There are many types of sports according to various classifications. The most common is to group sports according to their similarity, either because they have in common the environment in which they are practiced, the number of participants, because they require the use of particular equipment, or because they are practiced at a specific time of year. .
For example, water sports include all activities that can be carried out in the water, group sports include all disciplines that require more than one participant, motor sports include motorized vehicles used on land. , sea or air etc.
For this reason, it often happens that the same discipline belongs to several categories. For example, him surf It is an individual, aquatic, extreme and sliding sport at the same time.
Next we are going to know some types of sports and their most representative examples.
Types of sport Characteristics Example Aquatics
They are practiced in the water, either in open or closed spaces.
aerial swimming
They are practiced in the air and include the use of light aircraft, vehicles without a fuselage or special equipment.
Paragliding Land Any sport that is not practiced in water or air. Individual Mountaineering They only require one participant for their execution. team athletics
They require more than one person to execute and are evaluated by teams.
football with ball
They require the mandatory use of a ball and can be individual or team.
Table Tennis / Mental
They are played on a board or table and require strategic skills.
Engine Chess
You need a motorized vehicle that can be land, air or water.
Motorcycling With racket or similar They require the use of a racket, bat, mallet or similar accessory to propel a ball.
Lacrosse
Athletics They measure the physical capacity of the participants in terms of strength, speed or distance. Long jump Combined tests They combine several athletics tests in the same competition. Gymnastics Triathlon
Sequences are executed with or without the help of elements.
Rhythmic gymnastics Extreme / controlled risk They imply a potential risk to the physical integrity of the competitor. Base jump Combat Participants make physical contact with some parts of their body and there may be blows. Grappling Boxing Participants make physical contact but combat is not allowed, only knockdown. Greco-Roman wrestling Precision They are based on aiming at a target in a certain number of attempts. Archery Sliding They are executed sliding on a surface with or without the help of elements.
skateboarding
Of force They require the demonstration of physical force during a certain number of attempts. Weightlifting Winter All sports activities that require snow, ice or cold weather for their execution.
snowboarding
Cycling Any sport that needs a bicycle for its execution. Mountain Road Cycling These are the disciplines that are carried out in mountainous terrain. Climbing.
1. Water sports
They are all the activities or practices that are carried out in the water, either in closed spaces, such as a gym pool, or in open spaces such as lagoons and beaches. They can be practiced individually or in teams.
Examples of water sports are swimming, surfdiving or sport fishing.
2. Air or aeronautical sports
They are sports activities that take place in the air. Depending on the discipline, they may require the use of enclosed aircraft such as small planes, vehicles without a fuselage such as ultralights, or special equipment such as parachutes.
Examples of air sports They are model airplanes, paragliding, skydiving and aerobatics.
3. Land sports
They are all the practices that are executed on dry land. This means that it includes all sports that are not water or air, so it is a very broad category.
Examples of land sports They would be mountaineering, cycling, marathons, motor racing, athletics, etc.
4. Individual sports
They are those that can be done without the need for accompaniment. This means that a team is not required to train, play or compete. In this case, performance is evaluated on an individual basis.
Examples of individual sports are athletics, weightlifting, surfclimbing, gymnastics, individual rowing, etc.
5. Team sports
They are all sports activities that require more than one person to practice them. This implies from sports in pairs to collective competitions. In this type of sports, performance is evaluated as a group, regardless of the individual performance of team members.
Examples of team sports They are baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, team rowing, etc.
See also Difference Between Group and Team
6. Ball sports
They are all the practices that require a ball in a mandatory way since without this element, the game could not be carried out. In general, the sporting dynamic itself involves the participation of various players organized into teams.
Examples of ball sports They are football, billiards, handball, bowling, tennis, volleyball, etc.
7. Board sports
Also called board games, they are all sports activities that involve the use of a board or a flat surface. Although they do not involve physical activity, they do require mental agility, which is why they are also called mental sports. They may involve the use of strategies or depend on chance.
Examples of board sports are chess, scrabblecard games, role-playing, Monopoly, etc.
See also Types of intelligence
8. Motor sports
They are all disciplines that require the use of motorized vehicles, whether on land, water (motorboats) or air (aeronautics). They usually involve speed competitions.
Examples of motor sports They are motor racing, motorcycling, boat racing (motorboating) and aeronautical stunts.
9. Racket sports or similar
This category includes all sports activities that require the use of an accessory to propel a ball, such as a racket, a bat, a stick, etc. They generally combine speed and agility and can be played individually or by teams.
Examples of racket sports are tennis, baseball, golf, cricket or the lacrosse.
10. Athletics
Athletics groups several disciplines in which the physical capacity of the participants is measured through tests of speed, resistance, height or distance. The first reference exists of this sport dates from the year 776 a. C in Greece, making it the oldest organized sport in existence.
Examples of Athletics Trials They are sprints, the triple jump and the javelin throw.
11. Combined events sports
These are activities that combine various disciplines of athletics in the same practice. They are carried out individually, usually last several days and can be carried out indoors or outdoors.
An example of combined tests is the indoor heptathlon, which combines a 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1000-meter dash.
12. Gymnastics
Gymnastics groups several modalities that require the execution of sequences with or without the help of elements. Participation can be individual or by teams and the variety, quantity and technique of the movements performed are evaluated.
Some examples are artistic, rhythmic, acrobatic and trampoline gymnastics.
13. Extreme sports
They are all sports practices that imply an obvious risk for the competitor. They are also known as controlled risk sports or adventure sports. They can be performed on land, water, or in the air and require physical and emotional skills to manage the hazards associated with the activity.
Examples of extreme sports are rock climbing, base jumping, kitesurfinghe bmxrappelling, etc.
14. Combat Sports
They are all disciplines that involve physical contact between two competitors, based on certain rules that allow the use of certain parts of the body. They usually have a limited duration and require a referee to ensure compliance with the rules and the physical integrity of the opponents.
Examples of combat sports are the muay thaiboxing and kick boxing.
15. Sports grip
They are disciplines that involve physical contact between two opponents but do not require blows, but seek the physical surrender of the other through knockdown techniques. In this type of sports, the submission of the rival is considered an honorable practice and implies the immediate victory of the other opponent.
Examples of gripping sports They are Olympic wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and Judo.
16. Precision sports
They are all sports that require aiming at a target with the greatest accuracy in the fewest possible attempts. For this reason they are also known as aiming games, and require great hand-eye coordination to achieve greater skill.
Examples of precision sports are golf, archery, bowlinghe paintball or billiards.
17. Sliding sports
As its name indicates, they are all disciplines that involve sliding on a surface and may require the help of other elements. They can be executed individually or collectively.
Examples of sliding sports are ice skating, ice hockey, roller skating, surfhe longboardinghe windsurfing and the skateboardingamong others.
18. Strength sports
They are called that because the objective is for the participants to demonstrate their physical strength. The competitions of these disciplines usually have several tests or attempts and are limited by time, by the weight to be lifted or by the speed with which the force is demonstrated.
Examples of strength sports are weightlifting, strength athletics, powerlifting or shot put.
19. Winter sports
It refers to all sports activities that are practiced during that season of the year due to the fact that snow, ice or specific weather conditions are required to be carried out. This type of sports has its own Olympic Games, which have been held every four years since 1924.
Examples of winter sports are skiing, ice climbing, snowboarding, sledding, etc.
20. Cycling
Cycling includes all the activities that require the use of a bicycle to get around, either indoors or outdoors (asphalt or mountain). In general, the objective is to cover a certain distance in the shortest possible time, with the exception of certain disciplines such as BMX, in which the variety and precision of stunts are evaluated.
Examples of bicycle sports are the…