This list covers 33 sports starting with the letter C, from “Calisthenics” all the way to “Cycling.” The range is wide, spanning bodyweight fitness routines, team games with sticks and balls, extreme outdoor pursuits, winter disciplines on snow and ice, and everything in between. Some are Olympic events with strict rules and judges, while others are casual backyard games you can pick up in an afternoon with friends or family.
Sports are organized physical activities with agreed-upon rules, often played competitively or for recreation and fitness. Many started as practical skills or local traditions before becoming formal disciplines, like Capoeira, which grew out of a blend of dance and self-defense practiced by enslaved Africans in Brazil. Today they range from solo fitness challenges to full team competitions watched by millions.
Below you’ll find the table with each sport’s name and description.
Sport: the name of the activity, listed alphabetically so you can quickly scan the full range or jump to one you already have in mind.
Description: a short explanation of how the sport works, what equipment or skills it involves, and what makes it distinct from similar activities.
Sports
| Sport |
|---|
| Calisthenics |
| Camogie |
| Canicross |
| Canoe Polo |
| Canoe Slalom |
| Canoeing |
| Canyoning |
| Capoeira |
| Carom Billiards |
| Caving |
| Cesta Punta |
| Cheerleading |
| Chess Boxing |
| Clay Pigeon Shooting |
| Cliff Diving |
| Climbing |
| Combat Sambo |
| Cornhole |
| Cowboy Action Shooting |
| Cricket |
| Criterium |
| Croquet |
| Cross-Country Mountain Biking |
| Cross-Country Running |
| Cross-Country Skiing |
| Crossbow Shooting |
| CrossFit |
| Curling |
| Cutthroat |
| Cycle Polo |
| Cycle Speedway |
| Cyclo-Cross |
| Cycling |
Descriptions
Calisthenics
A form of exercise and competitive discipline using bodyweight movements like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats to build strength, flexibility, and endurance without equipment.
Camogie
An Irish team sport for women played with a wooden stick (hurl) and a small ball, closely related to hurling, aiming to score goals and points.
Canicross
A cross-country running sport where a runner is harnessed to and pulled by one or more dogs, popular as both recreation and competitive racing.
Canoe Polo
A fast-paced team sport played in canoes or kayaks where players pass and throw a ball into a suspended goal while defending their own.
Canoe Slalom
A whitewater racing discipline where paddlers navigate a river course through hanging gates, judged on speed and penalty-free precision.
Canoeing
A paddling sport using an open boat propelled with a single-bladed paddle, contested in sprint, marathon, and slalom formats at the Olympics.
Canyoning
An adventure sport combining hiking, climbing, swimming, and abseiling to descend narrow river gorges and waterfalls.
Capoeira
A Brazilian martial art blending dance, acrobatics, and music, traditionally practiced in a circle with rhythmic movement and playful sparring.
Carom Billiards
A cue sport played on a pocketless table where players score points by caroming their cue ball off both object balls.
Caving
Also called spelunking, this sport involves exploring and navigating underground cave systems, often requiring climbing, crawling, and rope skills.
Cesta Punta
A high-speed variant of Basque pelota played with a curved wicker basket (cesta) to hurl a ball against a wall at great speed.
Cheerleading
A sport combining tumbling, stunting, dance, and chants, performed competitively in choreographed routines judged on skill and synchronization.
Chess Boxing
A hybrid sport alternating rounds of chess and boxing, where a competitor can win by checkmate, knockout, or judges’ decision.
Clay Pigeon Shooting
Also known as clay target or trap shooting, this sport involves shooting airborne clay discs launched from a machine using a shotgun.
Cliff Diving
An extreme sport where athletes dive from high natural cliffs or platforms into water, judged on technique, execution, and difficulty.
Climbing
Also called sport climbing, this discipline involves ascending pre-bolted rock walls or artificial structures using ropes for protection, judged on speed or difficulty.
Combat Sambo
A Russian martial art and combat sport combining grappling and striking techniques, developed from wrestling, judo, and self-defense systems.
Cornhole
A backyard game and competitive sport where players toss bean bags at a raised platform trying to land them in a hole for points.
Cowboy Action Shooting
A timed shooting sport where competitors in Old West costumes fire single-action revolvers, rifles, and shotguns at targets in themed scenarios.
Cricket
A bat-and-ball team sport played between two sides of eleven, where bowlers deliver a ball toward a wicket defended by a batter.
Criterium
A road cycling race held on a short closed circuit, featuring multiple fast laps and frequent sprints, popular for its spectator-friendly format.
Croquet
A lawn sport where players use mallets to hit balls through a series of hoops set out on a grass court.
Cross-Country Mountain Biking
An off-road cycling discipline raced on natural or man-made trails featuring climbs, descents, and technical terrain, an Olympic event.
Cross-Country Running
An athletics discipline where runners race over natural outdoor terrain such as grass, mud, and hills rather than a track.
Cross-Country Skiing
A winter sport where skiers propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles, testing endurance over varied courses.
Crossbow Shooting
A precision target sport in which competitors fire bolts from a crossbow at fixed distances, scored similarly to archery.
CrossFit
A high-intensity fitness sport combining weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardio, with competitive events like the CrossFit Games testing all-round athleticism.
Curling
A winter sport where teams slide granite stones across ice toward a target area, using brooms to sweep and guide the stone’s path.
Cutthroat
A pocket billiards game for three players, each defending a set of balls, where the last player with balls remaining on the table wins.
Cycle Polo
A team sport similar to horse polo but played on bicycles, using mallets to hit a ball into the opposing team’s goal.
Cycle Speedway
A short-track cycling sport raced on oval dirt or shale tracks using fixed-gear, brakeless bicycles over four-lap heats.
Cyclo-Cross
A winter cycling discipline raced on mixed terrain courses that include pavement, grass, and obstacles requiring riders to dismount and carry their bikes.
Cycling
A sport encompassing road racing, track racing, mountain biking, and BMX, all involving competitive or recreational riding of bicycles.