The regulation of sport is usually done by a
sport governing body
A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function.
Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...
for each
sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
, resulting in a core of relatively invariant, agreed
rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education
* Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule perta ...
. People responsible for
leisure
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...
activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining
sports federation
A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function.
Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...
s such as the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, or by forming their own regulatory body. In this way sports evolve from leisure activity to more formal sports: relatively recent newcomers are
BMX cycling,
snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
, etc. Some of these activities have been popular but uncodified pursuits for different lengths of time. Indeed, the formal regulation of sport is a relatively modern and increasing development. This method promotes a sport globally, in a very successful way. It also promotes the universality of each sport, by ensuring that the same gameplay rules are being practiced worldwide, using a standardized/homogenous international gameplay rule system (sanctioned by the respective international sports governing bodies) that is applied uniformly on all member associations and recognized leagues. Examples are
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
in association football and
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
in basketball, which have regulated international gameplay rules that are even practiced within US sports leagues today, despite not practicing them historically (which therefore meant that many US sports leagues weren't recognized by international governing bodies in the past, until they began to adopt international rules). In the sport of basketball the defender/defense cannot call foul.
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor racing is an example of strict and changing regulation, where the regulating body appears to control rather than to simply define the sport. There have been major changes in the rules of F1 recently, almost on an annual basis, and more are planned. Sometimes this is done for safety reasons, sometimes to make the racing more interesting as a
spectator sport
A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its competitions. Spectator sports may be professional sports or amateur sports. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are m ...
, and sometimes to promote
competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
through involvement of smaller
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
s. Some changes make overtaking more probable for example or reduce the probability of an overwhelming
technical
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
advantage by any one team. Although heavily regulated, most people agree that the sport has thereby greatly benefitted, not least through dramatic leaps in
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
.
The degree of organisation can vary from national or worldwide competitions for the sport, or it can occur in a purely ''ad hoc'', spontaneous way. A sport may be played individually (e.g. time trialling in cycling) or in a team, or just for recreation and well being (e.g. swimming).
Some challenging situations have had to be dealt with when there is an overlap of the regulation of the sport with other forms of regulation, e.g. safety (There have been serious losses of life in football audiences, through stand collapses or poor crowd management), or simple laws of the land (Some inadvertent or otherwise physical interchanges occur between participants: when is it acceptable for the sport regulating authority alone to investigate and if necessary punish these? Can there be economic or public relations pressures affecting these issues?)
The
broadcasting of sports events
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen ...
is also highly regulated, with contracts limiting who can show footage.
See also
*
Outline of sports
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sports:
Sport – a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively, sports can be played on land, in water and in ...
References
{{Sport
Sports rules and regulations
Politics and sports
Sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...