Contact sport: Difference between revisions

[[File:Caddy tackling Pendlebury (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|A tackle in [[Australian rules football]].]]

A '''contact sport''' is any [[sport]] where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, [[gridiron football]]. Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the players in the course of play. This is in contrast to noncontact sports where players often have no opportunity to make contact with each other and the laws of the game may expressly forbid contact. In contact sports some forms of contact are encouraged as a critical aspect of the game such as [[Tackle (football move)|tackling]], while others are incidental such as when shielding the ball or contesting an aerial challenge. As the types of contact between players is not equal between all sports they define the types of contact that is deemed acceptable and fall within the laws of the game, while outlawing other types of physical contact that might be considered expressly dangerous or risky such as a [[high tackle]] or [[spear tackle]], or against the spirit of the game such as striking [[below the belt]] or other [[unsportsmanlike conduct]]. Where there is a limit as to how much contact is acceptable most sports have a mechanism to call a [[Foul (sports)|foul]] by the referee, umpire or similar official when an offence is deemed to have occurred.

Some definitions of contact sports, particularly martial arts, have the concept of full contact, semi-contact and noncontact (or other definitions) for both training and competitive sparring. Some categories of contact may or may not be combined with other methods of scoring, but full contact is generally considered to include the potential for victory by knockout or submission depending on the form of combat.<ref name="WFMAF">{{cite web | title=Rules for Full-Contact Sanda | publisher=World Fighting Martial Arts Federation|date=2019 | url=https://www.wfmaf.org/en/championship/competition-rules/full-contact-sanda/ |access-date=2023-07-09}}</ref><ref name="WMAC Sparring">{{cite web | title=FAQ - Sparring | publisher=World Martial Arts Championships|date=2019 | url=https://www.wmachampionships.com/sparring |access-date=2023-07-09}}</ref><ref name="WMAC Contact Rules">{{cite web | title=WMAC Contact Levels Summary v2.5 | publisher=World Martial Arts Championships|date=2015 | url=https://www.wmachampionships.com/rules |access-date=2023-07-09}}</ref> An example of this is [[full contact karate]] and taekwondo where competitors are allowed to attempt to knock out an opponent through strikes to the head or otherwise bringing the opponent to the floor.<ref name="BJSMTaekwondo.">{{cite journal| title=Precompetition injury and subsequent tournament performance in full-contact taekwondo| author=Michael Feehan and Anna E Waller*| year=1995| pmid=8808541| doi=10.1136/bjsm.29.4.258| volume=29| issue=4| journal=BJSM| pages=258–262| doi-access=free| pmc=1332238}}</ref><ref name="UdoMoenigOrigins">{{cite book | title=The origins of full-contact sparring | first=Udo | last=Moenig | date=2015 | url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315733227-13/origins-full-contact-sparring-udo-moenig |isbn=9781315733227|access-date=2023-07-09}}</ref> Full contact rules differentiate from other forms of the same sports that may otherwise restrict blows to the head and the use of elbows or knees.<ref name="WMAC Contact Rules"/> Such full contact sports may be defined as [[combat sports]] and require a of change equipment, alter or omit rules, and are generally differentiated from contact sports by their explicit intent of defeating an opponent in physical combat.<ref name="UdoMoenigSparring">{{cite book | title=Forms versus sparring | first=Udo | last=Moenig | date=2015 | url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315733227-17/forms-versus-sparring-udo-moenig?context=ubx |isbn=9781315733227|access-date=2023-07-09}}</ref><ref name="WFMAF"/><ref name="WMAC Contact Rules"/>

Current medical terminology in the [[United States]] uses the term contact sport and collision sport to refer to sports like [[Rugby football|rugby]], [[American football]], [[professional wrestling]], [[ice hockey]], [[lacrosse]] and [[roller derby]]. The term limited-contact sport is used to refer to sports such as [[soccer]], [[baseball]] and [[handball]], and the term noncontact sport to sports like [[badminton]], [[running]] and [[swimming]].<ref name="ncbi-pubmed-18381550"/>

A '''semi-contact sport''' is typically a [[combat sport]] involving [[strike (attack)|striking]] and containing physical contact between the combatants simulating full-power techniques. The techniques are restricted to limited power, and rendering the opponent [[Unconsciousness|unconscious]] is forbidden. Some semi-contact sports use a point system to determine the winner and use extensive protective gear to protect the athletes from injury. Examples of semi-contact sports include [[karate]], [[kickboxing]], [[kalaripayattu]], [[American Kenpo|Kenpo]], various [[Korean martial arts]] that incorporate contact rules sparring, [[kendo]], some types of [[historical European martial arts]], [[fencing]] and [[taekwondo]].{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

*[[Javelin throw|Javelin]]

*[[Sailing (sport)|Sailing]]

*[[Swimming (sport)|Swimming]]