Sports equipment
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Gear_full.sized.png/200px-Gear_full.sized.png)
Sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, has various forms depending on the sport, but it is essential to complete the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, to nets, and to protective gear like helmets. Sporting equipment can be used as protective gear or as tool used to help the athletes play the sport. Over time, sporting equipment has evolved because sports have started to require more protective gear to prevent injuries.[1] Sporting equipment may be found in any department store.
Game equipment
Balls
The ball is often what a sport requires and revolves around. A sports ball is typically round, but can also be in the shape of a prolate spheroid in the case of an American football or a rugby ball.
Sports are often named after the ball used, such as football, American football, baseball and basketball, or the ball is named after the sport.
Flying discs
Flying discs are used for various games such as freestyle, disc golf and ultimate.
Goal posts
In many games, goal posts are at each end of the playing field, there are two vertical posts (or uprights) supporting a horizontal crossbar. In some games, such as football or hockey, the object is to pass the ball or puck between the posts below the crossbar, while in others, such as those based on rugby, the ball must pass over the crossbar instead.
Nets
Nets are used for tennis, volleyball, football, basketball, hockey and badminton. A different type of net is used for various forms of fishing.
Racquets
Racquets are used for racquet sports such as tennis, squash and badminton.
Rods and tackle
Fishing rods and fishing tackle are primarily used for fishing and sport fishing.
Sticks, bats and clubs
Sticks are used for sports such as hockey and lacrosse. Bats are used for sports such as baseball and cricket. Clubs are used mainly for golf (Golf club)
Wickets and bases
Wickets and balls are used in cricket, and bases are used in baseball.
Player equipment
Footwear
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Cleats.jpg/200px-Cleats.jpg)
Footwear for sports includes:
- Boards for surfing, skateboarding, wakeboarding and snowboarding
- Skates for sports like roller skating and ice skating
- Skis for skiing and water skiing
- Football boots
- Cricket spikes
- Golf shoes
- Track spikes
- Prosthetics like the Cheetah Flex-Foot running blade
- Running shoes
- Walking shoes
- Flat pedal shoes and clipless shoes for mountain biking
Protective equipment
Protective equipment is often worn for sports including motor sport and contact sports, such as ice hockey and American football or sports where there is a danger of injury through collision of players or other objects. Protective equipment includes:
- Football helmet
- Jock strap
- Mouthguards
- Shin pads
- Ski suits
- Elbow pads
- Shoulder pads
- Bicycle helmet
- Sports gloves
Training equipment
Examples for training equipment include swiss balls, weights, chin-up bars, equipment for the gym. Also protective equipment such as weight lifting belts and bench shirts for weight training and powerlifting.
Miscellaneous
Vehicles
Vehicles (sometimes specialized) are used as equipment for some sports, including motor sport, cycling, aeronautics, sailing and hot air ballooning.
Small vehicles with flatbeds are often used to carry injured athletes off the field, most commonly in American football.
Various sports
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History and development of sports
Historically many sports have developed their sporting equipment over time. For instance, the use of a football dates back to ancient China, between 225 BC and 220 AD.[2] As football remains the most popular sport in the 21st century, the material of the ball has completely changed over the centuries; from being made out of animal skin, to being lined with multiple layers of polyester or cotton.[2]
As the sporting equipment industry improves, so does the athletes performance. This is due to the fact that the equipment is more efficient, lighter and stronger it forming a bio-mechanical system, interacting with the athlete.[3]
Since the massive adoption of wearable, new sport equipment tend to be electronics and connected to deliver data performances.
See also
References
- ^ "Sports Protective Equipment - Sports Injury Prevention". www.medic8.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ^ a b "History". www.soccerballworld.com. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
- ^ Stefanyshyn, Darren J.; Wannop, John W. (2015). "Biomechanics research and sport equipment development". Sports Engineering. 18 (4): 191–202. doi:10.1007/s12283-015-0183-5.
External links
Media related to Sports equipment at Wikimedia Commons