
Different classification
Potentially other sports are listed here.
Air sports
Athletics (track and field)
- Steeplechase
- Cross country
- Jumping
- Throwing
- Racewalking
Electronic sports
Sports played using electronic devices.
Endurance sports
Goal sports
Sports in which the method of scoring is through goals.
Skating sports
- Aggressive inline skating
- Artistic roller skating
- Figure skating
- Freestyle slalom skating
- Ice dancing
- Ice skating
- Inline speed skating
- Rinkball
- Rink hockey
- Roller derby
- Roller skating
- Short track speed skating
- Skater hockey
- Speed skating
- Synchronized skating
Snowsports
See #Skiing
Strength sports
Sports mainly based on sheer power.
- Olympic weightlifting
- Powerlifting
- Rock climbing
- Strongman
- Thumb wrestling
- Toe wrestling
- Tug-o-war
- Wood chopping
- Wood splitting
- Zourkhaneh
Table sports
- Air hockey
- Backgammon
- Beer Pong
- Connect Four
- Cue sports
- Draughts (a.k.a. checkers)
- Dominoes
- Headis
- Janggi
- Mahjong (a.k.a. Taipei)
- Reversi (a.k.a. Othello)
- Shogi
- Scrabble
- Subbuteo
- Table football
- Table hockey
- Table tennis (a.k.a. ping pong)
- Xiangqi
Target sports
Sports where the main objective is to hit a certain target.
- Archery
- Axe throwing
- Bocce
- Bocce volo
- Boccia
- Bolas criollas
- Boules
- Bowling
- Bowls a.k.a. lawn bowls
- Calva
- Cornhole
- Croquet
- Cue sports
- Darts
- Golf
- Horseshoes (horseshoe throwing)
- Jeu provençal (boule lyonnaise)
- Knife throwing
- Kubb
- Matball
- Mölkky
- Pall mall
- Pétanque
- Pitch and putt
- Ring-goal
- Shooting
- Shuffleboard
- Skittles
- Skee ball
- Tournament of Knights
- Trugo
- Woodball
Team sports
Sports that involve teams.
- Basketball family
- Bat and ball games
- Bowling
- Basque pelota
- Bunnock
- Camogie
- Football family
- Gateball
- Handball
- Hardcourt Bike Polo
- Hockey family
- Horseshoe
- Hurling
- Kickball
- Lacrosse
- Mesoamerican ballgame
- Newcomb ball
- Polo
- Paintball
- Quidditch
- Ringette
- Rowing
- Sepak takraw
- Ultimate (sport)
- Underwater football
- Woodsman
- Volleyball
Windsports
Sports which use the wind (apart from sailing):
Fictional sports
Miscellaneous sports
- Chess boxing
- Competitive eating
- Egg and spoon race
- Extreme ironing
- Ferret legging
- Footbag (hacky sack)
- Haggis hurling
- Lumberjack sports
- Marching band
- Patball
- Ring-goal
- Ringette
- Sack race
- Soap shoes
- Tennikoit
- Tetherball
- Three-legged race
- Wallball
- Wife-carrying
- Yoyoing
- RelayBall
- Object spinning