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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.

sports list english

Different 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
101 ESL Activities: For Kids (6-13) (Ideas for Teaching English as a Second Language to Young...
101 ESL Activities: For Kids (6-13) (Ideas for Teaching English as a Second Language to Young...
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 142 Pages - 03/31/2016 (Publication Date) - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)
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Complete Sports List in English, With Pictures

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

Archery

girl pulling back archery bow

Badminton

badminton racket and shuttlecock

Baseball

baseball clipart

Basketball

basketball clipart

Bobsled

bobsled clipart

Bowling

bowling pins and ball

Boxing

man practicing boxing

Bungee Jumping

bungee jumping clipart

Cricket

cricket wickets and bat

Curling

woman curling clipart

Cycling

cycling workout riding bicycle clipart

Darts

darts clipart

Diving

person diving clipart

Fencing

player with sword fencing sports clipart

Figure Skating

woman figure skating clipart

Fishing

boy with fishing rod

Football (American)

american football

Golf

golf ball club and tee

Gymnastics

female athlete practicing on balance beam clipart

Handball

Preparing To Throw Ball Playing Handball Outdoor

Hang Gliding

hang gliding clipart

Hockey(Field Hockey)

Player Holding Field Hockey Stick

Hockey (Ice Hockey)

Boy Playing Ice Hockey

Horse Jumping

horse jumping with rider clipart

Horse Racing

horse racing clipart

Judo

judo green belt

Karate

girl practicing karate kick

Luge

luge clipart

Rock Climbing

rock climbing clipart

Running

person running a race

Rugby

rugby player running with ball

Scuba Diving

scuba diver clipart

Skateboarding

skateboarding clipart

Skating

skating

Skeleton

skeleton sport clipart

Skiing

skiing clipart

Skydiving

skydiving clipart

Snowboarding

snowboarding clipart

Soccer

soccerball

Squash

squash sport clipart

Sumo Wrestling

sumo wrestling clipart

 

Surfing

male surfer standing holding surfboard summer clipart

Swimming

person swimming

Table Tennis/Ping-Pong

table tennis ping pong clipart

Taekwondo

taekwondo clipart

Tennis

cute little girl playing tennis on grass clipart

Track and Field

track and field clipart

Volleyball

teams-playing-volleyball

Water Polo

woman playing water polo clipart

Waterskiing

waterskiing clipart

Weightlifting

weight lifting clipart

Windsurfing

boy windsurfing water sports clipart

Wrestling

two men wrestling flip clipart

Yoga

Young woman doing yoga on the beach in the morning, rear view.

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

list of sports

Types of sports

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.

sports list esl

List of sports from around the world

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

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 20 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 100 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder, 67 ESL Conversation Topics,and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults. She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

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