Sports Alphabet - A-Z of Sport: Is Your Favourite Game in the List?
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How many sports are there in the world? There is no exact answer because what we perceive as sport may not be considered so elsewhere. My dictionary describes sport as, “a game or competitive activity, esp. an outdoor one involving physical exertion.” In a very lengthy definition, it goes on to say that sport is, “a game, pastime, recreation or entertainment”.
Could the world of sport actually be any broader or any more difficult to define! Over at the sports encyclopaedia website they claim to have unearthed at least 8000 different sports and games from around the globe and have included a list of about 3000 for you to peruse. It’s actually really fascinating!
What follows is an A-Z list of my particular favourite sports, which I either know really well or have only just heard about. Feel free to comment or suggest which different ones you would have in your own alphabetic list.
Athletics – I know that there are many events and disciplines within athletics but this is arguably what most people think about when considering the Olympic Games, the running, the jumping and the throwing. Who are the fastest, the strongest, and the best?
Basketball – I am not American, so I don’t really know the NBA or the college basketball scene very well, but of all the great US sports, this is perhaps my favourite. The fast pace, the slam dunks, end to end action and of course Michael Jordan, surely one of the greatest athletes of all time!
Cricket – I grew up watching test match cricket and when the summer rolled around I could hardly wait for 11am and the start of play in a big England v Australia Ashes game but watching the giant West Indies bowlers was always amazing too! Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Malcolm Marshall...fantastic!
Darts – There are many that don’t actually consider darts to be a sport but there is great skill and precision involved, not to mention a sharp use of mental arithmetic! Greatest “dartist” ever...Phil “The Power” Taylor!
Equestrian – Can’t think of too many “E” sports. Any suggestions?
Football – Depending on your geographical location, football could be an entirely different sport. There is American football which Americans call “football”, there is Australian Rules Football, which the Australians call “football” and there is English football, which most Europeans call “football” but much of the rest of the world call “soccer”. Take your pick!
Golf- I am not much of a golfer myself, but in the right frame of mind, I can certainly pass a few hours watching it on TV, especially if it’s the Masters from Augusta...what a tournament that is! “Get in the hole!”
Hockey – I am sure there are other “H” sports but this is the one that springs to mind and I usually associate it with the Olympics and Sean Kerly! Showing my age perhaps!
Ice/Indoor Sports – Ice Skating, Indoor bowls, there are probably hundreds of sports you could add to the “I” list.
Judo – This could probably be listed under Martial arts too, but there are not many “roll off the tongue” “J” sports, although apparently in some countries “jump over fire” is regarded as a sport. Not one to try at home folks!
Kayaking – Almost half way through the alphabet and we encounter our first water based sport.
Lacrosse – Not the most televised sport in the world but this is the National summer sport in Canada so it certainly deserves its place here.
Motor/Mountain Sports – A multitude of “M” sports that could also include Modern Pentathlon or even marbles!
Netball – Probably the most obvious choice, although how about Nordic Skiing?
Orienteering – Definitely a sport and probably a very useful one, especially if you get lost! “O” sports are at a real premium but apparently “One Old Cat” is a form of baseball with only one base and the home plate. Sounds a bit cricket(y) to me!
Polo – Without being prefixed by water, Polo is the horseback team sport often favoured by Royal families. Did you know that the race walking that we see in the modern Olympics derived from an old sport called Pedestrianism?
Quad Bike Racing – Probably also filed under extreme or even motor sports, quad bike racing at least allows me to have a “Q” sport in the list that people will have heard of.
Rugby Union – No shortage of “R” sports, including rodeo, but once you have witnessed a match at the Millennium Stadium or old Cardiff Arms Park in Wales then “R” will always be about rugby.
Swimming - We just had to get some more water in somewhere!
Tennis – Is surely the ace of “T” sports? I am lucky to have witnessed in my lifetime the Agassi – Sampras rivalry and more recently the Federer – Nadal rivalry, tennis at its best.
Unicycle Hockey – Most similar lists don’t have any “U” sports but I was determined not to leave it blank. Not sure Unicycle hockey will ever attain Olympic status but check it out and you cannot deny the skill involved, especially in defence – all that reverse cycling!
Volleyball – The standard arena kind or the increasingly popular beach volleyball.
Windsurfing – It was a close call between this and Wrestling for the “W” sport of choice but windsurfing won.
Xingyiquan – A Chinese martial art and really there is nothing else with an x.
Yachting - We are nearly at the end of our quest and the water based sports have been well represented eventually.
Zorbing – I have been looking forward to zorbing since athletics way back up there. Never tried it, but hurtling down a hill inside a giant inflatable bubble thing looks very cool indeed!
Article by +Julian Price
Article submitted Tuesday, June 07, 2011 & read 2698 times.
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