Sports

Figure skating is a winter sport in which skaters perform jumps, spins, footwork and lifts on ice, and are scored by a panel for technical difficulty and overall performance. It is contested in four main disciplines: men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs and ice dance. The International Skating Union was established on 23 July 1892 and

Formula One is the highest class of international single-seat motor racing, run as the FIA Formula One World Championship. Drivers and teams compete in a season of races called Grands Prix at circuits around the world, and points decide both a drivers’ title and a constructors’ title. The first world championship season was held in

Golf is a sport in which players use clubs to strike a ball from a teeing area into a hole, over a round of 18 holes, in as few strokes as possible. It originated in Scotland, and its Rules are made and interpreted jointly by The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA). The

Gymnastics is a sport in which athletes perform routines of strength, balance and control on apparatus or on the floor, judged on difficulty and execution. It has been contested at every modern Olympic Games, and its world governing body, which was long called the International Gymnastics Federation, announced a rebrand as World Gymnastics in December

Handball, also called team handball, is a team sport in which two teams of seven players pass a ball and try to throw it into the opponent’s goal. A match has two halves of 30 minutes, and the team with more goals wins. The International Handball Federation (IHF) governs the sport, which has been in

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice in which two teams of six, including a goaltender, use sticks to shoot a puck into the opponent’s goal. A game has three 20-minute periods. The sport developed in Canada, is now played worldwide, and is governed internationally by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which

Judo is a Japanese combat sport and martial art in which competitors try to throw an opponent onto the back, pin them, or force a submission with a choke or joint lock. It was created by Jigoro Kano, it became an Olympic sport at Tokyo in 1964, and it is governed worldwide by the International

Kabaddi is a contact team sport from the Indian subcontinent in which a single raider enters the opposing half, tags defenders and tries to return home without being tackled. Two teams of seven players take the mat, and the raider must keep chanting the word “kabaddi” in a single breath throughout the raid. The sport

Karate is a martial art and combat sport, developed on the island of Okinawa, in which practitioners strike with the hands and feet. Competitive karate has two main events, kumite, which is sparring, and kata, which is a performance of prescribed movements, and it is governed worldwide by the World Karate Federation. History of karate