Sport is an activity that uses physical and/or mental energy
in which to complete goals to get points, played by many people
and for many years. Sport includes all forms of competitive physical
activity or games which, through casual or organised participation,
aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while
providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment
for spectators. Usually the contest or game is between two sides, each
attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a tie game; others
provide tie-breaking methods, to ensure one winner and one loser.
A number of such two-sided contests may be arranged in a tournament
producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion
by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases
by playoffs. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single
contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants,
either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as
racing, many contestants may compete, each against each other, with one
winner. Sport is generally recognised as system of activities which are
based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest
major competitions such as the Olympic Games
admitting only sports meeting this definition, and other organisations
such as the Council
of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical
element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive,
but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The
International Olympic Committee
recognises both chess and bridge as bona
fide sports, and SportAccord
,the international sports federation
association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess,
draughts, Go and xiangqi, and limits the number of mind games which
can be admitted as sports. Sports are usually governed by a set of
rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow
consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can be determined by
physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also
be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance,
including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance
or artistic impression. Records of performance are often kept, and for
popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported
in sport news. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for
non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to
sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Sports
betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central
to the sport. According to A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, the global
sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013. The world's
most accessible and practiced sport is running, while association
football is its most popular spectator sport.