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Introduction

Rugby originated in England in the 1800s and is enjoyed by millions of fans around the world today. Although it does not enjoy the mass appeal of sports like American football and soccer, its fans and players are dedicated and very passionate.

To untrained observers, rugby is often compared to American football, but the two sports are very different in their rules and strategy. Due to restrictions on passing the ball forward, there is a lot more running and carrying than other football-like sports. There is also a lot of physical contact: rugby isn’t a combat sport, but players have little padding or equipment to soften tackles, scrums, and mauls.

There are two variants of rugby – rugby league and rugby union – which also muddies matter. This article will focus on rugby union, the variant with slightly more exposure outside of the sport itself.

How to Play

The rules of rugby union require that a game is played on a field with 15 players on either team, and 8 players on the bench as substitutes. Rugby players are divided into “forwards” and “backs,” which are not simply offensive and defensive players. A rugby game is two 40-minute halves with a five-minute break at halftime. Rugby players must have greate endurance to play their roles well for long periods of time with little rest from time-outs or substitution.

Forwards (who are further subdivided into three rows) focus on getting and keeping possession of the ball, which often means tackling or plowing through opposing players. Backs (who are divided into two sections) focus on stopping the opposing team’s forwards and creating opportunities for their own forwards to score. Unlike many other team games, rugby players generally have strict roles and responsibilities within a team: there are only a few generalist roles, the Fly-Half, Inside Centre, and Outside Centre.

Moving the ball forward is a bit odd: players can run forward with the ball, but they cannot pass the ball forward. Passing can only be done to a player alongside or behind the player with the ball. The ball can be kicked forward, but any teammates who are in front of the kicking player are out of play (“offside”) until they retreat behind the kicker OR 10 metres away from the ball, whichever is shorter. Offside players are not allowed to take active roles in the game or to interfere with the opposing team.

In this way, a rugby player with the ball is always the spearpoint for his team. Any players farther down the field who have not repositioned after an earlier play must first rejoin their team and get behind the ball carrier.

A rugby team scores when one of its players carries the ball into the section at the opposing team’s end of the field (“the in-goal area”). Scoring a try is worth five points and gives that team a chance to score a conversion kick worth two points. Players can also try to score “drop goals” by drop kicking the ball directly between the goal posts.

How to Spectate

Spectating rugby can be confusing if you don’t know the rules, but once you have a decent grasp of the game it has many similarities to other field and football sports: teams try to get the goal into the scoring area and prevent the opposing team from doing the same. Because the teams are smaller than American football and the pace of play is generally faster, rugby spectating is about tracking which rugby player has the ball and how his team can try to push it up the field.

Aside from the beginning of the game, possession is decided by specific plays (“set pieces) called scrums, rucks, or mauls. Rucks and mauls are what happens when the player with the ball is tackled by an opposing player but does not fall to the ground. Once another player joins in, all the players are considered to be in a maul (ball carrier is standing) or a ruck (ball has fallen to the ground). A scrum is a more involved set piece where each team’s forwards assemble a specific formation and the Hooker, supported by a Tighthead Prop and a Loosehead Prop, tries to hook the ball with his feet and get it back into his team’s control.

Taken altogether, following every single thing in a rugby game can be taxing and difficult. Focus on spectating rugby paying attention to broad strokes and the rest will come naturally.

Leagues

Professional play in rugby union is typically locked to small regions and is not popular outside of Commonwealth countries. Super Rugby is currently the largest and most prestigious, with New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Japan competing.

In North America, Major League Rugby is the only major league, with 11 American teams and 1 Canadian. There are also national leagues in various countries: Premiership in England, Top League in Japan, and Top 14 in France.

Trivia

New Zealand is a fearsome country in mens rugby, with their national team having extremely high win rates in both exhibition games and formal competitions. The All Blacks, so-called due to their all black uniform, are a source of cultural pride amongst all New Zealanders. In fact, they perform a traditional Maori ceremonial dance before every game.

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Introduction

Curling is a winter/ice sport originating in Scotland. Like most ice sports, curling is only played in countries with cold winters (Canada, the U.S., Europe), but its status as an Olympic sport has exposed to many people who would never have seen it otherwise.

Curling is focused on strategy and precision, which can be mistaken for staleness by novices. Really, curling’s scoring system and long form of playing are there to ensure that both teams have the chance to prove themselves thoroughly.

How to Play

The most common curling rules are for full teams of four players each – a variant called doubles curling was showcased at the 2018 Winter Olympics, which is similar except each team needs only two players and the pace of play is generally faster. There are some broad similarities to shuffleboard.

Curling is played on a long, thin sheet of ice called the pitch. Players start at one end and must push (“curl”) a rock close to a point at the other end, which is called the button. Each round (“end”), 8 rocks are curled by each team, and once the final rock has been curled, the team with the rock closest to centre scores points based on how many rocks are closer than the other team’s closest rock. To put it simply, curling players want their rocks to be closest to the centre of the button and with as few of their opponent’s rock on the button as possible.

How to Spectate

What makes curling difficult and interesting is the degree of precision required: each time a player curls a rock, he cannot touch it once it leaves his hand. Thus, he must rely on his teammates to use their brooms to sweep the ice in front of the rock to help it speed up or slow down depending on what the shot needs.

An end of curling can often be decided by millimetres, and the team who curls the final rock has a significant advantage. Over the course of an entire game, the teams will fight for position on the ice, but also try to maintain the power of curling second in the final ends.

When spectating a game of curling, think of what the next shot would look like: can the next player set up a rock that will block his opponent’s shots? Are there enough chances to score left in the end or in the game?

Leagues

In Canada, professional play is organized by Curling Canada. There are many municipal and provincial leagues, and there is a small but dedicated population of curlers who keep the sport alive.

Curling enjoys some international play in Asian countries, but the majority of the sport’s top players are Canadian and European, specifically from the Nordic and Scandinavian countries. There is some curling in New Zealand due to the country’s colonial history, but the population is too small to support a large, competitive league.

Trivia

Curling’s Scottish roots have given it eclectic jargon that you won’t find anywhere else.
– Bonspiel: a game of curling
– Skip: the captain of a team
– Biter: a stone just touching the circles that indicate the button
– Pebble: a spray of water that prepares a sheet of ice for curling play

– Ice hockey
– Curling

– Luge
– Bobsleigh
– Skeleton

Marksmanship is the act of firing a projectile with extreme precision and accuracy, often across a large distance. Typically, marksmen are judged not only on their ability to hit a target, but their consistency across multiple shots and under various environmental factors such as a crossbreeze.

History
Archery was featured at a few Summer Games in the early years of the modern Olympics, but was discontinued until 1972. Since then, it has been present at every event. The history of Olympic shooting is just as long, but more consistent: it has only missed two Games.

Archery
The format of Olympic archery has changed several times since its inception. The sport originally featured a handful of different events, before being split into three mens and three womens events. When archery returned to the Games in 1972, the format was a double FITA Round competition with only mens and womens individual events. Since then, the format has changed to an Olympic Round head-to-head format for men and women, which is what the Games use today.

In archery, a round simply refers to a round of competition; rather than have each archer compete for medals with a single shot grouping, each round gives the archer a specific number of arrows to shoot, which earns him points based on his accuracy. The lowest-scoring archers are dropped after each round. The number and configuration of the arrows shot may also change: three sets of six arrows or five sets of three arrows, for instance.

Notably, only recurve bows are allowed at the Olympics.

Shooting
The sport of using a gun to shoot stationary or moving targets. One early Olympic Games used live pigeons as targets, but these were replaced with clay pigeons at the next Games. Although the sport began quite narrow, it has seen considerable expansion in the years since, even brushing up against the 17-event limit a couple times. Shooting was also an open sport for much of its Olympic presence, but now men and women are divided into separate categories.

Contemporary Olympic shooting has the following categories:
– Air pistol
– Air rifle
– Rapid fire pistol
– Rifle three positions (kneeling, prone, standing)
– Skeet (125 clay pigeons in the main event, additional 50 in the finals; shooter must call “pull!” before targets are launched; gun may only be aimed after the targets are launched)
– Trap (same number of pigeons as skeet, target launching is automated, gun may be aimed pre-emptively)

Equestrian sports are any sports where the competitors make use of a horse to complete the event. Equestrian events are noteworthy in comparison to other Olympic events because the “equipment” is a living animal rather than a stick, padding, or a machine such as a gun. This naturally adds an element of co-operation and mastery which is not present in other sports; the performance of a horseback rider is dependent not only upon the rider himself, but also upon the animal and any staff who help care for it.

Equestrianism is one of the few Olympic disciplines with no differences between mens and womens competitions. All metrics of success are the same.

History
Horseback riding is thousands of years old, and a prominent part of cultues in Europe, Asia, and North America (after the introduction of the horse by European colonists and explorers). It was first present in the 1900 Paris games, was removed briefly, and was then reintroduced under its current form in 1912. There are three Olympic categories for equestrianism.

Dressage
A highly specialized form of horse training in which the horse and rider perform a specific sequence of actions. Dressage is similar to a gymnast performing an artistic display, or a freestyle figure skater performing his program. Early in the games, horses were expected to jump as part of the program and individual medals were awarded, but now the sport is solely a team category. As time has marched on and training methods have improved, the movements and overall performance of the horses has become more extravagant.

Eventing
A variety event wherein horse and rider participate in a variety of challenges across several days. It was originally only open to active military officers and the horses they themselves owned. Currently, the events are endurance, dressage, and show jumping. The endurance section has changed considerably throughout the 20th century, and was originally composed of short track racing, a steeplechase, long track racing, a rest, a cross-country race, and a final spring along flat ground.

The sport was diminished after the 2000 Sydney Games, when the format had the first three sections removed from the endurance challenge. The reason for this removal was because of the inordinate amount of space required for the tracks, which was doubly difficult because they were unfit for anything except equestrian sports.

Jumping
Another event that was initially only open to military officers and their horses, but which is today open to riders of either sex, show jumping is the practice of maneuvering a horse around an obstacle course as quickly as possible. Competitors were initially judged on points, with penalties inflicted for errors in performance such as not properly clearing a fence, and points awarded for each obstacle successfully surmounted.

Contemporary Olympic equestrian scoring is much different:
– The only points awarded are penalties, so riders compete to have the lowest score.
– The first round of competition is a qualifier for individual events, and score determines team order for team events.
– Rounds two and three determie the medallists for team events. Each round takes place on a different course, and round three is composed of the top eight teams from round two.
– Rounds four and five determine the medallists for individual events. Round 4 is composed of the top 35 riders from round 3, with no more than 3 competitors per country.

There are also limits to the various obstacles found on show jumping courses: jumping bars may only be 1.5 metres tall, and may only be a certain width depending on their potential maximum height.

Cycling is the sport of racing and controlling oneself while riding a bicycle. Olympic cycling takes place on a variety of courses, and the medal categories cover a wide range of skills besides raw speed. Naturally, there are also several types of bicycles used in these events, from mountain bikes to touring bikes to high-speed racing bikes.

History
Since the bicycle’s invention in the 19th century, there have been tremendous modifications and improvements to the initial design. Cycling is one of the few sports to have the distinction of being represented at every Summer Games since the modern Olympics began in 1896. There are distinctions for mens and womens events, although womens events typically take place over shorter distances.

BMX freestyle & racing
BMX bikes are short, study bicycles without many modern trappings like gear shifts or brakes. They are designed for extreme durability, because BMX races are only single laps around treacherous courses: it is up to the rider to be responsible for small changes in speed by simply pedalling faster or slower. BMX wheels typically measure either 20 or 24 inches in diameter, with the latter being the threshold for cruiser-class bikes.

BMX freestyle will be introduced with the 2020 Tokyo Games. It will likely be a point-based event focused on tricks similar to freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

Mountain biking
Mountain biking (often abbreviated as MTB, which can mean either the sport or the bikes themselves) is an exlusively off-road type of bike racing. Races are typically quite short in distance, at only a few kilometres, but the real challenge of the sport comes from the multitude of short climbs and uneven terrain the cyclists must traverse. Mountain bikes typically have larger wheels and lighter frames than BMX bikes, as well as more amenities such as hydraulic brakes and proper gear shift systems.

Road cycling
Bicycle races held on paved roads. Due to the more forgiving terrain, they are usually tests of endurance several hundred kilometres long, wherein competitors are confronted with harsh weather, especially if the race occurs over the course of several days (a stage race). Olympic races are not stage races, being split into an open road race with several hundred riders and a time trial where riders tackle the course in waves. There are also team categories for these events, where time is tracked by the slowest rider on a team.

The bicycles used for road racing are closest to what the layman thinks of when he pictures a standard bicycle, although professional cycles for this type of race are built to maximize the efficiency of the rider’s pedalling. The frames are very lightweight, and the brakes afford riders a great deal of control over exactly how much they want to slow down, if they choose to. The handlebar grips are also vertically oriented with trigger-style brake levers, which is different from mountain bikes. This style of handlebar allows the rider to put more weight onto his arms when riding, which means his legs can put all their energy towards pushing the pedals.

Track cycling
Track cycling is a specialized form of bicycle racing which takes place in a velodrome, which is a purpose-built stadium meant to accommodate track bicycles. Track bicycles themselves are single-gear bicycles with no freewheel mechanism, and no brakes: the rider must be pedalling at all times. Track tires are also much more durable than other bike tires, and are inflated to high pressures to minimize contact with the ground.

The actual act of track cycling is defined by speed and short distances; races do not typically last for more than a couple kilometres, and the riders can easily reach speeds that rival motorcycles thanks to the shape of the track. In some cases, winning sprinters can exceed 70km/h.

There are several categories for track cycling, and although not all of them have been present in recent years, every one looks to be represented at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
– Keirin: a sprinting race where the starting pace is set by a motorcycle, which leaves the track after the riders have gotten up to speed. It originated as an event for betting in Japan, but became popular for competitive reasons.
– Madison: a relay race event named after Madison Square Garden, where it debuted in 2000. Historically, victory was determined by sheer fortitude, because the winning team was whichever team rode more laps than the rest. As speeds increased, this has become less feasible, and the event is more focused on maintaining a fast pace throughout. It has also become considerably shorter.
– Omnium: a two-day event featuring six competitions. The omnium replaced various other Olympic events beginning in 2012, and currently includes a scratch race, individual pusuit, elimination race, time trial, flying lap (racing against the clock), and points race. Some events have smaller distances for women.
– Team pursuit: a type of race where the teams of three begin on opposite sides of the track. Times are measured by the front wheel of the last team member.
– Sprint (team and individual): individual sprints are common-looking races where each cyclist begins even with the rest of the pack and must be the first across the finish line. Team sprints are structured similarly to the team pursuit, except after each lap the leading rider exits the race, leaving his teammates to complete it.

Some forms of athleticism at the Olympics do not fit neatly into categories such as aquatics or team sports. This page is for those disciplines and their histories.

History
Some of these sports are almost as old as the Games themselves (weightlifting, triathlon) while others are so new they are only slated to appear in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (skateboarding, sport climbing).

Skateboarding
This event is scheduled to debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games. There will be four categories: mens/womens and street/park.

Sport climbing
This event is scheduled to debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The projected scoring method will involve combining scores from lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering – traditional climbing, vertical climbing races, and low-height climbing without ropes, respectively.

Pentathlon
The modern pentathlong was first introduced in 1912. Its creator, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was inspired by ancient events and wanted to create a sport that would measure the capabilities of an ideal soldier. At the time, this meant riding an unfamiliar horse, fighting with a sword and gun, swimming, and running.

The sport disciplines loosely reflecting these abilities are as follows:
– Equestrian (show jumping)
– Epee fencing
– Pistol shooting
– Swimming (200m freestyle)
– Running (a 3km crosscountry run, which is being run on a track starting in 2020)

Triathlon
Triathlons are hardly unique to the Olympics, and have been used as a general measure of physical aptitude among endurance athletes for a very long time. In all cases, athletes begin by swimming, then cycling, then finish with running. The Olympics use international standard distances: 1.5km swimming, 40km cycling, and 10km running.

Interestingly, there are restrictions on the number of athletes who may compete in the event. At the first Olympic triathlon in Sydney 2000, each participating country had a limit of 100 athletes. In 2004, this was adjusted to be a cap of 50 men and 50 women. In Beijing 2008, this limit was increased slightly to 55 each.

Weightlifting
The sport of lifting weights while using proper technique. In the Games’ early days, all lifters competed in the same categories without weight classes. Afterwards, weight classes became a staple of the sport, but the categorization has differed significantly across various eras. Currently, only two-handed techniques are contested at the Games: the clean and jerk and the snatch. The difference between them is the way in which competitors are allowed to lift the bar and weights; the former is a two-part lifting technique and the latter must be done as a single motion.

– Artistic
– Rhythmic
– Trampoline