ALL SPORTS
This is a listing of sports pages for our site!
Archery, the practice of shooting arrows from a bow, was developed in human prehistory and has been used in both hunting and combat around the world. Today, archers can use manufactured fiberglass bows outfitted with a variety of technological devices, including compasses and sights to increase accuracy and pulleys to improve speed.
The first Archery competition for persons with a disability was held at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1948. Archery was one of the original Paralympic Sports contested in Rome in 1960 and is a test of accuracy, strength and concentration.
Athletics (also known as Track and Field) embodies the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius," meaning faster, higher, stronger. As its popularity grew, so did the number of events - no Olympic sport has more events, which can be divided into four areas: track, field, road and combined. Chicago is rich with track and field history, evident in the city’s strong running culture.
The track and field events at the Paralympic Games attract the largest number of athletes and spectators. They offer a wide range of competitions and the largest number of events. Athletics has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1960 and events are open to male and female athletes in all disability groups. Athletes compete according to their functional classifications in each event and these events are continually being redefined to include as many athletes as possible.
Badminton is one of the fastest racket sports in the world, requiring great reflexes, speed, and stamina. Badminton also has a reputation as one of the most popular games in the world, outside of the United States. Badminton had its Olympic debut as a full-medal competition in 1992.
Basketball has been played at the summer Olympics consistently since 1936. The USA team has won the gold medal 19 times (13 Men's, 6 Women's) from 1936 to 2008, including Beijing 2008 for both the USA Men's and USA Women's teams.
Boccia has been part of the Paralympics since 1984. Although the game originated long ago in Italy, its popularity has spread worldwide. It is said to be one of the fastest growing Paralympic sports. Boccia was originally presented as a sport for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, but is now open to all athletes with significant physical disabilities.
Early Boxing fighters wrapped strips of leather around their fists and fought in a match that only ended when one man conceded or went down. Despite experiencing a relatively late start in the Olympics, boxing has produced some of the most legendary athletes of our time, such as Muhammed Ali and Teofilo Stevenson.
In an Olympic canoe race, the competitors paddle from a watercraft used for thousands of years as a form of transportation and traditionally carved from birch, elm or cedar trees. On the other hand, hunters in the Arctic traditionally created kayaks from whalebone, seal skin and other materials. But, while the excitement of their history remains, today manufacturers create the vast majority of canoes and kayaks.
The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics introduced a new Olympic sport to the world: BMX, short for bicycle motorcross, and will become the fourth type of cycling competition. Mountain bike, road and track comprise the other three events. Chicago, considered the best city in the country for cyclists, plays home to several path-lined parks supported and maintained by the city's park district.
The speed and excitement inherent in all Cycling competitions is relatively new for athletes with a disability. The sport began to be developed by blind cyclists who first competed using tandem bicycles. Cycling was introduced as a Paralympic Sport in Seoul in 1988 and is now practiced in more than 40 countries. Today in addition to athletes with blindness/visual impairment, cyclists with cerebral palsy, amputations or other physical disabilities can participate in classes depending on their deg
In the ancient Olympic Games, divers jumped off cliffs into natural bodies of water, trying to outdo their opponents. Diving is now one of the most popular sports in the modern Olympics. At the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, more households tuned in to watch the diving finals than either the NCAA men's basketball final or the Rose Bowl that year.
Equestrian as a sport was included in the program of the Paralympic Games for the first time in Atlanta in 1996. Equestrian is a multi-disability sport, open to athletes with a physical disability or a visual impairment. Events are mixed and grouped according to their functional profiles. Riders compete in two Dressage events; a Championship Test of set movements and a Freestyle Test to music. There is also a Team Test for three to four riders per team.
Modern fencing is based on an ancient duel to the death. Individuals use the weapons – the foil, épée, and sabre – to score hits against an opponent. During bouts, competitors feint, lunge, parry, and riposte to earn points against one another. Upon scoring a hit, the offensive opponent yells the iconic phrase, "Touché!"
Popularity for Field Hockey grew so much during the Middle Ages that the game was banned in England because it kept people from training in archery, at that time the foundation of the country’s defense. Field hockey is related to ice hockey, but differs in that the strategies involved and the flow of the game are similar to football.
Football is more commonly known as soccer in the United States. Football is one of the most popular sports in the Olympics, as well as the world, in terms of audience and participants.
Football 5-a-Side is open to athletes with blindness/visual impairment, with the possibility of one sighted player as the goalkeeper. There are five players per team and each game lasts 50 minutes.
Football is one of the world's most exciting sports and the 7-a-Side version is no exception, combining speed, agility and impressive ball handling. This sport has been officially part of the Paralympic Program since the New York/Stoke Mandeville Games in 1984. This sport is intended for athletes with cerebral palsy and a ratio of players from varying levels of disability must be maintained.
Goalball is exclusively a sport for athletes with blindness/visual impairment. The object is to roll the ball into the opponent's goal while the opposing players try to block the ball with their body. Bells inside the ball help to orient the players indicating the direction of the on-coming ball. Therefore, while play is in progress, complete silence is required in the venue to allow the players to concentrate and react instantly to the ball. Goalball is played by male and female athletes.
Gymnastics, with a long history dating all the way back to the first Olympic Games, fuses strength and agility with the style and grace of a true performance. Currently there are three different events: artistic, rhythmic and trampoline. The newest event, trampoline, includes individual, synchronized, double mini, and power tumbling in the air.
Handball, an indoor team sport that combines high-speed action, sleight of hand, gymnastic ability and tremendous power, is one of the most popular sports in Europe and thus one of the most highly attended. In handball, two teams of seven players each compete in a fast-paced game where individuals pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals.
Judo is one of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world. The sport embodies fun, self-defense, method of combat, recreational activity, art, and discipline. In addition, Judo is taught as a compulsory subject in the Japanese education system.
Judo is a sport that demands a physical and strategic performance, testing the qualities of strength, touch, balance and sensitivity. The sport is open to athletes with blindness/visual impairment in several weight categories. The contest lasts five minutes, for both men and women and the winner is the athlete who scores an ippon or who scores the greater number of points.
The modern pentathlon has been a continuous Olympic program since 1912. Although the events are currently being re-structured for London 2012, historically the events have been pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200-m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3-km cross-country run.
Powerlifting for athletes with a disability made its first appearance in 1964 at the second Paralympic Games in Tokyo (Women could first compete in 2000). Currently the competition is open to all athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal injuries, lower limb amputees, and les autres who meet minimal disability criteria. Powerlifting is the ultimate test of upper body strength. Competitors must lower the bar to their chest, hold it motionless and then press it upwards to with locked elbows.
Rowing, an ancient form of travel turned into competitive sport, debuted at the 1900 Games in Paris, the second Summer Olympiad. With the United States standing as the all-time medal leader in Olympic rowing and popularity on the rise for rowing as a collegiate sport, youth involvement and participation around the country is increasing.
Rowing is the youngest sport in the Paralympic Games. It was introduced to the Paralympic Program in 2005 and Beijing represented the first time it will be in the Paralympic games. Adaptive Rowing is Rowing or Sculling for athletes with a disability who meet the criteria as set out in the Adaptive Rowing classification regulations.
In Olympic competition participants sail boats around courses, which incorporate a variety of different sailing angles, upwind, downwind and reaching. The competitors wage a tactical war as they attempt to force the opponent into a violation of the rules. Also, atypical of most sports at the Games, women have always been allowed to compete alongside men.
Paralympic sailing is a more recent addition to the Paralympic games, debuting in 2000 in Sydney. The sport is now practiced in over 70 countries at both a development and national level.
Shooting, originally developed as a means of survival, evolved into a competitive sport as hunting became less of a necessity. The first modern Olympiad only featured three shooting events, but the sport has grown continuously over time and the Beijing Summer Olympics featured 15 different events. Shotgun, rifle, pistol, and running-target events comprise the four different shooting disciplines.
Shooting has been part of the Paralympic Games since Toronto in 1976. Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a stationary target. Competitions at the Paralympic Games are open to all athletes with a physical disability. There are two classes of competition, wheelchair and standing. Athletes compete in Rifle and Pistol events from various distances, in men's, women's, and mixed competitions.
The Olympic Games used to play host to a variety of unusual competitions, including underwater swimming, obstacle swimming, and plunge for distance. Before the waveless, temperature-controlled pools of today, competitions were held in the Mediterranean Sea, the Seine River, and a little lake in St. Louis. Now with unified regulations, Olympic Aquatics consist of four disciplines- diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo.
Paralympic Swimming has been part of the Paralympic games, since its beginning in the 1960 Rome games. Now, athletes, with either a physical disability or blindness/visual impairment, from over 80 different countries compete in the sport. The same strokes as Olympic swimming are swum, the Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly, Breaststroke and Medley events. Heats are swum with eight swimmers and each race with the top eight finishers of the heats swimming in the final race.
Synchronized swimming, originally known as ‘water ballet,’ debuted as an Olympic sport in 1984, after being developed in Canada in the 1900s. Opened only to women, the sport offers two events: duet and team. Competitions are performed to music and scoring is based on the execution of specific moves, the degree of difficulty and risk, innovative choreography, and a seemingly effortless performance.
Once played as a polite after-dinner game in England in the 1890s, table tennis features players who now volley balls at up to 160 kilometers per hour. The Kill, the Hit and the Chop are among the different shots common in this sport. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988 and is governed by the International Tennis Federation. Since its inclusion players from China and Korea have dominated the top rankings.
Table Tennis was included in the first Paralympic Games in 1960 and is practiced by athletes from 104 different countries. Athletes from all disability groups (with the exception of athletes with blindness/visual impairment) participate and compete in Table Tennis in standing and sitting classes. Men and women compete individually, in doubles, as well as in team events.
Chosen as the definitive Korean martial art, taekwondo is trademarked by its powerful combination of kick movements. Taekwondo, which means "the way of kicking and striking," was introduced to the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport at the Seoul 1988 Games, only recently becoming an official Olympic Sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. During those 2000 Games, 103 athletes — 55 men and 48 women — from 51 countries took part in the taekwondo competition.
The origins of tennis trace back to croquet. In 19th century England, the well-manicured croquet lawns became the perfect venue for the new game of lawn tennis. The game of lawn tennis went on to become increasingly popular throughout the world, and has since become known simply as tennis. Played on a court of grass, clay, or an artificial surface, Olympic tennis is played by men and women in either singles or in doubles.
A triathlon is aptly named for the three sports involved: swimming, cycling, and running. The race between events is continuous, making the smooth transition from sport to sport a vital strategy. Since the sport is so grueling, half-tri competitions are gaining popularity. Although it has no official Olympic affiliation, the Ironman Triathlon is arguably the most well-known event in the sport.
Volleyball is an team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points against one another by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. Beach volleyball followed later— only recreationally, until the sport reached professional levels and made its Olympic debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
The Volleyball (sitting) event was introduced at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympics. Athletes from 48 countries practice the sport. A high level of teamwork, skill, strategy and intensity is needed in Volleyball. Each team's goal is to pass the ball over the net and to touch the ball on the ground of the opposing team's side. Male and female athletes with a physical disability are eligible to participate and must fulfill the conditions of a minimum degree of disability.
Water polo is a game of endurance that tests passing technique, shooting skill and competitive strength. It also prohibits participants from touching the bottom or side of the pool during four seven-minute quarters. Water polo initially began as an aquatic version of rugby during the mid-1800s, and became so popular that it was admitted into the Games in 1900. Women’s water polo was recently added in the Sydney 2000 Games.
One of the few sports included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, weightlifting has a long history as being a means to measure strength and power since the early days of man. Power, speed, technique, concentration and timing are key factors in this sport. While European men have dominated men’s weightlifting throughout the years, many of the top female weightlifters hail from Asia.
Wheelchair Basketball was originally developed by World War II veterans in the USA in 1945/1946. Since then, the sport has developed worldwide and was introduced to the Paralympic Program in Rome in 1960. It is one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games. It is designed for athletes who have a physical disability that prevents running, jumping and pivoting.
Wheelchair Fencing was introduced at the 1960 Paralympic Games in Rome and there are 24 countries practicing Wheelchair Fencing today. From a spectator's point of view the most striking feature of Wheelchair Fencing is the fact that athletes compete in wheelchairs that are fastened to the floor. However, these chairs allow the fencers freedom of movement in the upper body only and the activity is as fast-paced as in Fencing competitions for able-bodied.
Wheelchair Rugby was developed in Canada during the 1970s by athletes with quadriplegia. At the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games it was presented as a demonstration sport and it was officially included on the Paralympic Programme at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. In 2006, it was practiced by 22 countries. Wheelchair Rugby is an intense, physical team sport for male and female athletes with quadriplegia (tetraplegia).
Wheelchair Tennis appeared for the first time on the Paralympic Program in Barcelona in 1992. It originated from the USA in the 1970s and continues to develop a strong following of players and fans internationally. The game follows able-bodied Tennis rules and athletes must have high levels of skill, fitness and strategy. The only difference in Wheelchair Tennis competitions is that the ball is allowed to bounce two times - the first bounce being within the bounds of the court.
Widely recognized as the world’s oldest competitive sport, wrestling appeared in a series of Egyptian hieroglyphics dating back as many as 5,000 years ago. Wrestling was not only included in the first ancient Olympic Games, but would become the star event. In Greco-Roman wrestling, the wrestlers use only their arms and upper bodies. However, in 1904, freestyle was added, allowing wrestlers to use both their upper and lower bodies for holding, pushing, lifting and tripping their opponent.
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