Sports Frequently Asked Questions
Olympic Sports
Summer sports:
Swimming
Diving
Synchronized Swimming
Water Polo
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Canoe/Kayak Flatwater
Canoe/Kayak Slalom
Cycling
Equestrian
Fencing
Football
Gymnastics Artistic
Gymnastics Rhythmic
Gymnastics Trampoline
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Softball
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Beach Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Winter sports:
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Curling
Ice Hockey
Luge
Skating
Skiing
Soccer
- 2 teams of 11 players
- 2, 45-minute halves with 15-minute halftime. Clock isn't stopped when play is stopped. The referee keeps time and stoppage time is added at the end of each half
-Considered most popular sport in the world
- Score by getting ball in opposing team's net
- Goalkeeper is only player who can use hands
- Most goals wins
- If tied, called a draw or goes into overtime. First goal to score in overtime wins
- Penalty kick shoot out occurs after overtime
- Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is governing body
- FIFA World Cup every 4 years. 2010 is in South Africa
- Positions
- Strikers/Fowards: Ronaldo
- Left and right midfielders: David Beckham
- Left and right defenders: Alexi Lalas
- Goalie: Olivie Kahn
- Goal Kick: Ball crosses goal line without goal score and without being touched by defender
- Throw in: kicked out of bounds by opposing team. Throw the ball back into bounds
- Corner Kick: Ball crosses goal line and touched last by defending team. Ball is kicked back into bounds from the corner of the field
- Penalty Kick: Fouled team gets a free kick at the goal with goalie trying to stop it
- Free Kick: Fouled team gets a free kick at the goal with goalie trying to stop it
- Yellow Card: warning
- Red Card: Removal from the game
Basketball
- 2 teams of 5 players
-4 quarters of 12 minutes each in NBA with 5 minutes overtime
- NCAA basketball is 2 halves of 20 minutes each
- Object is to throw the ball into the opposing player's hoop. Hoop is 10 ft. high
- Most points wins
- Dribbling, passing and throwing are acceptable means to move the ball down the court
- Nationa Basketball Association (NBA) American governing body
- 2 points scored each basket unless the ball is shot fromoutside of the 3-point are which is 23 ft. 9 in. from basket
- 30 teams in NBA, 29 in the US and 1 team in Canada
- Exchange baskets after halftime
- Play clock is stopped when play isn't in progress
- 12-man roster
- Unlimited substitutions
- Free throw = 1 point
- Positions
- Point guard: fastest player, controls the offense. Example: Jason Kidd
- Shooting guard: Takes a lot of shorts, guards the other team's best perimeter player. Example: Kobe Bryant
- Small forward: Scores points, cuts to basket for rebounds and steals. Example: Lebron James
- Power forward: Plays offense with back to basket. During defense he plays under the basket or versus the other team's power forward. Example: Tim Duncan
- Center: Uses height to score, protects basket and rebounds. Example: Shaquile O'Neal
- Zone defense: Positions guard whoever comes into his/her zone
- Man-to-man: Each player guards a specific person
Tennis
- 2 players against each other (singles)
- 4 players, two against two (doubles)
-Play with a strung rachket and yellow ball
- Court surface can be red clay, green clay, grass, asphalt or carpet
- Scoring
- Server says his/her score first
- 0 points is called Love
- 15-love, 30-love, 40-love, game or 15-15, 15-30, 30-30, 40-30, game
- 40-40 called Deuce
- Have to win 4 points, win by 2 points to win the game
- 6 games equals one set, win by 2 games. 6 games all, play a tiebreaker, which is best to 7 points, win by 2
- Women play 2 out of 3 sets
- Men play 3 out of 5 sets in majors and master's tournaments
- Break point: when the non-server has a game point
- There are four major tournaments called Grand Slams
- Australian Open: played in Sydney, Australia is January. Played on hardcourt
- French Open: played in Paris, France in May-June. Played on red clay
- Wimbledon: played in London, England in June-July. Played on grass
- U.S. Open: played in Flushing, New York in September. Played on hardcourt
- Notable players: Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, Venus and Serena Williams, Billie Jean King
- Strokes
- Forehand
- Backhand
- Overhead
- Serve
- Volley
- Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) are governing bodies for both men and women
Hockey
• 2 teams, 6 players per team. 22-player roster
• 3-20 minute periods
• International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and National Hockey League (NHL) are governing bodies
• Use sticks to hit a 3 inch frozen puck into the opposing team’s net
• Positions:
• Goalie: Stops puck from going into net
• Left and right defenseman: Stop players from getting near their goal
• Left and right wingers: Score goals
• Center: Takes face offs, plays offense and defense
• Blue line divides the ice into 3 parts: defense zone, offense zone and neutral zone
• If penalty is committed, player goes into penalty box for the time of the foul. The opposing team is then on a power play.
• NHL has 2 conferences with 3 divisions per conference
• Stanley Cup is won by the team that wins the playoffs
• Notable players: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Sydney Crosby, Mario LeMeux
Baseball
• 2 teams, 9 players per team
• Score runs by hitting ball and touching four bases
• Hitting lasts until opposing team gets three players out
• Each inning is composed of both teams getting three outs
• One major league game is 9 innings
• Major League Baseball (MLB) is governing body
• 2 leagues (American League and National League), each separated into 3 divisions, East, West, and Central
• World Series is played by the winning teams of each divisional playoff
• End of regular season, four teams make the playoffs from each league. 3 regular season division winners, and one wild card team. The wild card team is the team that has the best record that didn’t win the division.
• In the National League the pitcher has to bat.
• In the American League, the 9th batter is called the designated hitter.
• Infield: the dirt area with four bases. Positions:
• Pitcher
• Catcher
• First baseman
• Second baseman
• Shortstop
• Third baseman
• Outfield: the grass area with three positions:
• Right fielder
• Left fielder
• Center fielder
• At bat, the pitcher throws to the batter. 3 strikes is a strikeout, 4 balls and the batter gets to walk to first base. If a batter hits the ball out of bounds, it counts as a strike unless there are two strikes.
• Home run: the batter hits the ball over the back fence or wall without being caught
• Grand slam: Batter hits a home run with runners on all three bases
• Inside-the-park home run: Batter hits the ball and runs around all four bases before he/she gets out
• Single: ball is hit and batter runs to first base safely
• Double: ball is hit and batter runs to second base safely
• Triple: ball is hit and batter runs to third base safely
• Base runners can steal bases by running to the next base after the pitcher throws the ball and before the batter hits it
• Notable players: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Daryl Strawberry, Cal Ripken, Jr., Ken Griffery, Jr., Nolan Ryan
Softball
• 2 teams of 9 players
• 7 innings
• The ball used is bigger than a baseball
• Can be fast-pitched softball or slow-pitched
• Other rules are the same as baseball
Football
• 2 teams, 11 players each
• Goal is to get the ball into the other team’s end zone by running or passing.
• National Football League (NFL) governing body
• 32 teams in 2 leagues, American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC)
• Winner of each conference plays in the Super Bowl. Playoff consists of 12 teams
• The field is 120 yards long, with 10 yards on each end being the end zone. Every 5 yards there is a line drawn to indicate yardage
• Goal posts and cross bar are placed in the back of the end zone for field goal attempts
• 4-15 minute quarters with a halftime in between
• The team on offense has 4 downs to move the ball 10-yards
• After four downs, the ball is turned over on downs
• On four down the team with the ball can punt to send the ball down the field for the other team to start its possession
• Fumble: When the ball is dropped and a defender picks it up
• Safety: When a player with the ball is tackled in his own end zone
• A touchdown is worth 6 points
• A field goal is worth 3 points
• The extra point kicked after a touchdown is worth 1 point
• A 2-point conversion can be attempted after a touchdown and is scored by running or throwing the ball into the end zone
• A safety is 2 points
• Penalties
• false start
• offsides
• holding
• pass interference
• delay of game
• face mask
• illegal block to the back
• clipping
• Positions
• Offensive line- 7 players have to be on the line of scrimmage
• Guard
• Center
• Tackle
• Quarterback
• Running back
• Wide Receiver
• Tight End
• Defensive Line- 6 players have to be on the line of scrimmage
• Defensive end
• Defensive tackle
• Nose tackle
• Linebacker
• Defensive back
• Cornerback
• Safety
• Each player is given a number based on his positions
• 1-9: Quarterbacks, kickers, and punters
• 10-19: Quarterbacks, kickers, punters, wide receivers
• 20-49: Running backs, defensive backs
• 50-59: Centers, Linebackers
• 60-79: Offensive and Defensive Lineman
• 80-89: Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
• 90-99: Defensive Lineman and Linebackers
• Notable Players: Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Michael Irvin, Lawerence Taylor, Anthony Muñoz, Mike Webster