National sport

A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.

Contents

De jure national sports

Country Sport Year defined as
national sport
Argentina pato 1953[1]
Bahamas sloop sailing 1993[2]
Bangladesh ("national game") kabaddi 1972[3]
Brazil capoeira 1972[4]
Canada Lacrosse (summer), Ice hockey (winter) 1994[5]
Chile Chilean rodeo 1962[6]
Colombia Tejo 2000[7]
India Field Hockey Unknown[8]
Mexico Charrería 1933[9]
Korea (Rep.) Taekwondo 1971[10]
Philippines Arnis 2009[11]
Puerto Rico ("autochthonous sport") Paso fino 1966[12]
Sri Lanka Volleyball 1991[13]
Uruguay destrezas criollas
("creole [i.e. gaucho] skills"[14])		 2006[15]

De facto national sports

Country Sport
Afghanistan Buzkashi[16]
Anguilla Yacht racing[17]
Antigua and Barbuda Cricket[18]
Barbados Cricket[19]
Bermuda Cricket[20]
Bhutan Archery[21]
Cuba Baseball[22][23][24]
Dominican Republic Baseball[25]
England Cricket[26]
Finland Pesäpallo[27]
Grenada Cricket[28]
Guyana Cricket[29]
India Field hockey [30][31]
Ireland ("national games") Gaelic games[32][33][34]
Jamaica Cricket[35]
Latvia Basketball (summer), Ice hockey (winter)[36]
Lithuania Basketball[37][38]
Netherlands Speed skating[39]
New Zealand Rugby union[40]
Norway Cross-country skiing[41][42]
Pakistan Field hockey[43]
Papua New Guinea Rugby league[44][45]
Peru Paleta Frontón[46]
Russia Bandy[47]
Scotland Golf[48]
Slovenia Alpine skiing [49][49]
Sweden Football [50]
Thailand Muay Thai[51]
Turkey ("ancestral sports") Wrestling[52] & Cirit[53]
United States Baseball[54][55]
Wales Rugby union[56]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Argentina Decree Nº 17468 of 16 September 1953". Global Legal Information Network. http://www.glin.gov/view.action?glinID=111271. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  2. ^ Craton, Michael; Gail Saunders (1998). Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People. University of Georgia Press. p. 471. ISBN 0820322849. 
  3. ^ "Banglapedia: Kabadi". Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://www.a-bangladesh.com/HT/K_0001.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Ha-du-du was given the name kabadi and the status of National Game in 1972." 
  4. ^ Lowell, John (1992). Ring of Liberation: Deceptive Discourse in Brazilian Capoeira. University of Chicago Press. p. 61. ISBN 0226476839. 
  5. ^ National Sports Act of Canada (1994)
  6. ^ Moreira Recchione, Alberto (December 2007). "La Medialuna: un edificio para Chile" (in Spanish). Revista de urbanismo (University of Chile) (17). ISSN 0717-5051. http://revistaurbanismo.uchile.cl/CDA/urb_completa/0,1313,ISID%253D728%2526IDG%253D1%2526ACT%253D1%2526PRT%253D20871,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "A reconocerse, en 1962, el rodeo como deporte nacional y oficial [10 de enero de 1962, oficio N°269 del Consejo Nacional de Deportes y Comité Olímpico de Chile]" 
  7. ^ "Colombia Law 613 of 4 September 2000". Global Legal Information Network. http://www.glin.gov/view.action?glinID=73716. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  8. ^ "National Game-National Symbol- Know India: National Portal Of India" (in English). National Informatics Center. http://india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=14. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  9. ^ "La Charrería "Nuestro Deporte Nacional"" (in Spanish). Mexican Department of Tourism. http://www.sectur.gob.mx/wb2/sectur/sect_Celebracion_del_Dia_Mundial_del_Turismo. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "El año de 1933 fue muy importante, ya que el general Abelardo L. Rodríguez, emite un decreto presidencial, dando a la Charrería el título de único Deporte Nacional." 
  10. ^ "History of Tae Kwon Do". North American Tae Kwon Do Schools. http://www.natkd-cdk.com/history_tkd_formation.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  11. ^ "Republic Act No. 9850: An Act declaring Arnis as the national martial art and sport of the Philippines". http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=L20100000001&query=null&page=1. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
  12. ^ "Puerto Rico Act 64 of 2000, S.B. 1856" (PDF). Office of Legislative Services of Puerto Rico. 2000-04-11. p. 1. http://www.oslpr.org/download/en/2000/0064.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "In 1966, the Public Parks and Recreation Administration and the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee awarded official recognition of the “paso fino” horse riding sport as the autochthonous sport of Puerto Rico." 
  13. ^ Fernando, Leslie (2005-06-03). "Sponsors President's Gold Cup tourney: Dialog assures future of VB". Daily News (Sri Lanka). http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/06/03/spo01.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "Way back in 1991 volleyball was declared as the national sport of Sri Lanka but it was only name sake." 
  14. ^ Aeberhard, Danny; Andrew Benson, Lucy Phillips, et al. (2001). The Rough Guide to Argentina. p. 198. ISBN 1858285690. ""displays of traditional gaucho skills (destrezas criollas)"" 
  15. ^ "Uruguay Law 17958 of 21 April 2006". Global Legal Information Network. http://www.glin.gov/view.action?glinID=177996. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  16. ^ "Buzkashi: the national game of Afghanist [sic"]. Embassy of Afghanistan, Canberra. http://www.afghanembassy.net/buz.php. Retrieved 2008-07-21. 
  17. ^ "Boat Racing Season Officially Opens". The Anguillian. 2007-03-03. http://www.festival.ai/article/articleview/4525/1/127/. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Director of Sports, Alkins Rogers, [...] reported that the Government recognizes boat racing as the national sport of Anguilla and was giving financial resources for its development." 
  18. ^ "Antiguans and Barbudans". everyculture.com. http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Afghanistan-to-Bosnia-Herzegovina/Antiguans-and-Barbudans.html. Retrieved 2008-07-10. "Cricket, a left-over from the British rule, is the national sport of Antigua and Barbuda." 
  19. ^ "Barbados: Sports". Government of Barbados. http://www.barbados.gov.bb/sports.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "The national sport of Barbados is cricket" 
  20. ^ Luke, Will (March 2007). "Cricket by association". The Wisden Cricketer. http://content-www.cricinfo.com/wisdencricketer/content/story/281649.html. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Bermuda are one of the few sides who count cricket as a national sport." 
  21. ^ "National Symbols". Bhutan Portal. Government of Bhutan. http://www.bhutan.gov.bt/government/abt_nationalsymbols.php. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "National Game: The national sport of Bhutan is archery." 
  22. ^ Gonzalez Echevarria, Roberto (1999). "A Cuban Belle Époque". The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball. Oxford University Press. pp. 76. ISBN 0195146050. "Baseball is so ingrained in Cuba that it has thrived as the "national sport" through forty years of a bitterly anti-American revolution." 
  23. ^ Mckinley, James C., Jr (1999-03-26). "Baseball; Clash of Cultures, Pride and Passion". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E4DE1530F935A15750C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-07-24. "Most Cubans, after all, consider baseball to be their national sport, a game entwined in history with their struggle for independence from Spain and the birth of their nation." 
  24. ^ Castro, Fidel (1999-08-13). "Speech at a meeting with Pan American Games delegation members". cuba.cu. http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1999/ing/f130899i.html. Retrieved 2008-07-24. "the game that [...] is [...] our national sport [...] I am talking of baseball" 
  25. ^ "Some facts about the Dominican Republic". Embassy of the Dominican Republic, Washington. http://www.domrep.org/kids.html. Retrieved 2008-07-22. "Baseball is the Dominican Republic’s national sport." 
  26. ^ Chandler, Joan M. (1988). Television and national sport : the United States and Britain. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252015169. http://books.google.com/books?id=WFxEQ3jeLLcC&lpg=PA116&dq=england%20national%20sport%20%2Bcricket&pg=PA116#v=onepage&q=england%20national%20sport%20+cricket&f=false. 
  27. ^ "About Finland: General information: Sports". Embassy of Finland, Washington. 2007-06-11. http://www.finland.org/doc/en/about/general/sports.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "the national sport, “pesäpallo”" 
  28. ^ "Batting For Grenada". Grenada Life. Grenada Board of Tourism. March 2007. pp. 38. http://azzurracastlegrenada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=69. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "in the first Grenada Cricket Classics [, h]eroes such as Sir Viv Richards, Joel Garner and Curtley Ambrose came together to promote what is considered by many to be the national sport in Grenada." 
  29. ^ "Games". Guyana Tourism Authority. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080606075705/http://guyana-tourism.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=178. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Cricket lovely Cricket! One cannot miss out on Guyana’s national sport without participating in a game of cricket while in Guyana." 
  30. ^ Basra, Sukhwant (2008-03-11). "No National status, except in NCERT textbooks". dnaindia. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1155419. Retrieved 2008-07-15. "The status of hockey as the national sport is not enshrined in any official proclamation by the Government of India. The NCERT textbook for Class XI does [...] state that India’s national game is hockey and that, in a way, does make for an official take on the issue." 
  31. ^ "Citizens: Sports: Hockey". National Portrait of India. Government of India. http://india.gov.in/hindi/citizen/sports_hockey.php. Retrieved 2008-07-22. "Hockey, the National Sport of the Country is one of the most religiously followed games in India." 
  32. ^ "RTÉ Secures Comprehensive GAA Championship Coverage Until 2010". RTÉ Online. 19 February 2008. http://www.rte.ie/about/pressreleases/2008/0219/gaachampionship2010.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29. "Today's announcement ensures that the public will enjoy quality coverage of our national games across all of RTÉ's media platforms." 
  33. ^ "Adjournment Matters. - Eurathlon Programme.". Seanad Éireann. 22 November 1995. pp. Volume 145. http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0145/S.0145.199511220006.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 
  34. ^ Farrelly, Hugh (2009-09-15). "The most progressive team in Ireland". Scrum.com. http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/story/102547.html. Retrieved 2009-09-17. "It's [the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final] a big deal in Ireland, where Gaelic games are the national sport, but the problem for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is that no-one outside the country, save for committed expatriates, gives a fig." 
  35. ^ "History of Jamaica". Jamaican Embassy, Washington. http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/ABOUThistory.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "The legacy of Britain also lives on in Jamaica in many ways [...] the game of cricket is the national sport." 
  36. ^ (Latvian) "Nacionālie sporta veidi...". http://www.nra.lv/zinas/27398-nacionalie-sporta-veidi.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-15. 
  37. ^ Adamkus, Valdas (2005-07-28). "Address at Charles University, Prague". President of Lithuania official website. http://www.president.lt/en/news.full/5829. Retrieved 2008-07-24. "Lithuania is a country that loves basketball. It is our national sport and we are proud to be reigning European Champions." 
  38. ^ Winn, Luke (August 15, 2011). "Lithuania Calling". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189174/index.htm. Retrieved August 24, 2011. "Basketball is the only sport the 3.2 million Lithuanians truly care about—it's their second religion, after Catholicism—and their success is proportionately stunning." 
  39. ^ "Dutch Speed Skater Spreads Tradition to Minnesota". Netherlands-American Association of Minnesota (NAAM). 2010. http://www.dutchclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:dutch-speed-skater-spreads-tradition-to-minnesota&catid=10:livingdutch&Itemid=15. Retrieved 2011-12-05. 
  40. ^ "Sport, Fitness and Leisure". New Zealand Official Yearbook. Statistics New Zealand. 2000. http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/0/479c4ffcbb884149cc256b1f00001198?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Traditionally New Zealanders have excelled in rugby union, which is regarded as the national sport, and track and field athletics." 
  41. ^ Mølster, Odd (1996). "Skiing and the Creation of a Norwegian Identity - part 2". News of Norway, issue 2. Norwegian Embassy, Washington. http://www.norway.org/News/archive/1996/199602ski.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "the national sport could become a fine weapon in time of war. In 1943, Norway's resistance movement won an epochal victory — on skis, of course" 
  42. ^ Berglund, Nina (2006-02-20). "Few cheers for Norway". Aftenposten. http://www.aftenposten.no/english/sports/article1228843.ece. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "The scoreboard shows how the Norwegians placed, a performance considered much too poor in a country where cross-country skiing is a national sport." 
  43. ^ "forumpakistan.com". http://www.forumpakistan.com/pakistan-hockey-t2770.html. 
  44. ^ "PNG vow to upset World Cup odds". Rugby League. Federación Peruana de Frontón. 2008-10-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/7671217.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-03. "But it would still be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Papua New Guinea - the only country to have rugby league as its national sport - were to qualify for the last four." 
  45. ^ "PNG seal 2010 Four Nations place". BBC. 2009-11-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/8336567.stm. 
  46. ^ "Paleta-Frontón". Club Regatas Lima. Club Regatas Lima. 2009-08-31. http://www.clubregatas.org.pe/historia/Paleta.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  47. ^ "Russian bandy players blessed for victory at world championship in Kazan". Tatar-Inform. 2011-01-21. http://eng.tatar-inform.ru/news/2011/01/21/33986/. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  48. ^ "Alex Salmond quote". Sport Scotland. 2009-08-31. http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/ChannelNavigation/News/TopicNavigation/Other+press+releases/articles/First+Minister+celebrates+Scotlands+golf+world+champions+as+new+figures+show+big+increase+in+youngst.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  49. ^ a b http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1754-9469.2007.tb00118.x/abstract
  50. ^ RF/SCB 2008 (svenska)
  51. ^ "Sport in Thailand". khaosanroad. 2010-10-25. http://www.khaosanroad.com/thailand_tips/sport_in_thailand.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  52. ^ "Ata Sporu - Güreş". Alaturka.info. http://www.alaturka.info/tr/akdeniz-boelgesi/spor-ve-eglence/ata-sporu-gueres.html. Retrieved 2009-12-31. 
  53. ^ "Ata Sporu - Cirit". Kalem.biz. http://www.kalem.biz/yazi.asp?islem=yazidetay&id=1621&db=1&konusu=Ata%20Sporu%20Cirit. Retrieved 2009-12-31. 
  54. ^ Duquette, Jerold J. (1999). Regulating the National Pastime: Baseball and Antitrust. Greenwood. p. 104. ISBN 027596535X. http://books.google.com/?id=uGiD4LrT6coC&pg=PA104&vq=pastime&dq=national+pastime. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Baseball justified its privileged legal status by citing the special nature and cultural significance of America's national pastime." 
  55. ^ Schrag, Myles (2003). "Baseball as National Pastime Revisted: And a Little Town Shall Lead Them". In Peter Carino. Baseball/literature/culture: Essays, 1995-2001. McFarland. p. Chp.13 p.140. ISBN 0786416432. http://books.google.com/books?id=e6RfXqIcY3kC&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=%22known+as+the+national+pastime%22&source=web&ots=YxBQqRmkgf&sig=IRgII2ZMuuM-dIFjGAo6aZau2vQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA140,M1. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Tradition — that quality so instrumental in elevating baseball to its century-old status as national pastime— has become less important" 
  56. ^ Harris, John (Summer 2006). "(Re)Presenting Wales: National Identity and Celebrity in the Postmodern Rugby World". North American Journal of Welsh Studies (North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History) 6 (2). http://spruce.flint.umich.edu/~ellisjs/Harris.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "rugby used to be the undisputed national sport of Wales [...] Rugby Union’s assumed position as ”the national game” has often been questioned on the basis that it is predominantly a game played and followed in South Wales." 
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