Athletics Track or field events that involve running, jumping or throwing.

Badminton A sport played using rackets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by landing the shuttlecock within the opposing side's half of the court.

Baseball A bat and ball game played between two teams on a diamond-shaped pitch. Baseball is popular in the USA, Canada, South America and East Asia.

Basketball A ball game for two teams. Basketball players try to shoot a ball through a hoop, fixed high at each end of the court.

Bowling Various sports in which players roll a ball to knock over a series of skittles, or to come as close as possible to a smaller ball.

Boxing Boxing is a sport in which two competitors fight with their fists, wearing gloves.

Canoeing Canoeing is the sport of paddling a narrow, one-person boat.

Combat sport A sport in which contestants fight one another. Boxing, wrestling and martial arts are all combat sports.

Cricket A bat and ball game for two teams. Cricket is a favourite summer game in England, South Asia, southern Africa, Australasia and the West Indies.

Cycling A sport in which cyclists race on roads, on a track or cross country.

Diving A sport in which competitors dive from a high board into a pool, performing somersaults and twists as they fall.

Equestrian sport Any sport involving horse riding. Equestrian sports include racing, show jumping, dressage and polo.

Field event A sport such as throwing the javelin, discus or shot, pole vaulting or the long or high jump. In competitions, field events take place in the centre of the running track inside a stadium.

Football A ball game, also known as association football or “soccer”, in which two teams aim to kick or head a ball into the opposite team’s goal.

Golf A game in which competitors use a set of clubs to hit a small ball into a series of holes in as few strokes as possible.

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a sport in which competitors perform routines based on strength, skill and balance either on the floor or on special apparatus.

Hockey Hockey is a game in which two teams use a stick to knock a ball into their opponent’s goal. In ice hockey, teams play on an ice rink wearing ice skates, and use a puck, a thick disc, instead of a ball.

Martial arts A group of sports that originated in East Asia as a means of self-defence or attack. Armed martial arts include kendo (fencing) and kyudo (archery). Unarmed arts, such as karate, taekwondo and judo, use the hands and feet as weapons.

Olympic Games An international multi-sport event, named after Olympia in Greece, where the Olympic Games were held in ancient times. Athletes compete to win gold, silver or bronze medals by gaining first, second or third place.

Padel A racket sport, played in an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Shots can be played off the walls in a similar way to squash.

Pelota A fast ball game that originated in Spain and is also popular in Latin America.

Racket sport Any sport in which players use a racket—a frame with cords stretched across it—to hit a ball. Racket sports include tennis, badminton and squash.

Rowing A water sport in which an individual or team competes to row a light boat as fast as possible.

Rugby A ball game using an oval ball. Rugby started in England in the 1840s.

Sailing Sailing is the sport of guiding a light, wind-powered boat, such as a yacht, for leisure or in competitive races.

Skiing A winter sport in which a person uses long, straight skis to slide quickly over the snow. In slalom skiing, skiers weave between poles on a slope in the quickest time possible.

Squash A sport played by two players in a four-walled court using rackets to hit a small, hollow rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball against the four walls of the court. The object is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.

Surfing A sport in which a person stands or lies on a long board carried by a wave. Competitive surfers perform difficult moves as they “ride” the wave.

Sumo wrestling A sport in which two wrestlers attempt to force one another out of a circular ring.

Swimming Swimming is the sport of moving through the water using the arms and legs. Different styles, called strokes, include front crawl, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.

Tennis A racket sport in which two or four players use a racket to hit a ball over a net. The modern game of tennis started in England in the 1870s.

Track event A sport such as racing that takes place on a running track. Some track events involve jumping over hurdles. In relays, members of a team each run a section of the race before passing a baton on to the next runner in their team.

Volleyball A ball game for two teams in which a ball is hit over a high net using the hands. The aim is to keep the ball from striking the ground.

Water sport Any sport played in or on water, such as swimming, diving, surfing, windsurfing, canoeing and sailing.

Winter sport A sport such as ice skating or skiing that depends on ice or snow.

Wrestling A combat sport in which opponents try to throw or hold each other on the ground.

Consultant: Sean Callery