Sport is usually defined as an interactive physical activity which involves a level of physical activity, like ballroom dancing or tennis. Many types of competitive sports and some recreational sports are known as sports. An athlete in a particular sport is also known as a sportsman. Some common sports are weightlifting, field sports, skating, swimming and surfing.
Some sports are considered to be universal sports, which means they are played by people of all ages, physical abilities and strengths. Examples of universal sports are swimming, basketball, tennis, American football, basketball, tennis, badminton, hockey, rugby and track and field. Sports which are predominantly played by men are racquetball, rugby, ice hockey, Australian football, badminton, baseball, softball, tennis, basketball and golf. Some other sports activities which are predominantly played by women are ice dancing, beach volleyball, synchronized swimming and beach soccer.
The objective of participating in sports is to have fun and have physical fitness. It is common for young people to begin to participate in sports because they feel they have no other opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of how to participate in physical education. Participation in sports helps build self-esteem, self-control, and sportsmanship. As children get older sports help them deal with peer pressure and responsibility.
There are two types of organized sports: contact sports. Association football is a well-known contact sport. The rules of association football limit the number of players allowed to participate on each team and establish the location of the playing field. Children must be properly supervised when playing association football.
Informal sports are less structured than those described above. They often include games like Dodge ball, basketball, softball, flag football, basketball and field hockey. An informal sport might involve children running around the playground or school yard. Parents and teachers are generally not involved in this type of physical activity.
These are the main article categories of sports: physical activity, spectator sports, and mixed sports. Each of these categories has many subcategories. Each subcategory has many variations of both its own rules and its equipment. It is important for parents and teachers to become knowledgeable about all of the variations in each category so they can recognize the differences between various games. For example, although basketball and flag football are frequently grouped together as basketball and flag football, their rules and equipment are very different.