SPORTS

What is a sport?

There are many different sports disciplines around the world, some more known than others. However, to learn about these it could be a good idea to first answer the main question “What is a sport?” A sport is an activity that is competitive and athletic, and which requires some particular set of skills or physical abilities to be carried out.

There are several types of sports, usually divided by four main categories according to the types of skills required: physical sports (swimming, gymnastics), motorised sports (these often involve vehicles like cars or motorbikes), mind sports (like chess, which needs a lot of attention and critical thinking skills), and sports with animals (horseback riding, for example). Some of these activities can be individual, and others may be performed on couples or even teams.

Why are sports important? Sports are deeply ingrained in the different cultures found around the world. Learning about sports helps the little ones get to know more about their surroundings, breaking down language and cultural barriers as they get to know new vocabulary and expressions as they practice their favorite disciplines. Moreover, practicing a sport is the perfect way for children to learn about sportsmanship, and also to grasp the importance that teamwork has in a person’s life. Additionally, children that grow up practicing a sport develop great physical skills, are more inclined to make new friends have improved self-esteem and lower levels of stress, which in turn is quite beneficial for their mental health. So, sports are not only great for the body, but also for the children’s mind.

Sports classification

Adventure Sports

Kayaking, bobsleigh, canoeing, cross-country skiing, rafting skeleton, skibobbing, surfing...

Aquatic Sports

Snorkeling, swimming, bodyboarding, diving, freediving, paddleboarding, rowing, scuba diving synchronized swimming

Strength and Agility Sports 

Aerobics, aikido, archery, artistic gymnastics, baton, twirling, bodybuilding, boxing, cross-country equestrianism, cross-country running, cycling, discus throw equestrianism fencing figure, skating, horse racing, judo, karate kendo, kickboxing, kung fu, long jump, marathon mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, pole vault powerlifting, racewalking, rhythmic gymnastics sprint, sumo, sword-fighting, trail, running, trampolining, tumbling, ultimate, walking weightlifting, wrestling

Ball Sports

Baseball, basketball, Tennis, badminton, bowling, cricket, curling, dodgeball, football, golf, handball, hockey, horseball, hurling, ice hockey, kickball, lacrosse, paddle, polo, racquetball, rinkball, rounders, rugby, soccer, softball, squash, table tennis, unicycling, volleyball, water polo

Extreme Sports Extreme 

BASE jumping, abseiling, bouldering, gliding, kiteboarding, kitesurfing, parachuting paragliding, parasailing, skateboarding, skydiving, skysurfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, windsurfing

Mountain Sports

Climbing, cross-country, cycling, hiking, mountaineering,

Motorised Sports 

Drifting formula racing kart, racing rallycross

Mind Sports

Chess

There is also another type of activities that aren’t considered sports. These, despite requiring a physical effort to be performed, aren’t regulated and organized, unlike sports. Moreover, some sports activities like the decathlon, also aren’t sports, but instead, they are formed by various events and challenges of different sports. Let’s check out the most common ones.

Sport activities 

Airsoft, aquathlon, ballooning, barrel, racing, biathlon, capoeira, cheerleading, CrossFit dancing, darts, decathlon, foosball, gymkhana, heptathlon, jogging, laser tag, paintball, parkour, petanque, pool, triathlon...

With sports  How to use play, do and go?. In this language, there are three different verbs in English that can be used to talk about sports. 

Play

When talking about team sports, ‘play’ is the verb to use. Usually, the sports that go with ‘play’ are those that need a ball or some other similar equipment to be played. For example: “Let’s play football!” or “Do you want to play volleyball tomorrow?” Some of the most common sports that go with play are tennis, football, golf, cricket, basketball, volleyball, chess.

Do

This verb is used when talking about a sport that’s done individually instead of in a team. Some examples of these sports are aerobics or martial arts. “I do martial arts on Sundays.” The most common sports in this group are karate, athletics, archery, gymnastics.

Go

This is the correct option to refer to a sport that ends in -ing, like swimming or skating. For example, “Marcia and Alex are going swimming on Saturday.”, or “The girls go skiing in the winter.” Among the most common sports in this category are cycling, swimming, dancing, snowboarding, running, fencing.