**Definition and Classification of Sports:**
– Etymology: Originating from Old French, sport refers to leisure activities for amusement or entertainment.
– Nomenclature: While sport is singular in most English dialects, American English uses sports for both singular and plural forms.
– Criteria: Sports are defined by elements like competition, harmlessness, equipment, and luck, as per the Global Association of International Sports Federations.
– Categories: Sports can be physical, mind-based, motorized, coordination-focused, or animal-supported.
– Expansion: The definition of sport has broadened to include non-physical challenges like esports.
– Council of Europe: Defines sport as physical activities aiming at physical fitness and mental well-being.
**Competition in Sports:**
– Necessity: Competition is a key element in professional sports for recognition by governing bodies.
– Recognition: Governing bodies require competition for sports to be officially recognized.
– Inclusion: Advocacy exists for expanding the definition of sport to encompass all physical activities.
– Grading: Participants in sports are classified based on their performance.
– Judging: Sports results can be objective or subjective, depending on the nature of the sport.
**Historical Evolution and Significance of Sports:**
– Evolution: Sports have a rich history, evolving over centuries with various activities being recognized as sports.
– Influence: Ancient civilizations like the Romans contributed to the development of sports activities.
– Traditions: Running races and team sports have deep-rooted traditions in the history of sports.
– Modernization: Sports have adapted with new rules and technologies over time.
– Global Impact: Sports are now a significant part of global culture and entertainment.
**Fair Play and Ethical Considerations in Sports:**
– Sportsmanship: Emphasizes fair play, courtesy, ethical conduct, and grace in victory or defeat.
– Cheating: Violates the principles of fair play and can include actions like match-fixing and doping.
– Doping Control: Prohibits drug use in sports, with testing programs in place to detect banned substances.
– Violence: Aggressive behavior in sports that crosses the line of fair competition can lead to issues like rioting or hooliganism.
**Participation and Social Impact of Sports:**
– Gender Participation: Female participation in sports is increasing, with some sports being mixed-gender.
– Youth Participation: Youth sports offer opportunities for fun, socialization, physical fitness, and scholarships, though they also come with risks like injuries.
– Spectator Involvement: Sports attract spectators through live attendance or broadcast media, with major events like the football World Cup drawing global audiences.
– Disability Inclusion: Disabled sports cater to individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities, providing adaptive opportunities for participation.
– Economic Impact: Sports have a significant economic impact globally, with major events attracting millions of viewers and contributing to the entertainment industry.
Sport is a form of physical activity or game. Often competitive and organized, sports use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills. They also provide enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Many sports exist, with different participant numbers, some are done by a single person with others being done by hundreds. Most sports take place either in teams or competing as individuals. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament format, producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.
Sport is generally recognised as system of activities based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with major competitions admitting only sports meeting this definition. Some organisations, such as the Council of Europe, preclude activities without any physical element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee who oversee the Olympic Games recognises both chess and bridge as sports. SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts, Go and xiangqi. However, they limit the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports. Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression.
Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport.
According to A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013. The world's most accessible and practised sport is running, while association football is the most popular spectator sport.