Historical Significance of Sports

It is likely that after the switch from hunter-gathering to farming becoming the primary means of providing food became dominant, those individuals who had previously been assigned to the Hunter role – and were likely naturally more physically built for the purpose – had little way to utilize their skill sets in a practical setting anymore, so instead entered a form of perpetual preparation for hunting and practicing the skills required, which then let to competitive bouts intended to indicate whoever was the most "prepared" for the different elements of the hunt; for example, the speed to chase down, strength to wrestle down or accuracy to rapidly dispatch the prey and associated wagering on the outcomes of contests, which then evolved gradually into what we would today recognize as sports.

With the first Olympic Games in 776 BC—which included events such as foot and chariot races, wrestling, jumping, and discus and javelin throwing—the Ancient Greeks introduced formal sports to the world. The following by no means exhaustive list takes a look at the beginnings and evolution of some of today's most popular sporting pastimes. There are at least two types of play. The first is spontaneous and unconstrained. Examples abound. A child sees a flat stone, picks it up, and sends it skipping across the waters of a pond. An adult realizes with a laugh that he has uttered an unintended pun. Neither action is premeditated, and both are at least relatively free of constraint. The second type of play is regulated. There are rules to determine which actions are legitimate and which are not. These rules transform spontaneous play into games, which can thus be defined as rule-bound or regulated play.

Competitions involving hitting, kicking, throwing a ball-like object, as well as sports-related to hunting and throwing would also be expected to have been played in early times. Many sports have developed as competitions from means of early transportation, such as horse riding and canoeing, and military activities such as rifle shooting and archery.