Sports are organized competitive physical activities and physical games. These fill the need for physical exercise, play and competition among people. All sports are possible competitively.
This is perhaps the main difference between leisure, recreation or competition as regards sports. Leisure time generally involves sitting in the lounge or sunbathing by the pool for a while, taking part in indoor games like computer games, word puzzles or crosswords, watching television, laughing at videos, playing cards or listening to music. Whereas sports involve physical skill, exerting force, competing with other individuals, often using an athletic costume or gear and the like. Competitions may also be won by a certain number of points, with corresponding rewards being given for the winner.
There have been many famous sporting achievements in modern sports history. The common thread running through all these achievements is the spirit of competition amongst individuals. Some sports do not require the same skill sets; however, they share a competitive spirit. For example, football, American football, Australian rules football, rugby, Brazilian jujitsu, boxing, track and field, ice hockey and motor racing are examples of medieval, Renaissance and modern sports which have developed into national and international competitions.
Sports as of modern days includes all types of games played in public and private arenas. The earliest evidence of sports can be traced back to the competitions and contests held by aristocratic families in the Middle Ages. Sports competition was a way for children to show to their friends how well or how badly they could perform in athletic events. As time progressed, more elaborate ways of staging competitions were introduced to increase the prize money and improve the chances of winning.
Sports as of modern days include almost every type of physical activity. Some forms of physical competition were rejected in the middle ages because they were viewed as frivolous by the elite and were therefore banned. However, these games were introduced when humans began to understand that physical strength was no longer the only important factor in winning a game. The invention of the bicycle for instance, changed the face of physical exercise. In the Renaissance, golf became an extremely popular sport and the games of archery, tennis and football became the predecessors of the modern sports we know today.
Today, there are hundreds of different kinds of sports. Modern facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, basketball courts and even artificial ski slopes have been built to develop these games into a physical fitness routine. The importance of sports in modern society cannot be undermined any longer. From polo games to baseball, golf and tennis courts, from tennis rings to figure skating ice skating, from horse races to Olympics, sports are a part of every person’s daily life.