Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net.

Although it may be
played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and
"doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a
beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with
the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the court.
Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has
struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing
side.[1]
The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls
used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to
decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports.
The flight of the shuttlecock gives the sport its distinctive nature.
The game developed in British India from the earlier game of battledore and shuttlecock. European play came
to be dominated by Denmark but the game has become very popular in Asia, with recent competitions
dominated by China. Since 1992, badminton has been a Summer Olympic sport with four events: men's singles,
women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles,[2] with mixed doubles added four years later. At high
levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed, and
precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated
racquet movements
 Bowling is a sport or leisure activity in which a player rolls or throws a bowling ball towards a
target. It is one of the major forms of throwing sports. In pin bowling variations, the target is usually to
knock over pins at the end of a lane. A strike is when all the pins are knocked down on the first roll,
whereas a spare is when all the pins are knocked over on the second shot. The maximum score is 300,
which is achieved by getting 12 strikes in a row. Three consecutive strikes is known as a "turkey".
Further strings of strikes are referred to as the number with the word "bagger", such as "four-bagger"
for four consecutive strikes. The term "hambone" has also been used to describe four consecutive
strikes.[1] In target variations, the aim is usually to get the ball as close to a mark as possible. The pin
version of bowling is often played on a flat wooden or other synthetic surface (which can be oiled in
different patterns for different techniques),[2] while in target bowling, the surface may be grass, gravel
or a synthetic surface.[3] The most common types of pin bowling include ten-pin, nine-pin, candlepin,
duckpin and five-pin bowling, while in target bowling, bowls, skittles, kegel, bocce, carpet bowls,
pétanque, and boules, both indoor and outdoor varieties are popular. Today the sport of bowling is
played by 100 million people in more than 90 countries worldwide (including 70 million in the United
States),[4] and continues to grow through entertainment media such as video games for home consoles
and handheld devices.
Boxing is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves, throw punches at
each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.

Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a common fixture in most
international games—it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is overseen by a referee over a
series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds. The result is decided when an opponent is
deemed incapable to continue by a referee, is disqualified for breaking a rule, resigns by throwing in a
towel, or is pronounced the winner or loser based on the judges' scorecards at the end of the contest. In
the event that both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, the fight is considered a draw-what in
other sports would be referred to as a tie-(professional boxing). In Olympic boxing, because a winner
must be declared, in the case of a draw - the judges use technical criteria to choose the most deserving
winner of the bout.

While humans have fought in hand-to-hand combat since the dawn of human history, the earliest
evidence of fist-fighting sporting contests date back to the ancient Middle East in the 3rd and 2nd
millennia BCE.[2] The earliest evidence of boxing rules date back to Ancient Greece, where boxing
was established as an Olympic game in 688 BC.[2] Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century,
largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century with the 1867
introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or
sport.[1] People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists",[2] "bikers",[3] or less commonly, as
"bicyclists".[4] Apart from two-wheeled bicycles, "cycling" also includes the riding of unicycles,
tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles (HPVs).

Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number approximately one billion worldwide.[5]
They are the principal means of transportation in many parts of the world.

Cycling is widely regarded as a very effective and efficient mode of transportation[6][7] optimal for
short to moderate distances.

Bicycles provide numerous benefits in comparison with motor vehicles, including the sustained
physical exercise involved in cycling, easier parking, increased maneuverability, and access to roads,
bike paths and rural trails. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fossil fuels, less air or noise
pollution, and much reduced traffic congestion. These lead to less financial cost to the user as well as to
society at large (negligible damage to roads, less road area required).[8] By fitting bicycle racks on the
front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve.[9]Among the
disadvantages of cycling are the requirement of bicycles (excepting tricycles or quadracycles) to be
balanced by the rider in order to remain upright, the reduced protection in crashes in comparison to
motor vehicles,[10] often longer travel time (except in densely populated areas), vulnerability to
weather conditions, difficulty in transporting passengers, and the fact that a basic level of fitness is
required for cycling moderate to long distances.
 Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, duos, or groups perform on figure skates on ice.
It was the first winter sport included in the Olympics, in 1908.[1] The four Olympic disciplines are
men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Non-Olympic disciplines include
synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From novice through senior-level competition,
skaters generally perform two programs (short and long) which, depending on the discipline, may
include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.

The blade has a groove on the bottom creating two distinct edges: inside and outside. Judges prefer that
skaters glide on one edge of the blade and not on both at the same time, which is referred to as a flat
edge. During a spin, skaters use the "sweet spot" of the blade, formally called a rocker, which is the
roundest portion of the blade, just behind the pick and near the middle of the blade. Skates used in
single and pair skating have a set of large, jagged teeth called toe picks on the front of the blade. Toe
picks are mainly used for the take-off on jumps. Ice dance blades are an inch shorter in the rear and
have smaller toe picks.

Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior) at local,
regional, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates
international figure skating judging and competitions. These include the Winter Olympics, the World
Championships, the World Junior Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents
Championships, the Grand Prix series (senior and junior), and the ISU Challenger Series.

The sport is also associated with show business. Major competitions generally conclude with exhibition
galas, in which the top skaters from each discipline perform non-competitive programs. Many skaters,
both during and after their competitive careers, also skate in ice shows which run during the
competitive season and the off-season.
 Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on
a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not utilize a standardized playing area, and coping with the
varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. The game at the usual level is played
on a course with an arranged progression of 18 holes, though recreational courses can be smaller, often having 9
holes. Each hole on the course must contain a tee box to start from, and a putting green containing the actual
hole or cup (4.25 inches in diameter). There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway,
rough (long grass), bunkers (or "sand traps"), and various hazards (water, rocks) but each hole on a course is
unique in its specific layout and arrangement.
Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on
the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. Stroke play is the
most commonly seen format at all levels, but most especially at the elite level.
The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland. The 18-hole round was created at the Old
Course at St Andrews in 1764. Golf's first major, and the world's oldest tournament in existence, is The Open
Championship, also known as the British Open, which was first played in 1860 in Ayrshire, Scotland. This is
one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, the other three being played in the United
States: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship.
Skiing can be a means of transport, a recreational activity or a competitive winter sport in
which the participant uses skis to glide on snow. Many types of competitive skiing events
are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski
Federation (FIS)

Skiing has a history of almost five millennia.[1] Although modern skiing has evolved from
beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in
what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings.[2][3]
The word "ski" is one of a handful of words Norway has exported to the international
community. It comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means "split piece of wood
or firewood".[4][5]
Asymmetrical skis were used at least in northern Finland and Sweden until the late 19th
century. On one leg the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding and on the
other a shorter ski for kicking. The bottom of the short ski was either plain or covered
with animal skin to aid this use, while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was
treated with animal fat in a similar manner to modern ski waxing.
Early skiers used one long pole or spear. The first depiction of a skier with two ski
poles dates to 1741.[6]
Until the mid-19th-century skiing was primarily used for transport, and since then has
become a recreation and sport.[7] Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th
century,[8] and ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century.[9] As equipment evolved
and ski lifts were developed skiing evolved into two main genres during the late 19th and
early 20th century, Alpine and Nordic.
Snowboarding is a recreational activity and Olympic and Paralympic sport that involves
descending a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet.
The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing.
It was developed in the United States in the 1960s, became a Winter Olympic
Sport at Nagano in 1998[1] and first featured in the Winter Paralympics at Sochi in 2014.[2] Its
popularity (as measured by equipment sales) in the United States peaked in 2007 and has been
in a decline since.[3]
Modern snowboarding began in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a
toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some
control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by
his wife Nancy, the toy proved so popular among his daughters' friends that Poppen licensed the idea to a
manufacturer, Brunswick Corporation, that sold about a million snurfers over the next decade. And, in 1966
alone over half a million snurfers were sold.[4]
In February 1968, Poppen organized the first snurfing competition at a Michigan ski resort that attracted
enthusiasts from all over the country.[5] One of those early pioneers was Tom Sims, a devotee
of skateboarding (a sport born in the 1950s when kids attached roller skate wheels to small boards that they
steered by shifting their weight). As an eighth grader in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in the 1960s, Sims crafted a
snowboard in his school shop class by gluing carpet to the top of a piece of wood and attaching aluminum
sheeting to the bottom. [6] He produced commercial snowboards in the mid-70s.[citation needed] Articles about his
invention in such mainstream magazines as Newsweek helped publicize the young sport.[citation needed]
Surfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a surfer, rides on the
forward or deep face of a moving wave, which is usually carrying the surfer towards the shore.
Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or
rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal bore. However, surfers can also utilize artificial
waves such as those from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools.

Synchronised surfing, Manly Beach, New South Wales, 1938–46

The term surfing refers to the act of riding a wave, regardless of whether the wave is ridden with
a board or without a board, and regardless of the stance used. The native peoples of the Pacific,
for instance, surfed waves on alaia, paipo, and other such craft, and did so on their belly and
knees. The modern-day definition of surfing, however, most often refers to a surfer riding a
wave standing up on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up surfing.

Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, when a surfer rides a wave on a
bodyboard, either lying on their belly, drop knee, or sometimes even standing up on a body
board. Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats), and
using foils. Body surfing, where the wave is surfed without a board, using the surfer's own body
to catch and ride the wave, is very common and is considered by some to be the purest form of
surfing.
Swimming is an individual or team sport that requires the use of one's arms and legs to move the body through
water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the
most popular Olympic sports,[1] with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle,
and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle
or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke. The order for
a medley relay is: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. Swimming each stroke requires a set of
specific techniques, and in competition, there are distinct regulations concerning the acceptable form for each
individual stroke.[2] There are also regulations on what types of swimsuits, caps, jewelry and injury tape that are
allowed at competitions.[3] Although it is possible for competitive swimmers to incur several injuries from the
sport, such as tendinitis in the shoulders or knees, there are also multiple health benefits associated with the
sport.