The following is a list of sports/games, divided by category. According to the World Sports Encyclopaedia (2003), there are 8,000 indigenous sports and sporting games.

Acrobatic arts

Air sports

Athletics

Jumping

Throwing

Running

Combined

Ball games

Bat-and-ball games (safe haven sports)

Dodgeball family

Golf

• Beach golf • Clock golf • Codeball • Dart golf • Disc golf • Footgolf • GolfCross • Hickory golf • Indoor golf • Long drive • Match play • Miniature golf • Park golf • Pitch and putt • Sholf • Shotgun start • Skins game • Snow golf • Speed golf • Stroke play • Swingolf • Topgolf • Urban golf

Invasion games

Sports in which the method of scoring is through goals.

Basketball family

Football family

• Ancient games • * Aqsaqtuk • * Chinlone • * Cuju • * Episkyros • * Harpastum • * Kemari • * Ki-o-rahi • * Marn Grook • * Pasuckuakohowog • * Phaininda • * Tepuk • * Woggabaliri • * Yubi lakpi • Medieval football • * Ba game • * Bottle-kicking • * Caid • * Calcio Fiorentino • * Camping (game) • * Cnapan • * Cornish hurling • * Haxey Hood • * Knattleikr • * La soule • * Lelo burti • * Mob football • * Shrove Tuesday games • ** Atherstone Ball Game • ** Royal Shrovetide Football • ** Scoring the Hales • ** Sedgefield Ball Game • ** Shrove Tuesday Football Ceremony of the Purbeck Marblers • * Uppies and Downies • English school games • * Eton College • ** Field game • ** Wall game • * Harrow football • * Winchester College football • Association football • * Circle rules football • * Jorkyball • * Paralympic football • ** Amputee football • ** Blind football • ** CP football • ** Powerchair Football • ** Wheelchair soccer • * Reduced variants • ** Beach soccer • ** Crab soccer • ** Fireball • ** Five-a-side football • ** Futsal • ** Ice football • ** Indoor soccer • ** Masters Football • ** Minifootball • ** Papi fut • ** Roller soccer • ** Rush goalie • ** Seven-a-side football • *** Kings League • ** Socca • ** Walking football • * Street football • ** Keepie uppie • *** Freestyle football • *** Hacky sack • * Swamp football • * Three sided football • ** Omegaball • Australian football • * AFLX • * Auskick • * Kick-to-kick • * Lightning football • * Metro footy • * Nine-a-side footy • * Rec footy • * Women's Australian rules football • Gaelic football • *Ladies' Gaelic football • Gridiron football • * American football • ** non tackle variants • *** Flag football • *** Touch football • ** Reduced variants • *** Eight-man football • *** Arena football • *** Nine-man football • *** Six-man football • ** Sprint football • ** Street football (American) • ** Unicycle football • ** Wheelchair football • ** XFL rules football (2001, 2020) • * Canadian football • * Underwater football • Rugby football • * Rugby league • ** Masters Rugby League • ** Mod league • ** Non tackle variants • *** American flag rugby • *** League tag • *** OzTag • *** Tag rugby • *** Touch football • ** Reduced variants • *** Rugby league nines • *** Rugby league sevens • ** Wheelchair rugby league • * Rugby union • ** Beach rugby • ** Mini rugby • ** Non tackle variants • *** Tag rugby • *** Touch rugby • ** Reduced variants • *** Rugby sevens • **** Rugby X • *** Rugby tens • ** Snow rugby • * Underwater rugby • * Wheelchair rugby • Hybrid codes • * Austus • * Boston game • * International rules football • * Samoa rules • * Speedball • * Swedish football • * Universal football • * Volata

Handball family

Stick and ball family

Hockey

• Ball hockey • Bando • Bandy • * Rink bandy • Broomball • Field hockey • * Indoor field hockey • Floorball • Floor hockey • Ice hockey • * Pond hockey • * Power hockey • * Sledge hockey • * Underwater ice hockey • Ringette • * Gym ringette • Rinkball • Roller hockey • * Roller hockey (quad) • * Inline hockey • * Inline sledge hockey • * Inline skater hockey • Moscow broomball • Rossall Hockey • Spongee • Street hockey • Underwater hockey • Underwater ice hockey • Unicycle hockey

Hurling and shinty

Lacrosse

Polo

Other

Net and wall games

Games involving opponents hitting/throwing a ball over a net using a racket, or other piece of equipment, or merely the body: • Badminton • Ball badminton • Fistball • Footbag net • Football tennis • Footvolley • Hooverball • Jianzi • Jokgu • Loofball • Miniten • Peteca • Pickleball • Rocball • Sepak takraw • Sipa • Table squash • Table tennis • * Hardbat • * Para table tennis • Tambourelli • Te ano • Tennikoit • Tennis • * Beach tennis • * Paddle tennis • * Platform tennis • * Wheelchair tennis • Teqball • Throwball • Volleyball • * Beach volleyball • * Biribol • * Bossaball • * Crossnet • * Ecuavolley • * Newcomb ball • * Sitting volleyball • * Snow volleyball • * Wallyball • * Water volleyball Games involving opponents hitting/throwing a ball against walls o any rebounding surface using a racket, or other piece of equipment, or merely gloved/barehanded: • 360ball • American handball • Australian handball • Basque pelota • * Frontenis • * Jai alai • Butts Up • Chinese handball • Fives • Four square • Gaelic handball • One-wall handball • Patball • Rackets • Racquetball • Roundnet • Squash • * Squash tennis • Stoop ball • Suicide (game) • Tchoukball • Valencian frontó • Wallball Games that use both walls and net

Pilota family

Racket (or racquet) sports

Sports that use a netted racket

Sports that use a non-netted racket, or paddle

Billiards

Cue sports

• Carom billiards • * Straight rail • * Balkline • * One-cushion carom • * Three-cushion billiards • * Five-pins • * Four-ball • * Artistic billiards • Novuss (and cued forms of carrom) • Pool • * Eight-ball • *Blackball (a.k.a. British eight-ball pool) • * Nine-ball • * Straight pool (14.1 continuous) • * One-pocket • * Three-ball • * Seven-ball • * Ten-ball • * Rotation • * Baseball pocket billiards • * Cribbage (pool) • * Bank pool • * Artistic pool • * Trick shot competition • * Speed pool • * Bowlliards • * Chicago • * Kelly pool • * Cutthroat • * Killer • * Russian pyramid • Snooker • * Sinuca brasileira • * Six-red snooker • * Snooker plus • Hybrid carom–pocket games • * English billiards • * Bottle pool • * Cowboy • Obstacle variations • * Bagatelle • * Bar billiards • * Bumper pool • Table Sports • *Foosball

Ground billiards

Board sports

Sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment.

Boules sports

Bowling

Climbing

Combat sports: wrestling and martial arts

A combat sport is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement.

Grappling

• Aiki-jūjutsu • Aikido • Jujutsu • Judo • Brazilian jiu-jitsu • Sambo (martial art) • Sumo • Wrestling • Amateur wrestling • * Greco-Roman wrestling • * Freestyle wrestling • Folk wrestling • * Boli Khela • * Cornish wrestling • * Devon wrestling • * Dumog • * Glima • * Gouren • * Kurash • * Lancashire wrestling • * Malla-yuddha • * Mongolian wrestling • * Pehlwani • * Schwingen • * Shuai jiao • * Ssireum • * Varzesh-e Pahlavani • * Yağlı Güreş • Catch wrestling • Collar-and-elbow • Collegiate wrestling • Greek wrestling • Mud wrestling • Professional wrestling

Striking

• Bajiquan • Bare knuckle boxing • Bokator • Boxing • Capoeira • Chess boxing • Choi Kwang-Do • Fujian White Crane • Karate • Kenpō • Kickboxing • Lethwei • Muay Thai • Pradal serey • Savate • Shaolin kung fu • Shin-kicking • Sikaran • Silat • Subak • Taekkyeon • Taekwondo • Taidō • Tang Soo Do • Vovinam • Wing Chun

Mixed or hybrid

• American Kenpo • Baguazhang • Bando • Bartitsu • Bujinkan • Hapkido • Chun Kuk Do • Hwa Rang Do • Jeet Kune Do • Kajukenbo • Kalaripayattu • Krav Maga • Kuk Sool Won • Marine Corps Martial Arts Program • Mixed martial arts • Northern Praying Mantis • Ninjutsu • Pankration • Pencak Silat • Sanda • Shidōkan Karate • Shōrin-ryū Shidōkan • Shooto • Shoot boxing • Shootfighting • Shorinji Kempo • Systema • Tai chi • Unifight • Vajra-mushti • Vale tudo • Xingyiquan • Zen Bu Kan Kempo

Weapons and kicking

• Battōjutsu • Bōjutsu • Boffer fighting • Buhurt • Canne de combat • Cardboard Tube Fighting • Eskrima • Egyptian stick fencing • Fencing • Gatka • Historical European martial arts • Hojōjutsu • Iaido • Iaijutsu • Jōdō • Jogo do pau • Jūkendō • Jittejutsu • Kendo • Kenjutsu • Krabi–krabong • Kumdo • Kung fu • Kyūdō • Kyūjutsu • Medieval MMA • Modern Arnis • Naginatajutsu • Nguni stick-fighting • Okinawan kobudō • Pillow Fight Championship • Shurikenjutsu • Silambam • Sōjutsu • Sword fighting • Wing Chun • Wushu • lathi khela

Other

Flying disc sports

Gymnastics

• Acrobatic gymnastics • Aerial hoop • Aerial silks • Aerobic gymnastics • Artistic gymnastics • * Balance beam • * Floor • * High bar • * Parallel bars • * Pommel horse • * Still rings • * Uneven bars • * Vault • Calisthenics • Competitive yoga • Juggling • Mallakhamba • Parkour • Pole dance • Rhythmic gymnastics • *Ball • *Clubs • *Hoop • *Ribbon • *Rope • Rope jumping • Rope climbing • Slacklining • Baton twirling • Trampolining • Trapeze • * Flying trapeze • * Static trapeze • Tumbling • Wheel gymnastics

Kite sports

Mixed discipline

Decathlon, heptathlon, and the pentathlons consist of ten, seven, and five-component contests that are scored together using one points system.

Motorsports

Sports involving the use of motorized vehicles

Air racing

Motorboat racing

Terrestrial vehicles

Automobile

• Autocross (a.k.a. Slalom) • Autograss • Banger racing • Board track racing • Car soccer • Demolition derby • Desert racing • Dirt track racing • Drag racing • Drifting • Endurance racing • Folkrace • Formula racing • Formula Libre • Formula Student • Hillclimbing • Baseball racing • Ice racing • Kart racing • Land speed records • Lawn mower racing • Legends car racing • Midget car racing • Monster truck • Mud bogging • Off-road racing • Pickup truck racing • Production car racing • Race of Champions • Rally raid • Rallycross • Rallying • Regularity rally • Road racing • Short track motor racing • Sports car racing • Sprint car racing • Street racing • Stock car racing • Time attack • Tractor pulling • Tractor race • Touring car racing • Truck racing • Vintage racing • Wheelstand competition

Motorcycle

• Auto Race • Board track racing • Cross-country rally • Endurance racing • Enduro • Freestyle motocross • Grand Prix motorcycle racing • Grasstrack • Hillclimbing • Ice racing • Ice speedway • Indoor enduro • Motoball • Motocross • Motorcycle drag racing • Motorcycle speedway • Off-roading • Rally raid • Road racing • Superbike racing • Supercross • Supermoto • Supersport racing • Sidecar racing • Track racing • Trial • TT racing • Free-style moto

Others

Orienteering

Parkour/Freerunning

Sport Parkour and Freerunning are empirically measured competitions of skill, speed or style on an obstacle based course. Self expression, demonstration of control and power are measured.

Pedal vehicle

Human-powered vehicles propelled by pedals

Cycling

Sports using bicycles, quadracycles, tricycles or unicycles.

Bicycle

Quadracycle

Tricycle

Unicycle

Watercraft

Racing

Snow sports

Skiing

Sled sports

Shooting sports

Archery

Gun sports

Sports using guns (firearms, air guns, etc.).

Individual

Athletic hybrid

Skirmish

Stacking

Strength sports

Tag games

Walking

Water sports

These sports use water (a river, pool, etc.).

Paddling sports

Canoeing

Kayaking

Rafting

Rowing

Other paddling sports

Sailing

Aquatic ball sports

Surface

Underwater

Competitive swimming

Kindred activities

Subsurface and recreational

Diving

Weightlifting

Sports involving animals

Dog sports

Sports in which dogs participate.

Equestrian sports

Sports using a horse. • Buzkashi • Barrel racing • Campdrafting • Cirit • Charreada • Chilean rodeo • Chuckwagon racing • Cross country • Cutting • Dressage • Endurance riding • English pleasure • Equitation • Eventing • Equestrian vaulting • Gymkhana • Harness racing • Hobby horse polo • Trick riding • Horse racing • Horse polo, or polo • Horseball • Jineteada gaucha • Jousting • Mounted games • Mounted archery • Pato • Pleasure driving • Reining • Rodeo • Show hunter (British) • Show jumping • Steeplechase • Sur-papakh • Team penning • Tent pegging • Western pleasure

Fishing

Hunting

Sometimes considered blood sports.

Rodeo-originated

Sports that have originated from rodeos in the old Western Americas.

Others

Mind sports

Requiring little or no physical exertion or agility, mind sports are often not considered true sports. Some mind sports are recognised by sporting federations. The following list is intended to represent anything that is likely to be referred to as a mind sport, not to argue their validity as sports.

Card games

Combination puzzle

Esports

Strategy board games

• Arimaa • Backgammon • Checkers • Chess • * Atomic chess • * Bughouse chess • * Chess960 (also known as Fischer Random Chess) • * Losing chess • Chinese checkers • Diplomacy • Dominoes • Go • Go-Moku • Jacquet • Janggi • Ludo • Mahjong • Mancala • Reversi • Risk • Scrabble • Shōgi • Sholo Guti • Sogo (Score four) • Stratego • Sudoku • Xiangqi (Chinese chess) • Yut

Other

Competitive model sports

Remote control

Overlapping sports

Sports falling into two or more categories.

Different classification

Potentially other sports are listed here.

Air sports

Beach sports

Versions of sports played on sand

Compromise rules

Electronic sports

Sports played using electronic devices.

Endurance sports

Ice sports

Marker sports

Skating sports

Snow sports

See

Street sports

Strength sports

Sports mainly based on sheer power.

Table sports

Target sports

Sports where the main objective is to hit a certain target. • Angleball • Archery • Axe throwing • Boules • Bowling • Calva • Cornhole • Croquet • Cue sports • Curling • Darts • Golf • Horseshoes (horseshoe throwing) • Jukskei • KanJam • Knife throwing • Kubb • Lawn darts • Matball • Mölkky • Pall mall • Peashooter (toy) • Pitch and putt • Ring-goal • Ring toss • Shooting • Shuffleboard • Skittles • Skee ball • Snowball fight • Tejo • Trugo • Varpa • Water balloon

Team sports

Sports that involve teams. • Angleball • Basketball family • Basque pelota • Bat and ball games • Bowling • Bunnock • Camogie • Dodgeball • Football family • Gateball • Handball • Hardcourt Bike Polo • Hockey family • Horseshoe • Hurling • Kickball • Kin-Ball • Lacrosse • Loofball • Mesoamerican ballgame • Motoball • Newcomb ball • Paintball • Polo • Quidditch • Ringette • Roller derby • Rowing • Sepak takraw • Tchoukball • Ultimate • Volleyball • Whirlyball • Woodsman • Yukigassen

Wheelchair sports

Para-versions of sports played using wheelchairs

Windsports

Sports which use the wind (apart from sailing):

Fictional sports

Fictional sports that are played in real life:

Miscellaneous sports

• Air guitar • Arctic sports • Cheese rolling • Chess boxing • Chicken fight • Competitive eating • Competitive math • Conker fighting • Cook-off • Drum and bugle corps • Dwyle Flonking (sport) • Earthball • Egg and spoon race • Extreme ironing • Extreme Pogo • Ferret legging • Fierljeppen • Footbag (hacky sack) • Guyball • Haggis hurling • Hopscotch • Jegichagi • Jeopardy! • Jump rope • * Double Dutch • Lawn mower racing • Lumberjack sports • * Aizkolaritza • * Axe throwing • * Logrolling • * Wood chopping • * Wood splitting • Marching • Marching band • Object spinning • * Padiddling • * Plate spinning • * Top • Patball • Pea shooting • Quiz Bowl • Redneck Games • Ring-goal • Ringette • Sack race • Soap shoes • Stihl Timbersports Series • Tennikoit • Tetherball • Three-legged race • Ultimate Tazer Ball • Wallball • Wife-carrying • Woodsman • Yoyoing