Sport is often governed by some kind of codes or rituals, that help to ensure fair play, and enable consistent adjudication of the result. In popular sports, such as football, sometimes records of past performance are kept, and this information can be openly reported or announced by the relevant association to the public. Similarly, in wrestling there are certain rules that are followed, in that positions are either locked out or engaged with the help of a point of entry pin. In other sports like hockey, lacrosse and baseball, goals are scored after a period of play, with the winning team completing the goal.
Sports are divided into two major categories, sportive and recreational. Sportive sports involve physical contact with an opponent, such as playing sports such as football, rugby and soccer. This contact is undertaken with the full awareness of what is happening around and is competitive. Repetitive contact sports involve a type of skill, where the competing player is trying to complete a certain task, without relying on unnatural abilities. For example, in hockey, a skilled player tries to stop the ball, with the use of his/her ‘body knowledge’.
Sports that involve physical dexterity or agility, such as ice climbing, skiing, basketball and table tennis are considered recreational sports. These sports involve a combination of both skill and physical activity but are considered non-competitive. A notable example of a competitive sport is swimming, with competitors from all over the world meeting at the Olympic Games, as well as the qualification process for each individual games.
The third type of popular sport is the team sport. There are many popular examples of team sport, including American football, American basketball and ice hockey. Football is perhaps the most popular of these games, having been adapted from the game of Roman football. Hockey is another of the most popular sports, with hockey being one of the most popular international sports. Ice hockey involves using an ice hockey stick, and American football is predominantly played between two teams.
One of the last examples of team sport involving two teams is endurance. Endurance competitions have been used for hundreds of years, with some of the examples being the marathon, triathlon and endurance events seen around the world. These include, swimming, cycling, running and, in some cases, horse riding. Cycling, in particular, has gained a reputation as being one of the most efficient ways of exercising, due to the high intensity and the short amount of time dedicated to exercising. There are some other forms of exercise, such as swimming and judo, which have also become increasingly popular as a method of resistance training.
One of the last examples of a popular individual sport is the game of cricket. Cricket is played by teams of players who throw a ball back and forth between themselves. Cricket differs slightly from other sports in that it does not use any kind of ball or bat. The only equipment required is that players wear cricket shoes, for the reason that cricket involves using the feet a lot more often than any other kind of game. Cricket can be played by players of any age, but it is played predominantly by younger people.