List of Sports: Different Types of Sports in English (with pictures)

Sports are enjoyed by people all around the world. If you want to learn the names of the various types of sports that people do, check out this list of sports (in English) with pictures. If you’re a teacher, scroll down to the bottom to see some of the best activity recommendations for teaching sports names.

List of Sports

Here is a sports list to assist in teaching or learning different sports.

• archery
• badminton
• baseball
• basketball
• bobsled
• bowling
• boxing
• bungee jumping
• cricket
• curling
• cycling
• darts
• diving
• fencing
• figure skating
• fishing
• football (American)
• golf
• gymnastics
• handball
• hang gliding
• hockey (field hockey)
• hockey (ice hockey)
• horse jumping
• horse racing
• judo
• karate
• luge
• rock climbing
• running
• rugby
• scuba diving
• skating
• skiing
• snowboarding
• skateboarding
• skating
• skeleton
• skiing
• skydiving
• soccer
• squash
• sumo wrestling
• surfing
• swimming
• table tennis/ping-pong
• taekwondo
• tennis
• track and field
• volleyball
• water polo
• waterskiing
• weight lifting
• windsurfing
• yoga

Complete Sports List in English, With Pictures

Have a look at the types of sports, with pictures.

Archery

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Bobsled

Bowling

Boxing

Bungee Jumping

Cricket

Curling

Cycling

Darts

Diving

Fencing

Figure Skating

Fishing

Football (American)

Golf

Gymnastics

Handball

Hang Gliding

Hockey(Field Hockey)

Hockey (Ice Hockey)

Horse Jumping

Horse Racing

Judo

Karate

Luge

Rock Climbing

Running

Rugby

Scuba Diving

Skateboarding

Skating

Skeleton

Skiing

Skydiving

Snowboarding

Soccer

Squash

Sumo Wrestling

 

Surfing

Swimming

Table Tennis/Ping-Pong

Taekwondo

Tennis

Track and Field

Volleyball

Water Polo

Waterskiing

Weightlifting

Windsurfing

Wrestling

Yoga

Sports Vocabulary Quiz

Want a bit of a challenge with the various sports? Have a look at this fun online quiz:

Games and Activities to Teach Different Sports Names

If you’re an English teacher and want some ideas to teach sports names, here are some of the top recommendations:

A-Z Alphabet Game

Unless your students are absolute beginners, it’s likely that they already know many of the sports on this list of sports. That’s where this activity comes in—it can help students activate their prior knowledge before adding on new vocabulary.

Have a watch right here for this quick A-Z warmer activity:

Flashcard Games and Activities

I love to use flashcards when teaching kids who are beginners. They’re so useful and there are a ton of great games and activities you can do with them. They’re also ideal for helping teach and review the various types of sports. Have a look right here for some of the best ideas:

ESL Flashcard Games for Kids.

Odd One Out

This is a simple review or warmer activity. It works really well for sports names. List 3 or 4 things. For example:

• Golf, wrestling, soccer, tennis.

Students have to say which one doesn’t fit and why. There can be various answers but one from the example above would be wrestling because it doesn’t use a ball.

Learn more about odd one out right here:

ESL Surveys

Just ask my students and they’ll tell you that I love using surveys and questionairres in my class! For sports, there are so many yes/no questions students could ask. For example:

• Do you exercise every day?
• Do you prefer team sports?
• Are you athletic?

Find out all the details you need to know about making your own surveys right here:

ESL Surveys & Questionairres

Man/Woman on the Street Interview

Use this simple TEFL activity to make something old (talking to a partner), new again. It’s a fun way to elicit some opinions. For sports, you could use questions like the following:

• Do you think our country should host the Olympics in the future?
• Do you have a favourite sports star?
• What’s your favourite sport?

Check it out:

Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

Sports List FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about this topic. Here are the answers to come of the most popular questions.

How many types of sports are there?

According to the World Sports Encyclopedia, published in 2003, there are around 8000 types of sports games and indigenous sports in the world.

What are the four types of sports?

The four types of sports are:

• Individual sports
• Team sports
• Partner sports
• Extreme sports

What are the 10 most popular sports in the world?

The top 10 most popular sports in the world are:

• soccer/football
• badminton
• field hockey
• volleyball
• basketball
• tennis
• cricket
• table tennis
• baseball
• golf

What are the five categories of sports?

Sports can roughly be categorized into the five following categories:

• invasion
• measurement
• bat and ball
• adjudication
• combined sports (a mix of the previous elements)

Is chess a sport?

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) does recognize chess as a sport. However, it falls short of being included in the Olympic games.

What is Japan’s national sport?

Sumo wrestling is recognized as the national sport of Japan. However, baseball is very popular and has more players and spectators than Sumo.

List of Sports: Join the Conversation

Do you have anything to add to our list of sports? Or, a nice activity for teaching sports names to students? Leave a comment below and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API