What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
Cricket is one of the oldest field sports in the world, believed to have begun in the 16th century or even earlier. A bat-and-ball game, teams of 11 bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team's innings.
Tennis is a racquet sport in which two opposing players (singles) or pairs of players (doubles) face each other over a net. The game is traditionally played on grass but can also take place on clay and what's known as a hard court made of uniformed, rigid materials with an acrylic surface layer.
Table tennis, also known an ping-pong, is a game played on a flat table divided into two courts by a net. Players stand at each end of the table and hit a lightweight ball back and forth across the courts using small solid rackets.
Badminton is played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles) using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net.
Golf is a club-and-ball sport. It's a cross-country game where the idea is to get the ball in each of the 18 holes in the fewest strokes possible.
A popular recreational activity as well as a competition event, bowling is a target sport in which a heavy ball is rolled down a long, narrow lane toward a group of objects known as pins, the aim being to knock them down.
The leisurely sport of lawn bowls requires a good deal of practice, patience, and an eye for the target, a small white ball known as a jack. The idea is for each player to roll a biased ball (unsymmetrical in nature) and place it as near to the jack as possible. The closest ball wins.
The game of pool, also known as billiards, is a cue sport usually played by two opposing players. The game has several specific names including eight-ball, blackball, and bank pool.
Snooker is an individual, non-contact, ball-and-cue sport played on a table between two opponents.
Usually played out by two opposing players, darts is also a team sport. Each competitor begins with a score of 501 and throws three darts during their turn. The winner is the competitor that reduces their score to exactly 0. The modern game of darts dates back to 1896.
The only contact made while this winter sport is played out is that of the brooms furiously wielded by competitors to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone.
Sources: (Historic UK) (History) (Dart Help)
The ribbon is one of the disciplines included in rhythmic gymnastics, a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus. A hoop, ball, clubs, or rope are also used.
A test of physical strength and precision timing, rings—also called still rings—is an exclusively male gymnastics competition.
Usually the most eagerly anticipated of all track-and-field competition events, the sprint is a footrace over a short distance with an all-out or nearly all-out burst of speed.
Besides the recreational use of a bike and as a mode of transportation, cycle sport is a competitive physical activity. There are several different categories of bicycle racing including road racing, track cycling, freestyle BMX, and mountain bike trials.
Rowing is the broad term given to the sport of racing boats using oars. An individual or team discipline, taking part at competition level requires strength, endurance, and aerobic capability.
Archery—a sport, practice, and skill of using a bow to shoot arrows— requires archers shoot at bull's-eye targets set at fixed or varying distances.
Canoe slalom is a timed event where competitors navigate a churning and unpredictable whitewater course by passing through a combination of upstream and downstream gates.
An ideal non-contact way to show off your soccer skills, freestyle football is the art of juggling a soccer ball using any part of the body, excluding the elbows to the hands.
The ultimate test of endurance, a marathon is a road race set at a distance of exactly 42.195 km (26.2 mi). This parameter was agreed upon at the 1908 Summer Olympic Games in London, by none other than Queen Alexandra.
Squash is a quick-fire racquet sport played by two players (or four players for doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball.
The javelin throw is the sport of throwing a spear for distance. It's also a track-and-field event.
The high jump on the other hand is a discipline in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it.
A track-and-field event, this sport involves competitors using a fiberglass pole as an aid to propel themselves high over a bar.
The shot put is one of the four traditional throw events in track and field. The shot, a metal ball (7.26kg/16lb for men, 4kg/8.8lb for women), is put—not thrown—with one hand.
The relay race is a track-and-field event that in fact involves a team of runners, usually four. However, the only contact made is that of the baton, exchanged by one athlete to the other as the race progresses towards the finish line.
Several disciplines of skiing exist. The most recognized perhaps include downhill and giant slalom. But cross-country and freestyle skiing are also popular.
Single skating, a discipline of figure skating, is a graceful sport requiring an individual to perform freestyle choreography on figure skates on ice.
Evolved from a recreational activity, snowboarding involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a board that's attached to the rider's feet.
A powerhouse sport, weightlifting requires the athlete to lift a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead. Those who successfully hoist the heaviest weights wins.
Swimming is one of the most popular recreational sports on the planet. At a competitive level, it's just you and the stopwatch.
Are you the competitive type but not so keen on full-contact team sports? Well, there are plenty on non-contact sporting disciplines to consider. Non-contact sports are those where participants compete alternately in lanes or are physically separated during an event or competition—so you can be the best while detached from the rest! But what are some of the most popular non-contact sports?
Click through and check out the competitions where participants should have no possible means of impact.
Non-contact sports you need to try
Be the best while detached from the rest
LIFESTYLE Acitivities
Are you the competitive type but not so keen on full-contact team sports? Well, there are plenty on non-contact sporting disciplines to consider. Non-contact sports are those where participants compete alternately in lanes or are physically separated during an event or competition—so you can be the best while detached from the rest! But what are some of the most popular non-contact sports?
Click through and check out the competitions where participants should have no possible means of impact.