This list covers 10 sports, ranging alphabetically from “Va’a” to “Vovinam.” These entries span traditional combat arts, water sports, gymnastics events, and team games practiced by cultures around the world. People take part in them for competition, physical fitness, and cultural tradition, and several have gained international recognition through dedicated federations and major events.
Sports are structured physical activities governed by rules, often involving competition, skill, and physical exertion. They range from ancient rituals like Varzesh-e Bastani, still performed in Iranian gymnasiums called zurkhanehs, to modern gymnastics events like vault. Many started as regional pastimes before growing into organized competitions with international followings.
Below you’ll find the table with Sport and Description.
Sport: the name of each sport included in this list, presented in alphabetical order for easy browsing.
Description: a short explanation of how each sport is played, where it comes from, and what makes it distinct.
Sports
Sport
Va’a
Vale Tudo
Valencian Pilota
Varzesh-e Bastani
Vault
Vaulting
Vert Skateboarding
Vigoro
Volleyball
Vovinam
Descriptions
Va’a
A Polynesian outrigger canoe racing sport where paddlers propel single or multi-hulled canoes across flat water or open ocean, popular in Pacific Island nations and recognized by the International Canoe Federation.
Vale Tudo
A Brazilian full-contact combat sport whose name means “anything goes,” blending striking and grappling with few rules; it served as a direct forerunner to modern mixed martial arts.
Valencian Pilota
A family of traditional Spanish handball-style games from Valencia in which players strike a small ball with their bare or gloved hand, often against a wall or across a court.
Varzesh-e Bastani
An ancient Iranian sport, also called Zurkhaneh sport, combining strength training, wrestling, and ritual exercise performed with clubs and weights inside a traditional gymnasium called a zurkhaneh.
Vault
An artistic gymnastics event in which competitors sprint down a runway, spring off a table, and perform aerial flips and twists before landing, scored for difficulty and execution.
Vaulting
An equestrian sport in which athletes perform gymnastic and dance movements on the back of a moving horse, either solo, in pairs, or as a team.
Vert Skateboarding
A skateboarding discipline contested on a U-shaped vertical ramp, where riders launch off the lip to perform aerial spins and grabs, made famous through the X Games.
Vigoro
An Australian bat-and-ball sport blending elements of cricket and baseball, traditionally played by women’s teams with a longer bat and a heavier ball than cricket.
Volleyball
A team sport in which two sides hit a ball back and forth over a net, trying to ground it on the opponent’s court without letting it touch their own.
Vovinam
A Vietnamese martial art and combat sport combining striking, grappling, and weapons training, developed in the 1930s and now practiced competitively worldwide.
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