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The precise definition of what separates a sport from other leisure activities varies between sources. American English uses "sports" for both terms. "football and rugby are the most popular sports in England"). "children taking part in sport"), with "sports" used to describe multiple activities (e.g. The singular term "sport" is used in most English dialects to describe the overall concept (e.g. Roget's defines the noun sport as an "activity engaged in for relaxation and amusement" with synonyms including diversion and recreation. Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling hunting and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise. The word " sport" comes from the Old French desport meaning " leisure", with the oldest definition in English from around 1300 being "anything humans find amusing or entertaining". 8.1 As a means of controlling and subduing populations.The world's most accessible and practised sport is running, while association football is the most popular spectator sport. Kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013. Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport.Īccording to A.T. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), Go and xiangqi, and limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports.
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However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. Other organisations, such as the Council of Europe, preclude activities without a physical element from classification as sports. Sport is generally recognised as system of activities based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner in others, the contest (a match) is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. Sports can, through casual or organized participation, improve one's physical health. Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators.
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Association football, shown above, is a team sport which also provides opportunities to nurture physical fitness and social interaction skills.
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