Sports

This topic is mainly about doing sport. See also spectator sports.

A sport is a physical activity, primarily done or watched for recreation. Some sports are also modes of transportation (cycling, hiking, cross country skiing, horse riding etc).

There are several reasons to combine sports with travel.

Travellers might want to build up physical fitness at home, before an arduous journey.
A destination might have favourable weather.
A destination might have favourable nature, or sport facilities.
One destination, typically a low-income country, might provide a sporting experience at a lower cost than another.
Some sports can be illegal or strongly regulated in some countries, while legal in others.
The destination might hold competitions, tours or organized events.
Travellers might want to uphold their exercise habits while travelling.

Outdoor sport

See also: Outdoor life

Canyoning

See also: Canyoning

Horse riding

See also: Horse riding

Rock climbing

See also: Rock climbing

Wilderness backpacking

See also: Wilderness backpacking

Air sport

See also: Air sport

Air sport includes skydiving, paragliding, hang gliding, and hot air ballooning. See also general aviation.

Winter sport

See also: Winter sport

Winter sport is done on ice or snow, typically in cold weather. A gratifying experience, while requiring precautions for ice safety and snow safety.

Downhill snowsports

See also: Downhill snowsports

Downhill snowsports, include alpine skiing, snowboarding and Telemark skiing. Ski resorts around the world attract millions of travellers yearly.

Cross country skiing

See also: Cross country skiing

Cross country skiing can be used as a mean to travel easily in thick snow in the wilderness or as an alternative pastime on ski resorts. It can allow quite easy access to places which seem untouched by man. The skis are different from those used in downhill skiing.

Snowkiting

Snowkiting is "winter's newest extreme sport", requiring only the wind, a snowkite, skies or snowboard, and an attitude for fun. The sport has endless possibilities, such as backcountry skiing without a ski lift or resort - your snowkite will pull you uphill and downhill at varying speeds. Snowkites can accelerate up to 50 MPH. The lifting power of the wind will allow you to jump to distances of up to 100 feet.

When snowkiting in the backcountry be aware of avalanche danger! Always snowkite in groups, wear an avalanche beacon, dress warm, and never exceed your limits.

Snowkiting is popular in Central Utah, a region of the United States of America.

Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling is a sport involving riding over snow on a motorized vehicle. It is popular throughout the western United States of America as well as in Canada and Alaska.

Others

Water sport

See also: Water sport

Water sport is any recreational activity in, or on, a body of water. See Kitesurfing, Scuba diving, sea kayaking, SNUBA, Whitewater sports and Windsurfing.

Hiking and running

Hiking

See also: Hiking

Hiking can either be done as day hikes, as wilderness backpacking or as hiking along long hiking routes leading through both towns and countryside and possibly wilderness, such as the E11 hiking trail from Netherlands to Poland or the pilgrimage route Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela.

Orienteering

See also: Orienteering

Orienteering is another popular outdoor sport. It involves using a map and terrain navigation skills to follow a course in the least time. The sport has an international following, world championships, and training programs, and takes place in beautiful and interesting locations. Orienteering meets hosted by the top clubs draw thousands of participants from around the world.

Orienteering skills are needed (and can be enjoyed) also without competitive elements, especially when tracking in the backcountry.

Destinations: New Mexico (near Santa Fe).

Closely related to orienteering are rogaining and adventure racing.

Running

See also: Running

Running is both an activity undertaken by casual joggers wanting to stay in shape during their travels, and also by those who seek out marathons and other competitions around the world. Travel companies offer packages for those travelling abroad for races that focus on the specific needs of the runner.

The Marathon distance is pursued around the world.

Others

Geocaching

Geocaching is a treasure-hunting game that involves the internet, GPS map co-ordinates and travel. Players report their treasure hunt activities on-line to gain credits for their finds. Many of the players place caches (treasures) in spots they are quite fond of. So hunting them down will quite often lead to exciting adventures in lesser known locations.

One object of the game is to carry treasure from one cache to the next. Some of the treasures have identification information, so their travels can be tracked on-line. To play the game you will need a GPS receiver (or a map and the orienteering skills to use it), the cache description (make a printout) and about 1 hour spare (more for a difficult cache).

Related to geocaching is the Degree Confluence Project where people contribute photographs of the planet at points of intersection of lines of longitude and latitude. Most of the easy ones are done - but if you are hearing way off the beaten track this may be for you.

Golf

See also: Golf

Golf is a game that is variously considered a pastime, recreation, sport, profession, religion or an obsession. To some the game is more an opportunity for relaxation than sport, and many travelers roam the world looking for unique and famous golf courses on which to hone their skill. Green fees might be cheaper in low-income countries. You should check in advance what is required to play at some of these courses.

Games

While boardgames, card games and video games are not always considered to be sports, contests and public events are usually organized in a similar manner. See Board games, Go, Chess, Xiangqi, Shogi, Gambling and Hacker tourism. Besides the "traditional" board and card games that date to before the industrial age, there is now a plethora of newer board games with the US and Germany particularly known for their own styles of games, Germany being known for more cooperative games and the US for more competitive and "warlike" games.

Spectator sports

See also: Spectator sports

Watching sport is just as much a reason for travel as actively participating in and playing sports. Whether it is a road game of your favorite sports team, a world cup or the top competition of your favorite sport that you have so far only seen on television, chances are you won't be able to do those things at home. Major sporting events on both a national and international level are a massive contributing factor to travel and tourism. In fact, cities will bid for the right to host these events just for the income the visitors generate. Often fans are in a bind because they don't want to buy tickets unless their team has confirmed their place but if they do so and leave it late, prices have skyrocketed. Travel revolving around sporting events is a massive industry and there are many businesses and tour groups who specialize in this.

Association football — the most popular sport in the world, with very intense rivalries that often trace their origins to contentious issues such as politics and religion.
- Association football in Europe. The best soccer leagues and most of the top players are all in Europe and the UEFA Champions' League is considered by many to be the best competition in the sport, only rivalled in quality by the World Cup, European Championships and Copa América (South American continental championship).
Basketball in North America. The NBA, based mainly in the United States but with one team based in Canada, is by far the best league of the second most popular sport in the world.
American football. America's most loved sport in terms of per game attendance is now played in other parts of the world as well, but to see the "real deal" most will consider travelling to North America, to see the best battle it out in the NFL, the CFL, and College Football at least once.
Rugby football. While rugby was invented in England, it has spread to almost all Commonwealth nations and some beyond that. The Rugby Union world cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and important rugby matches draw crowds nearing 100 000 people. However, in other countries, rugby is overshadowed by other sports and hardly played or watched. If you live in one of these, you'll have to travel to see the best play.
Baseball. The overwhelmingly dominating sport in the United States, before being overtaken by American football in the 1960s, baseball is still seen as "America's pastime" with Major League Baseball but also some Minor league teams attracting talent from all over the world. The many games per season as well as the many minor league teams make it easy to watch a game while passing through and tickets are (for American tastes at least) moderately priced, with some minor leagues even having free admission.
Ice hockey in North America. The fast-moving winter sport was invented in Canada and remains that country's official national winter sport, while the United States has made significant strides in both skill level and viewership.
Cricket. While this sport seems totally alien to most people who weren't born and raised in one of the Commonwealth countries, it is fervently and feverishly loved in those countries where it is widely known. Games between some national sides are a matter of national pride, especially involving long standing rivalries such as England-Australia or Pakistan-India
Formula One While some (including the International Olympic Committee) wouldn't call this a sport as it involves motorized vehicles, most of this activity's fans would think otherwise.
Australian rules football — the most popular spectator sport in Australia, often described as a cross between rugby football and association football