Winter sport
A winter sport or winter activity is a recreational activity or sport which is played on snow or ice.[1] Most such sports are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally such sports were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Artificial ice can be used to provide ice rinks for ice skating, ice hockey and bandy in a milder climate.
Common individual sports include cross-country skiing, Alpine skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, figure skating, luge, skeleton, bobsleigh and snowmobiling. Common team sports include ice hockey, curling and bandy. Based on the number of participants, ice hockey is the world's most popular winter sport, followed by bandy.[2][3] Winter sports often have their own multi-sport tournaments, such as the Winter Olympic Games.
History
Snow and ice during the wintertime has led to other means of transportation, such as sledges, skis and skates. This also led to different pastimes and sports being developed in the winter season as compared to other times of the year. Naturally, winter sports are more popular in countries with longer winter seasons.
While most winter sports are played outside, ice hockey, speed skating and to some extent bandy have moved indoors starting in the mid-20th century. Indoor ice rinks with artificial ice allow ice skating and hockey to be played in hot climates.
List of winter sports
Note: the Olympic rings next to a sport indicates that this particular sport is included in the Winter Olympic Games, as of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Paralympic logo indicates the same for a sport not in the Olympics but in the Winter Paralympic Games.
Ice skating
Skiing
![](../I/m/Skier-carving-a-turn.jpg)
![](../I/m/Jeremy_Teela_2002_Olympics.jpg)
- Acroski
- Alpine skiing
- Biathlon
- Cross-country skiing
- Freestyle skiing
- Kite skiing
- Mogul skiing
- Monoskiing
- Newschool skiing
- Nordic combined
- Ski archery
- Skiboarding
- Skibob
- Skijoring
- Ski jumping
- Snowkiting
- Speed skiing
- Speed riding
- Telemark skiing
- Winter pentathlon
Sledding
![](../I/m/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-09740-0004%2C_Oberhof%2C_II._Wintersportmeisterschaften%2C_Bobfahren.jpg)
Sports that use sleds going down ice tracks or pulled by something:
Snowboarding
Snowmobiling
![](../I/m/SnowmobilesYellowstone.jpg)
- Free style
- Snocross
- Recreation
- Cross-country
- Hill climbing
Team sports
- Bandy
- Broomball
- Curling
- Ice hockey
- Ice stock sport
- Military patrol
- Ringette
- Rink bandy
- Sledge hockey
- Snow rugby
- Snow snake
- Synchronized skating
- Yukigassen (competitive snowball fight)
Other sports
- Ice climbing
- Ice speedway
- Snowbiking
- Ice canoeing
- Cold-weather biking
- Snow drifting
- Cross country running[4]
Recreational sports
Some 'sports' are competed (or simply enjoyed) on a more casual basis, often by children:
- Building snowmen
- Building snow fortresses or digging snow caves
- Ice boating or ice sailing
- Ice fishing
- Ice swimming
- Shinny
- Snowball fight
- Tobogganing
- Snow bowling[5]
- Snowshoeing
- Snow golf[6]
Notable winter sporting events
![A postage stamp with a blue background and two figure skaters skating, the date 1968 is centered on the top of the stamp along with the Olympic rings. The word "Winterspiele" is written down the right side, the words "X Olympische" are written down the left side. The number 25 is in the lower left corner and the letters "DDR" are in the lower right corner](../I/m/Stamps_of_Germany_(DDR)_1968%2C_MiNr_1339.jpg)
- Winter Olympic Games
- Nordic Games
- World Cup
- Arctic Winter Games
- Asian Winter Games
- Winter Paralympic Games
- Winter Universiade
- Winter Dew Tour
- Winter X Games
- Winter X Games Europe
See also
References
- ↑ "winter sports, noun". Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ "Bandyn är världens näst största vinteridrott" (in Swedish). Bandyworld. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ Bandy versus the 50 Olympic Winter Games Disciplines
- ↑ "Cross country for the Winter Olympics". Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ "Snow Bowling". Strictly Snow Games. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ↑ "Snow Golf". Strictly Snow Games. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- Syers, Edgar; Syers, Madge (eds.) (1908) The Book of Winter Sports London: Edward Arnold OCLC 4531800
- Dier, J. C. (ed.) (1912) The Book of Winter Sports, an attempt to catch the spirit of the keen joys of the winter season The Macmillan Company
- Jessup, Elon Huntington (1923) Snow and ice sports: a winter manual E. P. Dutton & company
- Cereghini (1955) Five Thousand Years of Winter Sports Edizioni del Milione
- Liebers, Arthur (1971) The Complete Book of Winter Sports NY: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
- "Winter Sports: Sport guides". BBC Online. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winter sports. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Winter sport. |
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Look up winter sport in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |