Sports is all forms of usually competitive physical activity which,[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing entertainment to participants, and in some cases, spectators.[2] Hundreds of sports exist, from those requiring only two participants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals.
Sport is generally recognised as activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition,[3] and other organisations such as theCouncil of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports.[2] However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports,[4][5] although limits the amount of mind games which can be admitted as sports.[1]
Sports are usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. 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.
In organised sport, records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported insport news. In addition, sport is a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting.
SOCCER
The object of the game of soccer, also known in some countries as football, is to drive a soccer ball into the opposing team's goal in order to score a point. The team that scores the most points by the end of a soccer match wins; if there is a tie score either the game goes into extra time or the official declares a draw. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association reports that 265 million people world-wide play this popular sport.
Soccer is played outdoors on a rectangular field of grass or turf, with a goal located in the middle of both short ends of the field. Indoor soccer is similar, though the court is smaller. There are 11 members on each team, playing either forward, midfield, defense or goalie.
Players -- with the exception of the goalie -- work to move the ball down the field to the opponent's goal by passing, dribbling and shooting. The goalie's job is to keep the opposition's ball from entering the goal. Only goalies are allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms during general play. Therefore, most ball handling is accomplished by players using their feet to kick the ball. Players may also use other parts of their body, including their torso and head, to pass or intercept a pass.
BASKETBALL
Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.048 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end. Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports.[1]
A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, after the other team was assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) is issued when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while walking or running or throwing it to a teammate. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.
As well as many techniques for shooting, passing, dribbling and rebounding, basketball teams generally have player positions and offensive and defensive structures (player positioning). Traditionally, the tallest and strongest members of a team are called acenter or power forward, while slightly shorter and more agile players are called small forward, and the shortest players or those who possess the best ball handling skills are called a point guard or shooting guard.
