"Life's battles do not always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can"
Football |
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. It is a football variant played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition. |
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Five a Side Football |
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Five-a-side football is a variation of association football in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper), rather than the usual eleven. Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Games are often played indoors. Additionally the ball is not allowed to go over "head height" or else the opposition is awarded an indirect free kick. The penalty area is also significantly different from regular football: it is semi-circular in shape and only the goalkeeper is allowed within it and he or she is not allowed out. There are normally no offside rules which means just one referee. No headers are allowed. Powerleague and Goals Soccer Centres are the two big operators of 5 a side football in the UK. Five-a-side football leagues can be played on astroturfs across the United Kingdom. Another rule in five-a-side football is that metal studded boots or blades cannot be worn, as it damages the playing surface |
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Rugby League |
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Rugby league is a full-contact team sport, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football (the other being rugby union) and is arguably the most physically punishing of any team sport. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries, goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than the opposition within the 80 minutes of play. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further up field, or passing from player-to-player in order to maneuver around the opposition's defence. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty. A field goal is only worth one point, and is gained by kicking the ball between the uprights in open play. If after two halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing, a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. Rugby league takes its name from the Rugby Football League, which was established in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union, a breakaway faction of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under similar rules at first, until similar breakaway factions occurred from RFU-affiliated rugby football unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, and formed associations known as rugby football leagues, introducing modified Northern Union rules to create a new form of rugby football. The Northern Union later changed its name to the Northern Rugby Football League in 1922 (later dropping the 'Northern') and thus, over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league". Over the following decades, the rules of both forms of rugby were gradually changed, and now rugby league and rugby union are distinctly different sports. |
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Rugby Union |
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Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with a prolate spheroid ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. There is also a seven-a-side variant named rugby sevens which is played under modified laws. Rugby union is often referred to as simply rugby in areas where it is popular. The current number 1 ranked team in the world is New Zealand, and the current world champion is South Africa. |
Basketball |
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Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 feet (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world. Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations). |
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Handball |
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Handball (also known as team handball, Olympic handball or European handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six players and a goalkeeper) pass and bounce a ball to throw it into the goal of the opposing team. The team with the most goals after two periods of 30 minutes wins. Modern handball is usually played indoors, but outdoors variants exist in the form of field handball and beach handball. |
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Netball |
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Netball is a non-contact team sport originating from the United States similar to, and derived from, basketball. Invented in 1895 by Clara Gregory Baer, a pioneer in women's sport, netball is now pre-eminently played as a women's team sport in Australia and New Zealand and is popular in the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. Over 20 million people play netball in more than 70 countries. |
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Volleyball |
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Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organised rules. |
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Water Polo |
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Water polo is a team water sport. It is the oldest continuous Olympic team sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper with a maximum of six substitutes. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a net defended by a goalie. Water polo, therefore, has strong similarities to the land-based game of team handball. The frequency of 'man-up' (or 'power play') situations also draws comparisons with ice hockey. |