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Sports and Games - W

These are all sports and games beginning with the letter W.

Walking

Walking races have been included in the Olympic events since 1906 but walking matches have been known since 1859. The athletes must maintain unbroken contact with the ground at all times. This means that the rear foot must not leave the ground until the front foot has made contact with the ground. Road walking has become more popular than track walking. Often a race will start on the track inside a stadium, go onto roads and then finish on the same track.

Water Polo

Water polo is a game for two teams of seven players (and four substitutes). The ball and the goals resemble those used in soccer, though all shots and passes are, of course, thrown not kicked. In water polo the object is to score goals. The players may throw the ball one-handed and are not allowed to touch the ball with both hands at the same time. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to punch the ball. A game lasts for twenty minutes - four five minute periods.

Water Skiing

Water skiing as we now know it was pioneered by Ralph Samuelson (USA) on Lake Pepin, Minnesota in 1922. For competitions, the sport is divided into trick skiing, slalom and ski jumping. Normally each category has two rounds. In each round a competitor has three jumps, two passes down the course for trick riding, and for slalom continues to go round the course (at increasing speeds) until they miss a buoy or falls off. The competitor with the most points at the end of the two rounds for all three categories is the winner.

Weightlifting

Power lifting involves different techniques which perhaps have greater emphasis on sheer strength rather than technique. The three basic lifts are the squat (or deep knee bend), bench press and dead lift.

Windsurfing

Windsurfing as a sport was pioneered by Henry Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake in California in 1968. It is also known as board sailing.

Wrestling

Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world. It has developed in varying forms in different countries, with the classical Greco-Roman style the most popular in Europe, and free style more popular in the East and the Americas. The main difference between the two styles is that in Greco-Roman the wrestler cannot seize his opponent below the hips nor grip with the legs.