WSport 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. Sports can, through casual or organized participation, improve one's physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. 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. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.
WAmateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing and training. In the majority of sports which feature professional players, the professionals will participate at a higher standard of play than amateur competitors, as they can train full-time without the stress of having another job. The majority of worldwide sporting participants are amateurs.
WAthletes for a Cure is a fundraising and awareness program of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The organization assists athletes in their quest to raise money for better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. Athletes for a Cure was founded in 2006.
WA "bad call" is an informal term used in sports to describe a referee decision, or "call", that is incorrect or perceived to be incorrect. Bad calls have been associated with all sports involving referees or judges.
WCaffeine use for athletes is a worldwide known and tested idea. Many athletes use caffeine as a legal performance enhancer, as the benefits it provides, both physically and cognitively outweigh the disadvantages. The benefits caffeine provides influences the performance of both endurance athletes and anaerobic athletes. Caffeine has been proven to be effective in enhancing performance. Below is more detail on who benefits more, trained athletes in comparison to untrained, males in comparison to females and aerobic vs anaerobic athletes.
WCheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting.
WA country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offerings are golf, tennis, and swimming. Where golf is the principal or sole sporting activity, and especially outside of the United States, it is common for a country club to be referred to simply as a golf club.
WA curtain call occurs at the end of a performance when one or more performers return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for the performance. In musical theatre, the performers typically recognize the orchestra and its conductor at the end of the curtain call. Luciano Pavarotti holds the record for receiving 165 curtain calls, more than any other artist.
WIn gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback, also known as a running quarterback, is a quarterback who possesses the skills and physique to run with the ball if necessary. With the rise of several blitz heavy defensive schemes and increasingly faster defensive players, the importance of a mobile quarterback has been redefined. While arm power, accuracy, and pocket presence – the ability to successfully operate from within the "pocket" formed by his blockers – are still the most important quarterback virtues, the ability to elude or run past defenders creates an additional threat that allows greater flexibility in the team's passing and running game. Overall, the dual-threat quarterback has been referred to as "the most complex position in sports" by Bleacher Report.
WThe Gatorade shower, also known as the Gatorade dunk or the Gatorade bath, is a sports tradition that involves players surreptitiously dumping a cooler full of liquid over the head of their coach following a meaningful win, such as the Super Bowl, World Series or other major sporting event. This includes all levels of play including Little League World Series, high school, college (NCAA) and professional teams.
WIn sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst referring to the celebration of a goal in general, the term can also be applied to specific actions, such as a player removing their shirt or performing a somersault. Celebrations are generally more substantial in lower-scoring sports, such as association football and ice hockey, where a score has greater significance.
WHelmet boxing or locker boxing is a game played by primarily teenage hockey or lacrosse players in their dressing rooms, basements or locker rooms. These are generally not supervised by adults. Participants wear helmets and sometimes gloves and fight in a locker room. The object of the game is to score as many hits on the head as possible until the opponent is knocked down, gives up, or their helmet falls off.
WDue to the longevity of the Indianapolis 500, numerous traditions surrounding the race have developed over the years. Traditions include procedures for the running of the race, scheduling, and pre-race and post-race festivities. For many fans, these traditions are an important aspect of the race, and they have often reacted quite negatively when the traditions are changed or broken.
WThe kiss cam is a social pastime that takes place during arena, stadium and court sporting events in the United States and Canada. A 'kiss cam' camera scans the crowd, and selects a couple, their images being shown on the jumbotron screens in the arena.
WThis list of starting black NFL quarterbacks includes black and African-American quarterbacks who have started in a regular-season or post-season game in the National Football League (NFL). The quarterback is the leader of a team's offense, directing other players on the field. Historically, black players have been excluded from playing quarterback in the NFL because of the belief that white players would not follow their leadership and the perception that black quarterbacks lack intelligence, dependability, composure, character, or charisma. Promising black quarterbacks at the high school and college levels were often transitioned at the professional level to other positions, such as running back or wide receiver. While a ban on black players in the NFL ended in 1946, the quarterback position was among the last to be desegregated.
WA moral victory occurs when a person, team, army or other group loses a confrontation, and yet achieves some other moral gain. This gain might be unrelated to the confrontation in question, and the gain is often considerably less than what would have been accomplished if an actual victory had been achieved.
WNude recreation refers to recreational activities which some people engage in while nude. Historically, the ancient Olympics were nude events. There remain some societies in Africa, Oceania, and South America that continue to engage in everyday public activities—including sports—without clothes, while in most of the world nude activities take place in either private spaces or separate clothing optional areas in public spaces. Occasional events, such as nude bike rides, may occur in public areas where nudity is not otherwise allowed.
WA pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It is generally seen as a US and Canadian phenomenon.
WA pitch invasion occurs when a person or a crowd of people spectating a sporting event run onto the playing area, usually to celebrate or protest an incident, or sometimes as a publicity stunt. Much of the time, they can result in criminal charges, fines or prison time, and sanctions against the club involved, especially if they cause a disruption in play; although they may sometimes be more welcomed if a large portion of the spectators invades the pitch simultaneously outside of playing time.
WProfessional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make athleticism their primary career, devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical condition, and experience to modern levels of achievement. This proficiency has also helped boost the popularity of sports. Most sports played professionally also have amateur players far outnumbering the professionals.
WA programme or program is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled to take place, principal performers and background information. In the case of theatrical performances, the term playbill is also used. It may be provided free of charge by the event organisers or a charge may be levied.
WRetiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies. Once a number is retired, no future player from the team may wear that number on their uniform, unless the player so-honored permits it; however, in many cases the number cannot be used at all. Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances, or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers include baseball, cricket, ice hockey, basketball, American football, and association football. Retired jerseys are often referred to as "hanging from the rafters" as they are, literally, put to hang in the team's home arena.
WA sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees.
WShorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg, but not the foot. Shorts are typically worn in warm weather or in an environment where comfort and air flow are more important than the protection of the legs.
WSociology of sport, alternately referred to as sports sociology, is a sub-discipline of sociology which focuses on sports as social phenomena. It is an area of study concerned with the relationship between sociology and sports, and also various socio-cultural structures, patterns, and organizations or groups involved with sport. This area of study discusses the positive impact sports have on individual people and society as a whole economically, financially, and socially. Sociology of sport attempts to view the actions and behavior of sports teams and their players through the eyes of a sociologist.
WAdmirers of the Spartans typically praise their valor and success in war. The Battle of Thermopylae, mythologized as 300 Spartans blocking the pass of Thermopylae for three days against a force of 1 Million Persians, represents bravery against all odds. Laconophilia is love or admiration of Sparta and of the Spartan culture or constitution. The selection of Spartans as the name of a sports team is an example of this continued admiration in popular culture.
WA spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its competitions. Spectator sports may be professional sports or amateur sports. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are more recreational.
WThe sporting man culture involves men leading hedonistic lifestyles that included keeping mistresses as well excessive eating, drinking, smoking, gambling, and big game hunting. It is applied to a large group of middle- and upper-class men in the mid-19th century, most often in Great Britain and the United States. The definition has little to do with actually playing sports. Edward VII and his companion "Sporting Joe" Aylesford are regarded as practitioners of the sporting man culture.
WA trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.
WSports memorabilia refers to collectables associated with sports. Types include equipment, trophies, sports cards, autographs, photographs, etc.
WSportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to one who does not take defeat well, whereas a "good sport" means being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".
WSupporters' groups or supporters' clubs are independent fan clubs or campaign groups in sport, mostly association football.
WUnsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and participant conduct. Examples include verbal abuse or taunting of an opponent or a game official, an excessive celebration following a scoring play, or feigning injury. The official rules of many sports include a general provision whereby participants or an entire team may be penalized or otherwise sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct.
WA victory pose is a pose assumed by a person to celebrate victory, particularly by athletes and other sportspeople. Victory poses often involve raising the arms in the air.