Wikipedia:Notability (sports)

This guideline is used to help evaluate whether or not a sports person or sports league/organization (amateur or professional) will meet the general notability guideline, and thus merit an article in Wikipedia. The article must provide reliable sources showing that the subject meets the general notability guideline, or the sport specific criteria set forth below.

If the article does meet the criteria set forth below, then it is likely that sufficient sources exist to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. Failing to meet the criteria in this guideline means that notability will need to be established in other ways (e.g. the general notability guideline, or other, topic-specific, notability guidelines).

Please note that the failure to meet these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, the meeting of any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb which some editors choose to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion, along with relevant guidelines such as Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Reliable sources.

Applicable policies and guidelines

All information included in Wikipedia, including articles about sports, must be verifiable. In addition, standalone articles are required to meet the General Notability Guideline. This guideline provides bright-line guidance to enable editors to determine quickly if a subject is likely to meet the General Notability Guideline. Information about living persons must meet the more stringent requirements for those types of articles. It is not intended that this guideline should apply to sports clubs and teams; for these the specific notability guideline is WP:ORG.

Subjects that do not meet the sport-specific criteria outlined in this guideline may still be notable if they meet the General Notability Guideline or another subject specific notability guideline.

Basic criteria

Main page: Wikipedia:Notability

A person is presumed to be notable if he or she has been the subject of multiple published non-trivial secondary sources which are reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject.

• Trivial coverage of a subject by secondary sources may be used to support content in an article, but it is not sufficient to establish notability. This includes listings in database sources with low, wide-sweeping generic standards of inclusion, such as the College Football Data Warehouse.
• Primary sources may be used to support content in an article, but they do not contribute toward proving the notability of a subject.
• Some sources must be used with particular care when establishing notability, and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Local sources must be clearly independent of the subject, and must provide a level of coverage beyond WP:ROUTINE. Listings of statistics must clearly satisfy the requirement for significant coverage.

Notability guidelines on sports persons

Generally acceptable standards

Sports figures are presumed notable (except as noted within a specific section) if they:

1. have participated in a major international amateur or professional competition at the highest level such as the Olympics.
2. meet any of the qualifications in one of the sports specific sections below.

Any athletic entertainment event where the results are at least partially predetermined or scripted is not covered by this page. For participants in such events (e.g. Professional wrestling), see WP:ENTERTAINER. At this time there is no consensus that Esports participants are covered by the criteria of this guideline.

Professional sports persons

American football/Canadian football

American football/Canadian football figures are presumed notable if they

1. Have appeared in at least one regular season or post season game in any one of the following professional leagues: the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League, the National Football League, the third American Football League, the All-America Football Conference or the United States Football League, or any other top-level professional league.
2. Note: Players who play in minor or semi-professional leagues (such as af2) are not presumed notable unless they meet another criterion, such as notability arising from their college football days.

Association football

Association football (soccer) figures are presumed notable if they meet the following:

1. Players, managers and referees who have represented their country in any officially sanctioned senior international competition (including the Olympics) are notable as they have achieved the status of participating at the highest level of football. The notability of these is accepted as they would have received significant coverage as outlined above in the general notability criteria.
2. Players who have appeared, and managers who have managed, in a fully professional league, will generally be regarded as notable. See a list of fully professional leagues kept by WikiProject Football.

Note: A player who signs for a domestic team but has not played in any games is not deemed to have participated in a competition, and is therefore not generally regarded as being notable. Youth players are not notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.

Athletics/track & field and long-distance running

Athletes who compete in the field of Athletics are presumed notable if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Has competed in the Olympics or senior IAAF World Championships
2. Finished top 8 in a competition at the highest level outside of the Olympic games and world championships. Individual events in these championships must contain either several heats or extended fields (e.g. European Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games, or any of the 5 World Major Marathons).
3. Finished top 3 in any other major senior level international competition (this includes prestigious small field meets, e.g. IAAF Diamond League/IAAF Golden League meets, less prestigious large scale meets, e.g. Asian Games, and any IAAF Gold Label Road Race that is not explicitly mentioned above)
4. Has won an individual gold medal at the IAAF World Junior Championships or Youth World Championships.
5. Has won their country's senior national championship, with the exception of those that have never been ranked in the top 40 on the IAAF world leading list at the end of a given calendar year
6. Has won the elite division of multiple notable* road races (including the same race multiple times) or has established a history of highly competitive, non-winning performances in many notable races (at least 10 top threes)
7. Has at any time held a world or continental record (including world junior records, world youth bests and masters age-group world records) ratified or noted by the appropriate official body
8. Owns a mark that placed the athlete in the top 12 in the world for that calendar year in a non-relay event contested or admitted to the senior IAAF World Championships or Olympics, or an equivalent performance over a closely matching imperial distance
9. Has a non-relay mark listed on the IAAF senior all-time list or equivalent list
10. Has been inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame or the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.

To non-athletes associated with the sport (or athletes whose main claim to notability is non-athletic activity) the following criteria of notability apply:

1. Coaches that have coached many notable athletes, including at least one (non-relay) Olympic medalist, World champion or senior World Record holder during the time of the athletes' notable accomplishments.
2. Coaches that have been the official head coach of an Olympic track and field team for a country with multiple medalists.
3. Coaches that introduced a notable technique or training method, and is widely credited as the originator.
4. Clubs that have received major international coverage for its successes and has a résumé composed of many successful Olympians over a long period of time (e.g. Irish American Athletic Club). If a club's success is mainly due to one coach, then only the coach is notable.

*The notability of a road race is determined by meeting any one of the following criteria

1. It has an international elite (as defined by the IAAF standards for that year) field of at least 5 different nationalities.
2. It receives broadcast or cable television coverage beyond the local market (if coverage is through the internet, the site must be independent of the sport, for example Universal Sports).
3. It is a directly competitive meeting between several notable performers (at least 5).

The following criteria may also be used to satisfy road race notability, but does not count towards the notability of athletes who compete in these races

1. It has been the site of exceptional performances or records (bests).
2. It regularly has over 5,000 competitors.
3. It has been held over a unique course or distance consistently over a period of 25 years.

Australian rules football

Athletes who compete in Australian rules football are presumed notable if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Has appeared in a match of the Australian Football League.
2. Before 1990, appeared in a match of the Victorian Football League.
3. Is known, and has received significant coverage in reliable sources, for major individual achievements in a state football league.

Coaches are presumed notable if they have been the head coach of an Australian Football League team or, before 1990, a Victorian Football League team.

Badminton

Athletes in Badminton are presumed notable if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Participation at the Olympic Games, or World Championships,
2. Competed in the quarter finals at a tournament of the highest level outside of the Olympics or World Championships (e.g. Continental Championships, BWF Super Series or Commonwealth Games) in teams or singles or doubles competitions.
3. Medalist at the highest international teams or singles/doubles championships of a country (e.g. Canadian Open, German Open, Slovak International).
4. Medalist at tournaments of the BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix.
5. Gold medalist at a national teams or singles/doubles championship, for countries that regularly send athletes to the Olympics.

Baseball

Baseball figures are presumed notable if they

1. Are a member of a major Hall of Fame, such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum or the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
2. Have appeared in at least one game in any one of the following active major leagues: Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, Korea Baseball Organization, Chinese Professional Baseball League or any other top-level national league (active or defunct).
3. Have appeared in at least one game in any of the following defunct leagues: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, American Association, Cuban League, Federal League, Japanese Baseball League, National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, Negro Major Leagues, Players' League, Union Association.
4. Have served as a commissioner, president, general manager, owner, coach, or manager in one of the above-mentioned leagues.
5. Have served as a Major League Baseball umpire on a regular league staff.
6. Minor league players, managers, coaches, executives, and umpires are not assumed to be inherently notable. To establish that one of these is notable, the article must cite published secondary source material which is reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject. Fan sites and blogs are generally not regarded as reliable sources, and team sites are generally not regarded as independent of the subject. Although statistics sites may be reliable sources, they are not sufficient by themselves to establish notability.
7. Some minor league players receive some coverage from reliable sources, but not enough to satisfy the notability criteria for an independent article. In these cases, it may be appropriate to write a short, stub-length bio as a section within the article on the franchise's minor league players (for example, Minnesota Twins minor league players). Please note that such mini-bios should cite reliable sources and conform with Wikipedia policies such as WP:BLP.

Basketball

Basketball figures are presumed notable if they

1. Have appeared in one game in the original American Basketball Association, Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto, Euroleague, National Basketball Association, National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (United States), Serie A, Women's National Basketball Association, or a similar major professional sports league.
2. Were selected in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft.
3. Have won an award, or led the league in a major statistical category of the Continental Basketball Association or NBA Development League.

Boxing

A boxer is presumed notable if he:

1. Has fought for or held a world title (regular, interim, super, etc.) of one of the four major sanctioning bodies (IBF, WBA, WBC, or WBO) or a historic major sanctioning body (NYSAC or WBA);
2. Has fought for or held a specialty world title (e.g., duration world title, black world title, lineal world title, pre-sanctioning world title (e.g., pre-1920s), etc.);
3. Has been ranked in the top ten or champion of any weight class by Ring magazine;
4. Has won a year-end award from Ring magazine or the BWAA (e.g., BWAA Fighter of the Year, Ring magazine KO of the Year, etc.);
5. Has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame; or
6. Has appeared in a professional fight on a premium network (e.g., HBO or Showtime in the United States).

Note: A boxer who has fought for or held a non-major sanctioning body title (e.g., WBF, IBO, etc.) is not considered notable if winning said title is the only reason for notability.

Cricket

Further information: WP:CRIN

A cricket figure is presumed notable if he or she

1. has appeared in at least one major cricket match since 1697 as a player or umpire
2. has appeared in at least one ICC World Cup Qualifier match since 2005, or in an ICC Trophy final prior to 2005, as a player or umpire
3. has appeared in at least one World Cricket League match of Division Five status or above since 2007 as a player or umpire

Curling

A curler is presumed notable if he or she

1. Has participated in a World Curling Tour sanctioned event.
2. Has participated in a World Curling Federation sanctioned event.
3. Has participated in the Brier, the Tournament of Hearts or received a podium finish for another country's national championship, provided that the country has qualified a team into either the preceding or succeeding Olympics.
4. Has participated in an Olympic qualifying event for any country.
5. Has participated in the Canadian Mixed, Junior or Senior championship.
6. Has participated in a provincial or territorial playdown leading to the Brier or Tournament of Hearts.
7. Has participated in a TSN Skins Game or Canada Cup of Curling game.
8. Has received a podium finish at a Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship or the Canadian Masters Curling Championships.
9. Has participated at the Paralympics.
10. Is a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.

Cycling

Cyclists are presumed notable if they

1. Have competed at an Olympics or World Championship.
2. Have finished on the podium at a UCI World Cup or event.

Additional criteria for male road bicycle racing

1. Have competed at a UCI World Tour (from 2011), UCI World Calendar (2009–2010), UCI ProTour (2005–2008), Super Prestige Pernod International (1959-1987) or Challenge Desgrange-Colombo (1948–1958) event
2. Have competed at a post-World War II Tour de France, Giro d'Italia or Vuelta a España.
3. Have competed at a post-World War II Milan – San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège or Giro di Lombardia.
4. Have won a stage or an overall classification in a UCI Continental Circuits event (or an equivalent prior to the introduction of those classifications in 2005) from the UCI rating classes 1.HC, 2.HC, 1.1 and 2.1 (and their pre-2005 equivalents).

Figure skating

Figure skaters competing at the highest level of international competition are not "professional" skaters, but they are also not amateurs since they do receive money. They are called eligible skaters but have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.

Figure skating figures are presumed notable if they

1. Competed at an Olympics or at an ISU senior World Figure Skating Championships (Competing in a world championship qualifying round does not guarantee notability.)
2. Competed in the free skate at the following ISU Championships: World Junior Figure Skating Championships, European Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
3. Won their country's senior national championships, with the exception of those countries that do not regularly send multiple skaters to the Olympic Games (consult this Olympic athlete tally to check whether the country qualifies).
4. Competed at a Grand Prix of Figure Skating event (Skate America, Skate Canada International, Trophee Eric Bompard, Cup of China, Cup of Russia, NHK Trophy, Bofrost Cup on Ice)
5. Medaled at a non-Grand Prix international senior-level event (commonly referred to as "senior B" competitions, as opposed to "A" competitions, which are the Grand Prixs and ISU championships. See figure skating competitions for more information and List of figure skating competitions for a list of events. Notable examples of senior Bs are the Nebelhorn Trophy, the Karl Schäfer Memorial and the Golden Spin of Zagreb.)

Notability for persons associated with skating who were not notable as eligible skaters:

1. A coach or choreographer who has worked with many notable skaters, including at least one Olympic medalist or senior World Champion (e.g. Pam Gregory, and David Wilson)
2. Heads of national and international federations.
3. Individual members of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, or a major national figure skating hall of fame, such as the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Golf

Golf figures are presumed notable if:

1. They have competed in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, Solheim Cup or similar international competition
2. They are enshrined in one of golf's recognized Halls of Fame (ex: World Golf Hall of Fame)
3. They have won at least one professional golf tournament (ex: PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour, Champions Tour)
4. They have won at least one recognized amateur golf tournament at the national or international level (ex: U.S. Amateur, British Amateur)
5. They have made the cut in one of the major tournaments:

   • Men: The Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship
   • Women: Current majors — U.S. Women's Open, Women's British Open, Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championship; or past majors — du Maurier Classic, Women's Western Open, Titleholders Championship
   • Senior men: Senior PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, Senior Players Championship, Senior British Open, The Tradition

6. They have competed as a professional on the PGA, LPGA, European, or Champions Tour for at least one full year
7. They hold a golf record (ex: lowest score) recognized by the USGA, PGA, LPGA or The R&A

Gymnastics

Gymnasts are deemed notable if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Has competed in the Olympics or senior World Gymnastics Championships
2. Has won a senior individual medal at one of the following competitions: Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, Goodwill Games, European Gymnastics Championships, Pan American Games, Pacific Rim Championships, Commonwealth Games, American Cup or Asian Games
3. Has won an individual gold medal at the senior level at any other major elite international event (e.g. the All-Africa Games, South American Games)
4. Has won a medal in the individual all around or a gold medal in an apparatus event finals at the Youth Olympic Games
5. Has won their country's senior all-around national championship while competing for a country who qualified a full team into either the preceding or succeeding Olympics
6. Has been inducted into a major hall of fame, such as the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

To non-athletes associated with the sport (or athletes whose main claim to notability is non-athletic activity) the following criteria of notability apply:

1. Coaches are assumed notable if they have coached many notable athletes, including at least one individual Olympic medalist, or World champion
2. Coaches are also assumed notable if they have been the official head coach of an Olympic or World Championship team.

Ice hockey

Ice hockey players are presumed notable if they

1. Played one or more games in an existing or defunct top professional league such as the National Hockey League, World Hockey Association, Elitserien, SM-liiga, or Kontinental Hockey League;
2. Played one or more games in an amateur league considered, through lack of a professional league, the highest level of competition extant, such as the 19th century Amateur Hockey Association or the Soviet Championship League;
3. Played at least 100 games in fully professional minor leagues such as the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League, the ECHL, the Mestis, the HockeyAllsvenskan or other such league;
4. Achieved preeminent honours (all-time top ten career scorer, First Team All-Star, All-American) in a lower minor league such as the Central Hockey League or the United Hockey League, in a major junior league such as those of the Canadian Hockey League, or in a major collegiate hockey league (Note: merely playing in a major junior league or major collegiate hockey is not enough to satisfy inclusion requirements);
5. Were a first-round draft pick in the NHL Entry Draft;
6. Played on a senior national team (such as at the Olympic Games or World Championship); or
7. Are an honoured member of a national or multi-national Hall of Fame.

For coaches or managers of ice hockey teams, substitute "coached" or "managed" for "played" in the player guidelines.

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial artists are presumed notable if they

1. Have fought at least three (3) professional fights for a top-tier MMA organization, such as the UFC (see WP:MMANOT); or
2. Have fought for the highest title of a top-tier MMA organization

Motorsports

Motorsport figures are presumed notable if they

1. Have driven in a fully professional series. A fully professional series is one where prize money is not trivial compared to the cost of the series. For example, the SCCA Trans-Am Series is considered professional while the SCCA Spec Miata National Championship would not be.
2. For drivers that predate the sharp distinction between professional and amateur (prior to World War II), drivers who competed in a series or race of worldwide or national interest (for example, the American Championship or 24 Hours of Le Mans).
3. Have owned or been team principal for a team in a major racing series (NASCAR Sprint Cup, Formula One, IndyCar, A1GP, CART, IMSA) for a full season or more. This includes Sprint Cup crew chiefs.
4. Have been enshrined in any notable motorsports hall of fame.
5. Founded, owned, or managed any notable professional racing series.
6. Designers or engineers who have been covered extensively by the media or motorsports historians.
7. Hold or have held a significant motorsports record, such as a land speed record.

Rodeo

Athletes who compete in Rodeo competitions are presumed notable if they

1. Have participated at the highest level of competition such as the Calgary Stampede, Canadian Finals Rodeo, or National Finals Rodeo.

Rugby league

A player, coach, or referee of rugby league football is presumed notable if they:

1. Have appeared in at least one competitive international match between Full members of the RLIF and/or Full or Associate Members of the RLEF ^{(see Notes 1 & 2)}, or
2. Have appeared in at least one match at a Rugby League World Cup tournament, or
3. Have have appeared in at least one match of a fully professional domestic Rugby league competition:
   • National Rugby League ^{(see Note 3)}, or
   • Super League ^{(see Note 3)} including Challenge Cup appearances, or
   • Co-operative Championship

Other players and personalities surrounding the game are notable if they meet WP:GNG.

Note 1: Current full members of the RLIF are : Australia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Samoa, South Africa, Tonga and Wales plus Great Britain for historical reasons.

Note 2: All current full members of the RLEF are also full members of the RLIF. Current associate members of the RLEF are : Ireland, Lebanon, Scotland and Serbia.

Note 3: or their earlier iterations in the UK, Australia or New Zealand.

Rugby union

A rugby union person is presumed notable if he or she has played for, coached, refereed or administered:

1. a "High Performance Union" at any time^{(see Note 1)} or another test nation during an appearance at the men's rugby world cup^{(see Note 2)} or,
2. a team in a fully professional rugby union competition since 1995 or,
3. a team in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, Commonwealth Games, Olympics or at least the semi-finals of the Women's Rugby World Cup.^{(see Note 3)}

Note 1: "High Performance Unions" for men are: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, United States, and Wales. Women do not have this criterion.

Note 2: Non-High Performance Unions nations that have appeared at the World cup are: Georgia (2003, 2007, 2011), Ivory Coast (1995), Namibia (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011), Portugal (2007), Spain (1999), Russia (2011), Uruguay (1999 and 2003), and Zimbabwe (1987 and 1991)

Note 3: Nations that have played at the Women's World cup at the semi-final level are: Australia (2010), Canada (1998, 2002, 2006), England (1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010), France (1991, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2010), New Zealand (1991, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010), United States (1991, 1994, 1998), and Wales (1994).

The above parameters apply to all rugby union persons regardless of professional or amateur status. A player who signs for a team in a fully professional rugby competition but has not played in any games is not deemed to have participated in a competition, and is therefore not generally regarded as being notable. Youth players are not notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.

Sumo

Sumo wrestlers are presumed notable if they have been ranked in either the top makuuchi division or second highest juryo division. Wrestlers who have only appeared in lower divisions are generally not notable as they have not reached fully professional status.

Tennis

Tennis figures are presumed to be notable if they

1. Are a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, either in the contributor or player category
2. Have competed in the Fed Cup, Davis Cup, Hopman Cup or similar international competition
3. Have competed in the main draw in one of the highest level professional tournaments:

   • Grand slam tournaments (the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, or the US Open)
   • Men: ATP World Tour tournaments (the ATP World Tour Finals, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, or ATP World Tour 250)
   • Women: WTA Tour tournaments (the WTA Premier, the WTA International, or the WTA Tour Championships)

4. Have won at least one title in any of the ATP Challenger tournaments
5. Have won at least one title in any of the 2008–2012 ITF Women's $35,000–$100,000+ tournaments. From 1978–2007 the notability threshold shall be winning a $25,000 tournament based on the lowest payout for a men's challenger tournament in the same year.
6. Hold a tennis record recognized by the International Tennis Federation, ATP or WTA

This guideline applies equally to singles and doubles players. Junior players are presumed to be notable if they have won at least a junior Grand slam title, have been in the top 3 of the junior ITF world rankings or can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.

More detailed tennis notability information can be found at WikiProject Tennis/Article guidelines.

Triathlon

Triathletes are presumed notable if they

1. Have competed in Triathlon at the Summer Olympics or have had a podium finish at the Commonwealth Games.
2. Have had a top ten finish in the final ITU World Triathlon Series standings (or in the final ITU Triathlon World Cup standings, prior to 2009).
3. Have had a top ten finish in a International Triathlon Union sanctioned championship event.
4. Have an elite level podium finish at an ITU Continental Championship.
5. Have had a professional division top ten finish at the Ironman World Championship or at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
6. Have had a podium finish at the XTERRA Triathlon championships.
7. Have won an event that has a starting pro/elite field of at least 15 male or 10 female competitors.
8. Have set a record for a standard distance event or leg.

Amateur sports persons

College athletes

College athletes and coaches are notable if they have been the subject of non-trivial media coverage beyond merely a repeating of their statistics, mentions in game summaries, or other WP:ROUTINE coverage. Examples would include head coaches, well-known assistant coaches, or players who:

1. Have won a national award (such as those listed in Template:College Football Awards or the equivalent in another sport), or established a major Division I (NCAA) record.
2. Were inducted into the hall of fame in their sport (for example, the College Football Hall of Fame).
3. Gained national media attention as an individual, not just as a player for a notable team.

Gaelic games

Gaelic games players who have

1. Gaelic footballers who have played at senior inter county level in the League or Championship
2. Gaelic handballers who have won at senior inter county level
3. Hurlers who have played at senior inter county level in the League or Championship

High school and pre-high school athletes

High school and pre-high school athletes are notable only if they have received, as individuals, substantial and prolonged coverage that is (1) independent of the subject and (2) clearly goes beyond WP:ROUTINE coverage. Note that the first clause would exclude all school papers and school websites that cover their sports teams and other teams they compete against. The second clause excludes the majority of local coverage in both news sources and sports specific publications. It especially excludes using game play summaries, statistical results, or routine interviews as sources to establish notability.

Organizations and games notability

Olympic and Paralympic Games

• Athletes from any sport are presumed notable if they have competed at the Summer or Winter Olympic games or have won a medal at the Paralympic Games; e.g. Ian Thorpe or Laurentia Tan
• Nations participating at an individual Summer or Winter, Olympic or Paralympic Games are considered notable, e.g. United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics or Great Britain at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
  • Sports at individual Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games are considered notable, e.g. Archery at the 2004 Summer Olympics or Wheelchair curling at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
• Events at individual Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games are considered notable, e.g. Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's road race or Skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's

For details on suggested content for the above article types see Wikipedia:WikiProject Olympics/Manual of Style.

Individual seasons

Articles can be created on individual seasons of teams in top professional leagues, as these articles almost always meet the notability requirements.

Team season articles should consist mainly of well-sourced prose, not just statistics and lists of players. Wikipedia is not a stats directory. It is strongly recommended that those articles be redirected to the team page if no sourced prose can be created.

For college sports teams, weigh both the season itself and the sport (for example, if a US collegiate American football team and a US collegiate fencing team enjoy the same level of success, the football team is likely to receive a significantly greater amount of coverage):

• A national championship season at the top collegiate level is generally notable.
• A national championship season at a lower collegiate level might be notable
• A season including a post-season appearance (or, if there is no post-season competition, a high final ranking) in the top collegiate level is often notable.
• For programs considered elite in a sport (e.g., Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, in men's basketball; Tennessee and UConn in women's basketball; Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC in football, etc.) many or all seasons might be notable regardless of the outcome (the amount written by reliable sources on a weekly basis for some of these programs is enough that almost anything or anyone having any relation to them is likely to meet the General Notability Guideline).
• In cases where the individual season notability is insufficient for an article, multiple seasons may be grouped together in a single article. This grouping might be based on head coaches, conference affiliation, or any other reasonable standard that results in sufficient coverage for the period to warrant an article.

Individual games or series

Some games or series are inherently notable, including but not limited to the following:

• The final series (or single game when there is not a series) determining the champion of a top league, e.g. 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, or Super Bowl XLIII, or 2006 UEFA Champions League Final
• College bowl games (not limited to BCS bowl games, see e.g. 2009–10 NCAA football bowl games).
• All-star or similar exhibition games, e.g. 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• A game that is widely considered by independent reliable sources to be notable, outside routine coverage of each game, especially if the game received front page coverage outside of the local areas involved (e.g. Pacers-Pistons brawl or the Blood in the Water match)

Articles about notable games should have well-sourced prose, not merely a list of stats. Regular season games in professional and college leagues are not inherently notable.

Rivalries

Sports rivalries are not inherently notable. Articles on sports rivalries, such as Yankees–Red Sox rivalry, should satisfy the general notability guideline, and additionally must show why the rivalry is important with multiple non-trivial, reliable sources.