66-805: British Universities and Colleges Sport , commonly abbreviated as BUCS , is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom . BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United Kingdom, as well as representative teams for the FISU World University Championships and the FISU World University Games . BUCS is a membership organisation of over 165 universities and colleges , with six thousand teams competing across 850 leagues. Anne, Princess Royal
132-492: A wage or salary ). Amateur participation in sport at lower levels is often called "grassroots sport". The popularity of spectator sport as a recreation for non-participants has led to sport becoming a major business in its own right, and this has incentivised a high paying professional sport culture, where high performing participants are rewarded with pay far in excess of average wages, which can run into millions of dollars. Some sports, or individual competitions within
198-547: A "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament format, producing a champion . Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season , followed in some cases by playoffs . Sport is generally recognised as system of activities based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity , with major competitions admitting only sports meeting this definition. Some organisations, such as
264-717: A ball has crossed the goal line or not. The technology is not compulsory, but was used in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, as well as in the Premier League from 2013–14 , and the Bundesliga from 2015–16 . In the NFL , a referee can ask for a review from the replay booth, or a head coach can issue a challenge to review the play using replays. The final decision rests with
330-571: A certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations and multi-sport events also exist for other groups such as the Invictus Games for military veterans. Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national or international federations, but there
396-471: A disability have no equivalent in able-bodied sports. Masters sport , senior sport , or veteran sport is an age category of sport, that usually contains age groups of those 35 and older. It may concern unaltered or adapted sport activities, with and without competitions. Competitions The competition element of sport, along with the aesthetic appeal of some sports, result in the popularity of people attending to watch sport being played. This has led to
462-584: A particular sport, as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs . Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizer of the modern Olympic Games . General sports organizations are responsible for sports-related topics, usually for
528-769: A small number of mind sports, it is not open to admitting any further mind sports. There has been an increase in the application of the term "sport" to a wider set of non-physical challenges such as video games , also called esports (from "electronic sports"), especially due to the large scale of participation and organised competition, but these are not widely recognised by mainstream sports organisations. According to Council of Europe , European Sports Charter, article 2.i, " 'Sport' means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels." There are opposing views on
594-468: A sport from other leisure activities varies between sources. The closest to an international agreement on a definition is provided by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), which is the association for all the largest international sports federations (including association football , athletics , cycling , tennis , equestrian sports , and more), and is therefore
660-471: A sport, retain a policy of allowing only amateur sport . The Olympic Games started with a principle of amateur competition with those who practised a sport professionally considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practised it merely as a hobby. From 1971, Olympic athletes were allowed to receive compensation and sponsorship, and from 1986, the IOC decided to make all professional athletes eligible for
726-516: A team in the minor leagues . This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire them to contribute more to the team by playing better. A 2014 study by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) criticized major international sports governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA for not having sufficient provisions for human and labor rights. Sport Sport
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#1732772254798792-531: A type of national federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due to government recognition requirements. Also, national governing bodies can be a supraorganization representing a range of unrelated organizations operating in
858-495: A variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport that they govern. Governing bodies have different scopes. They may cover a range of sport at an internationally acceptable level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee , or only a single sport at a national level, such as
924-555: Is running , while association football is the most popular spectator sport. The word "sport" comes from the Old French desport meaning " leisure ", with the oldest definition in English from around 1300 being "anything humans find amusing or entertaining". Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling; hunting; and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise. Roget's defines
990-453: Is a form of physical activity or game . Often competitive and organized , sports use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills . They also provide enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Many sports exist, with different participant numbers, some are done by a single person with others being done by hundreds. Most sports take place either in teams or competing as individuals. Some sports allow
1056-437: Is a problem at some national and international sporting contests. Female participation in sports continues to rise alongside the opportunity for involvement and the value of sports for child development and physical fitness . Despite increases in female participation during the last three decades, a gap persists in the enrollment figures between male and female players in sports-related teams. Female players account for 39% of
1122-431: Is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues , and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting . Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in others integral to the sport. According to A.T. Kearney , a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $ 620 billion as of 2013. The world's most accessible and practised sport
1188-516: Is common for popular sports to attract large broadcast audiences, leading to rival broadcasters bidding large amounts of money for the rights to show certain events. The football World Cup attracts a global television audience of hundreds of millions; the 2006 final alone attracted an estimated worldwide audience of well over 700 million and the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final attracted an estimated audience of 135 million in India alone. In
1254-468: Is currently patron of BUCS. BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS). As of 2024, BUCS organise competition across 54 sports. Certain university and college sports are not governed by BUCS for various reasons. The following is a partial list of these sports and respective competitions: Team sports compete in BUCS leagues, with
1320-736: Is made up of the chair, five independent directors and four BUCS directors - two representing students and two representing the staff of the membership. Chair of the Board: Vacant Commercial Director and Senior Independent Director: Russell James Sport and Competition Director: Katy Storie Finance Director: Simon Wilson EDIA Director: Vacant Legal and Governance Director: Carrie Stephenson Chair of BUCS Senior Managers Executive: Cathy Gallagher Chair of BUCS Advisory Group: Chris Anthony Student Director: Ella Williams Student Director, Welfare Lead: George Christian In 2019, BUCS introduced
1386-615: Is responsible for directing, managing, and representing their federation. Trusts are organizations or groups that have control over the money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust . National governing bodies have the same objectives as those of an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national teams . National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both
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#17327722547981452-494: Is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in separate leagues. Also, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have
1518-842: The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin , and the 1936 Winter Olympics held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , to promote the Nazi ideology of the superiority of the Aryan race , and inferiority of the Jews and other " undesirables ". Germany used the Olympics to give off a peaceful image while secretly preparing for war. When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sports people, particularly in rugby union , adopted
1584-546: The Council of Europe , preclude activities without any physical element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports . The International Olympic Committee who oversee the Olympic Games recognises both chess and bridge as sports. SportAccord , the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: chess, bridge, draughts , Go and xiangqi . However, they limit
1650-646: The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) if she/he played or supported Association football , or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of football and rugby union at Gaelic venues. This ban, also known as Rule 42, is still enforced, but was modified to allow football and rugby to be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road was redeveloped into Aviva Stadium . Until recently, under Rule 21,
1716-512: The Rugby Football League . National bodies will largely have to be affiliated with international bodies for the same sport. The first international federations were formed at the end of the 19th century. Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way that the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. This is because sports have different levels of difficulty and skill, so they can try to organize
1782-675: The de facto representative of international sport. GAISF uses the following criteria, determining that a sport should: They also recognise that sport can be primarily physical (such as rugby or athletics ), primarily mind (such as chess or Go ), predominantly motorised (such as Formula 1 or powerboating ), primarily co-ordination (such as snooker and other cue sports ), or primarily animal-supported (such as equestrian sport ). The inclusion of mind sports within sport definitions has not been universally accepted, leading to legal challenges from governing bodies in regards to being denied funding available to sports. Whilst GAISF recognises
1848-489: The war on drugs encourage youth sport as a means to increase educational participation and to fight the illegal drug trade . According to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital , the biggest risk for youth sport is death or serious injury including concussion . These risks come from running, basketball, association football, volleyball, gridiron, gymnastics, and ice hockey. Youth sport in
1914-470: The BUCS marquee. The accumulation of these points determines the overall BUCS champion. Loughborough University have topped the overall BUCS standings in each of the 14 years since its founding, including the 2023–24 season. As of 2024, no university has scored within 1000 points of Loughborough in the overall standings. Both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in
1980-659: The Championship and Trophy finals across 16 league sports. As of 2023, Big Wednesday will take place at Loughborough University . BUCS Nationals is an annual multisport event that takes place across three days. As of 2023, indoor athletics, swimming, badminton and climbing are the sports represented at BUCS Nationals. The event is held in Sheffield . Over the year, BUCS runs over 120 events for both individual and team sports. BUCS Points are awarded to institutions based on their finishing positions in leagues and events under
2046-657: The GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban. Nationalism is often evident in the pursuit of sport, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. On occasion, such tensions can lead to violent confrontation among players or spectators within and beyond
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2112-542: The Hall of Fame to celebrate the centenary of university sport in the United Kingdom. The Hall of Fame acknowledges individual dedication to and achievements in sport. As of 2024, 18 athletes have been inducted into the BUCS Hall of Fame. Sports 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
2178-523: The IOC or SportAccord are required to implement a testing programme, looking for a list of banned drugs, with suspensions or bans being placed on participants who test positive for banned substances. Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism by fans in particular
2244-812: The Olympic level where applicable. About 30 international sport federations are located in Switzerland , with about 20 or so in the Lausanne area, where the International Olympic Committee is located. International federations for sports that do not participate in the Olympic Games are managed by equivalent organizations to the International Olympic Committee , such as the SportAccord . International federations are typically organized with legislative and executive branches at
2310-413: The Olympics, with the exceptions of boxing , and wrestling. Technology plays an important part in modern sport. It is a necessary part of some sports (such as motorsport), and it is used in others to improve performance. Some sports also use it to allow off-field decision making. Sports science is a widespread academic discipline, and can be applied to areas including athlete performance, such as
2376-518: The US is a $ 15 billion industry including equipment up to private coaching. Disabled or adaptive sports are played by people with a disability , including physical and intellectual disabilities . As many of these are based on existing sports modified to meet the needs of people with a disability, they are sometimes referred to as adapted sports . However, not all disabled sports are adapted; several sports that have been specifically created for people with
2442-605: The United Kingdom . Members of both FISU (International University Sport Federations) and EUSA (European University Sports Association) , BUCS is responsible for sending a cohort of students to international events including the World University Summer & Winter Games and the European Universities Games . The British international team goes by the name of GB Students . BUCS applies for annual funding from Sport England to support
2508-687: The United States, the championship game of the NFL , the Super Bowl , has become one of the most watched television broadcasts of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is a de facto national holiday in America; the viewership being so great that in 2015, advertising space was reported as being sold at $ 4.5m for a 30-second slot. Sport can be undertaken on an amateur, professional or semi-professional basis, depending on whether participants are incentivised for participation (usually through payment of
2574-790: The activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice , that it is "not that you won or lost but how you played the game", and the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin : "The most important thing... is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment. Key principles of sport include that the result should not be predetermined, and that both sides should have equal opportunity to win. Rules are in place to ensure fair play, but participants can break these rules in order to gain advantage. Participants may cheat in order to unfairly increase their chance of winning, or in order to achieve other advantages such as financial gains. The widespread existence of gambling on
2640-415: The ancient Olympics up to the present century. Industrialisation has brought motorised transportation and increased leisure time , letting people attend and follow spectator sports and participate in athletic activities. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans followed
2706-471: The community in sports such as mass media campaigns, educational sessions, and policy changes. There is also no high-quality studies that investigate the effect of such interventions in promoting healthy behaviour change in the community. sports is one of the important part of life Benito Mussolini used the 1934 FIFA World Cup , which was held in Italy, to showcase Fascist Italy . Adolf Hitler also used
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2772-483: The conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects. In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism . Until the mid-20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football , hurling , or other sports administered by
2838-455: The delivery of student sport across the country . They also work with national governing bodies to develop sports within the student sector and some posts within BUCS are funded by such bodies, with the aim of developing specific student sports. The Football Association (FA) fund projects and positions within BUCS to help develop grassroots football . With their investment, BUCS set up 167 FA Grassroot Hubs to support football and futsal in
2904-561: The end of the match time. Artifacts and structures suggest sport in China as early as 2000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been popular in China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports, including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt . Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as
2970-585: The exploits of professional athletes – all while enjoying the exercise and competition associated with amateur participation in sports. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been increasing debate about whether transgender sports people should be able to participate in sport events that conform with their post-transition gender identity . Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat. Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that
3036-515: The higher education sector, benefiting over 250 thousand participants. BUCS also collaborated with the FA to create the Women's Leadership Programme, providing female students with important skills and qualities to help them in their future careers. The first cohort of leaders graduated in 2020. The BUCS Board is responsible for leading strong governance and strategic leadership within the sector. The Board
3102-414: The host broadcaster, a number of different technologies are used during an umpire or player review, including instant replays, Hawk-Eye , Hot Spot and Real Time Snickometer . Hawk-Eye is also used in tennis to challenge umpiring decisions. Research suggests that sports have the capacity to connect youth to positive adult role models and provide positive development opportunities, as well as promote
3168-427: The impact of losing on less able participants, there has been an introduction of non-competitive physical activity to traditionally competitive events such as school sports days , although moves like this are often controversial. In competitive events, participants are graded or classified based on their "result" and often divided into groups of comparable performance, (e.g. gender, weight and age). The measurement of
3234-509: The impact of technical advantage between participants. For example, in 2010, full-body, non-textile swimsuits were banned by FINA , as they were enhancing swimmers' performances. The increase in technology has also allowed many decisions in sports matches to be taken, or reviewed, off-field, with another official using instant replays to make decisions. In some sports, players can now challenge decisions made by officials. In Association football , goal-line technology makes decisions on whether
3300-431: The learning and application of life skills . In recent years the use of sport to reduce crime , as well as to prevent violent extremism and radicalization , has become more widespread, especially as a tool to improve self-esteem , enhance social bonds and provide participants with a feeling of purpose. There is no high-quality evidence that shows the effectiveness of interventions to increase sports participation of
3366-493: The majority of league fixtures taking place on Wednesday afternoons, which is commonly referred to as BUCS Wednesday. Wednesday afternoons are generally free from lectures to allow students to compete in sport. There are 850 leagues, with institutions across the country competing against each other to avoid relegation or win the league and gain promotion to higher leagues. The finals of the Championship and Trophy are played at BUCS Big Wednesday. This annual single-day event showcases
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#17327722547983432-512: The necessity of competition as a defining element of a sport, with almost all professional sports involving competition, and governing bodies requiring competition as a prerequisite of recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or GAISF. Other bodies advocate widening the definition of sport to include all physical activity. For instance, the Council of Europe include all forms of physical exercise, including those competed just for fun. In order to widen participation, and reduce
3498-525: The noun sport as an "activity engaged in for relaxation and amusement" with synonyms including diversion and recreation. The singular term "sport" is used in most English dialects to describe the overall concept (e.g. "children taking part in sport"), with "sports" used to describe multiple activities (e.g. "football and rugby are the most popular sports in England"). American English uses "sports" for both terms. The precise definition of what differentiates
3564-581: The number of mind games which can be admitted as sports. Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs , which serve to ensure fair competition. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression. Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news . Sport
3630-520: The people playing their sport by ability and by age. The different types of sport governing bodies are all shown below: International sports federations are non-governmental non-profit organizations for a given sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines, such as aquatics or skiing ) and administers its sport at the highest level. These federations work to create a common set of rules, promote their sport, and organize international competitions. International sports federations represent their sport at
3696-572: The referee. A video referee (commonly known as a Television Match Official or TMO) can also use replays to help decision-making in rugby (both league and union ). In international cricket, an umpire can ask the Third umpire for a decision, and the third umpire makes the final decision. Since 2008, a decision review system for players to review decisions has been introduced and used in ICC -run tournaments, and optionally in other matches. Depending on
3762-412: The result may be objective or subjective, and corrected with "handicaps" or penalties. In a race, for example, the time to complete the course is an objective measurement. In gymnastics or diving the result is decided by a panel of judges, and therefore subjective. There are many shades of judging between boxing and mixed martial arts, where victory is assigned by judges if neither competitor has lost at
3828-596: The result of sports events can affect the results. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that when the home team wins the game before the election, the incumbent candidates can increase their share of the vote by 1.5 per cent. A loss had the opposite effect, and the effect is greater for higher-profile teams or unexpected wins and losses. Also, when Washington Redskins win their final game before an election, then
3894-450: The results of sports events creates a motivation for match fixing , where a participant or participants deliberately work to ensure a given outcome rather than simply playing to win. The competitive nature of sport encourages some participants to attempt to enhance their performance through the use of medicines, or through other means such as increasing the volume of blood in their bodies through artificial means . All sports recognised by
3960-558: The specific phenomenon of spectator sport. Both amateur and professional sports attract spectators, both in person at the sport venue, and through broadcast media including radio , television and internet broadcast. Both attendance in person and viewing remotely can incur a sometimes substantial charge, such as an entrance ticket, or pay-per-view television broadcast. Sports league and tournament are two common arrangements to organise sport teams or individual athletes into competing against each other continuously or periodically. It
4026-658: The sporting venue, as in the Football War . These trends are seen by many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sport being carried on for its own sake and for the enjoyment of its participants. Sport and politics collided in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Masked men entered the hotel of the Israeli Olympic team and killed many of their men. This was known as the Munich massacre . A study of US elections has shown that
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#17327722547984092-575: The time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sport in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sport became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games , which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia . Sports have been increasingly organised and regulated from the time of
4158-417: The top. The legislative body is usually referred to as a congress or general assembly of the international federation and is responsible for defining its sports policies. It consists of all of the national federations, each of which receives one vote. On the other hand, the executive branch, which is often referred to as the council or executive committee, consists of elected members by the legislative branch and
4224-465: The total participation in US interscholastic athletics. Certain sports are mixed-gender , allowing (or even requiring) men and women to play on the same team. One example of this is Baseball5 , which is the first mixed-gender sport to have been admitted into an Olympic event. Youth sport presents children with opportunities for fun, socialisation, forming peer relationships, physical fitness , and athletic scholarships . Activists for education and
4290-403: The traditional Iranian martial art of Zoorkhaneh had a close connection to warfare skills. Among other sports that originated in ancient Persia are polo and jousting . Various traditional games of India such as Kho kho and Kabbadi have been played for thousands of years. The kabaddi was played potentially as a preparation for hunting. A wide range of sports were already established by
4356-460: The use of video analysis to fine-tune technique, or to equipment, such as improved running shoes or competitive swimwear . Sports engineering emerged as a discipline in 1998 with an increasing focus not just on materials design but also the use of technology in sport, from analytics and big data to wearable technology . In order to control the impact of technology on fair play, governing bodies frequently have specific rules that are set to control
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