Sports & Recreation

Physical contests and recreational games have long played a part in human society. In both team and solo sports, the human body has been pushed to its limits in the name of improving athletic performance and in order to break record upon record. The ancient Olympic Games are an early example of the contests in which humans have engaged to showcase physical prowess. In modern times, sports and games have evolved into a lucrative and competitive industry, while other leisure activities, such as card and video games, can be competitive or just serve as a way to unwind or socialize.
Browse Subcategories

Featured content, December 23, 2024

Why Is the Indy 500 Held on Memorial Day Weekend?
Learn more about the history of the Indy 500.
Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies
If you’ve seen one basketball movie, you’ve seen ’em all, right? There’s a little more to it than that. You’ll see.
What’s the Difference Between Rhythmic and Artistic Gymnastics?
It’s all about the technique—and the flair.
chess
Chess, one of the oldest and most popular board games, played by two opponents on a checkered board with specially designed...
snowboarding
Snowboarding, winter sport with roots in skiing, surfing, and skateboarding where the primary activity is riding down any...
online gaming
Online gaming, electronic game playing over a computer network, particularly over the Internet. Electronic game worlds have...
tennis
Tennis, game in which two opposing players (singles) or pairs of players (doubles) use tautly strung rackets to hit a ball...

Sports & Recreation Quizzes

American Football: Fact or Fiction?
You may be familiar with touchdown dances, but are there are several ways to score points in American football? Sort fact...
Golf: Fact or Fiction?
Does the winner of a golf match have the highest score? Test your knowledge in this quiz about golf.
The Olympic Games: Fact or Fiction?
Are only women allowed to compete in the heptathlon? Is the high jump a part of the decathlon? Jump over hurdles and through...
Football (Soccer): Fact or Fiction?
How much do you know about the world’s most popular sport? From the FIFA World Cup to the proper throw-in technique, take...
Dive In: Fact or Fiction?
Did the first modern Olympics include swimming events? Are there five major swimming strokes? Dive into this swimming quiz...
The Olympics: Fact or Fiction?
Were women banned from the Olympics until 1936? Is 720 a perfect score in Olympic archery? Test your mental acumen, and see...
Lacrosse: Fact or Fiction?
How much do you know about lacrosse? From its origins to its rules, test your knowledge of this sport.
A Game of Tennis: Fact or Fiction?
You may be familiar with Serena Williams and Andre Agassi, but how much do you really know about tennis? From its gameplay...
Physical Education: Fact or Fiction?
Is the high jump a type of dance? In bicycling, does BMX stand for "backward motion, extra strong?" Sort through the facts...
Let’s Move: Fact or Fiction?
Is the length of a standard outdoor track 1 kilometer? Is there any competitive sport without rules? Sort through facts about...
Image Gallery
Sports & Recreation
Never Miss a Day in History
Sign up for daily fun facts about this day in history, updates, and special offers delivered right to your inbox.

Sports & Recreation Subcategories

Super Bowl LV champions Football
Although baseball has traditionally been seen as America’s national pastime, gridiron football has made its own indelible impact on the American sports landscape. Decades of informal, student-organized collegiate games ultimately gave rise to a thriving college football scene and to the hugely popular professional version of the game. Despite early and continued concerns about the game’s violence, gridiron football eventually became the United States’ leading spectator sport, and it has achieved a degree of international popularity through television.
Articles
Suzuki, Ichiro Baseball
Although the United States can be credited with developing several popular sports that were adopted internationally, it is baseball that Americans have traditionally recognized as the “national pastime.” Baseball’s early history was interwoven with and reflective of major social and cultural cleavages, but the sport also proved to possess great unifying power, as the experience of playing, watching, and talking about baseball became one of the nation’s great common denominators. Additionally, we have baseball to thank (or point fingers at) for the continued status of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as one of the best-known songs among Americans.
Articles
Stephen Curry Basketball
Basketball, game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s goal, an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket.
Articles
Sidney Crosby; Nicklas Lidstrom Hockey
Ice hockey, game between two teams, each usually having six players, who wear skates and compete on an ice rink. The object is to propel a vulcanized rubber disk, the puck, past a goal line and into a net guarded by a goaltender, or goalie. With its speed and its frequent physical contact, ice hockey has become one of the most popular of international sports.
Articles
Xavi Soccer
Football, also called association football or soccer, game in which two teams of 11 players, using any part of their bodies except their hands and arms, try to maneuver the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. The team that scores more goals wins.
Articles
Discovering cricket: From the “Timeless Test” to T20 Cricket
Cricket, England’s national summer sport, is played throughout the world, particularly in Australia, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, and the British Isles. The advent of Twenty20 cricket and the wild success of the Indian Premier League in the first decade of the 21st century led to a period of great innovation in the game.
Articles
Michael Phelps Olympic Sports
Olympic Games, athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in the 1980s many events were opened to professional athletes. Currently, the Games are open to all, even the top professional athletes in basketball and football (soccer).
Articles
(Top) Obverse side of a silver denarius showing caduceus and bust of Mercury wearing winged petasos; (bottom) on the reverse side, Ulysses walking with staff and being greeted by his dog Argus, in a fine narrative illustration of Homer's Odyssey. The writing on the reverse gives the name of the moneyer under whose authority the coin was struck. Coins of this type, called serrati, were produced at the mint with cut edges to combat counterfeiting. Struck in the Roman Republic, 82 bc. Diameter 19 mm. Games, Hobbies & Recreational Activities
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
subcategory placeholder Other Sports
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
Britannica Premium
Did you know you're not getting the full Britannica experience? Access unlimited content with none of the ads by becoming a Britannica Premium subscriber.