As a sport, cycling is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale in Switzerland (for upright bicycles) and by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (for other HPVs, or human-powered vehicles).

Road bicycle racing is the most popular type of bicycle racing. Racing typically takes place from spring through to fall, many riders spend the winter in countries in the Southern Hemisphere such as Australia where the racing for the year has just begun, to compete year round or to train. Pro tour races range from the multi-day "Grand Tour" stage races such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España to single day "Classics" such as the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo. Criteriums are races based on circuits typically less than 1 mile in length and run for a set time (60min, 90min, etc) rather than a specific distance. Criteriums are the most popular form of road racing in North America. In Belgium Kermesses are particularly popular, a single day event usually 120+km in length. As well as road races in which all riders start simultaneously, individual time trial and team time trial events are also held on road-based courses.

Cyclo-cross originated as a sport for road racers during the off season, as a way to vary their training during the cold months. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is September-January), and consists of many laps of a short (2–3 km or 1–2 mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike whilst navigating the obstruction and remount in one graceful motion. Races for senior categories are generally between 30 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium (and Flanders in particular) and France .

Mountain bike racing is relatively new to the bicycle racing scene. It was very popular during the 1990s. Mountain bike races are entirely off-road, and usually involve a moderate degree of technical riding. There are several varieties of mountain bike racing; the main categories are cross-country and downhill but also 4X or four cross racing. For mountain bike racing and riding you should have wide knobby tires with a deep tread.

Track cycling encompasses a variety of races that take place on banked tracks or velodromes. Events are quite diverse and can range from individual and team pursuits, one on one sprints, to various group and mass start races. Competitors use track bicycles which do not have brakes and also do not have freewheels.

BMX racing takes place off-road. BMX races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap racetracks on typically single speed bicycles. Riders navigate a dirt course made up of various jumps, along with banked and flat corners.

Bike trials is a sport where riders navigate natural and man-made obstacles without putting down their foot, or "dabbing". It is similar to motorcycle trials. Points are awarded for bike handling skills, and as such there are similarities with BMX racing.

Cycle speedway is a form of bicycle racing that takes place on short outdoor dirt tracks, around 70-90 meters in length.

All of the above bicycle races involve diamond frame bicycles that basically consist of two triangles. An alternative form of bicycle is the recumbent. The recumbent is a bicycle on which the rider sits back in a full seat with the legs in a horizontal position. This puts the body in a position where there is less wind drag from the legs. Proponents of the recumbent claim that it provides a more comfortable riding position with no weight on the wrists. The recumbent is a more aerodynamic design of bicycle, and current world speed records were set with recumbent bicycles.

The Tour de France is the world's best-known cycling race, a 22 day long, 20 stage road race that is usually run over more than 3000km. It is a circuit of most areas around France and, sometimes, neighbouring countries. The race is broken into stages from one town to another, each of which is an individual race. The time taken to complete each stage becomes a cumulative total to decide the outright winner at the end of the Tour.

As with most cycling races, competitors enter as part of a team. The race consists of 20 to 22 teams with nine riders each. Traditionally, entry is extended to invitation only, with invitations granted only to the best of the world's professional teams. Each team, known by the name of its sponsor, wears a distinctive jersey and riders assist one another and have access to a shared 'team car' (a mobile version of the pit crews in car racing).

Running is both a competitive sport and a type of training for sports which have running or endurance components. As a sport it is split into events divided by distance and sometimes includes permutations such as the obstacles in Steeplechase. Perhaps the most basic of athletic contests, running races are simply contests to determine which of the competitors is able to run a certain distance in the shortest time. Today, competitive running events make up the core of the sport of athletics. Events are usually grouped into several classes, each requiring substantially different athletic strengths and involving different tactics, training methods, and types of competitors.

Running competitions have probably existed for most of humanity's history, and were a key part of the ancient Olympic Games as well as the modern Olympics.

Field hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. Players are permitted to play the ball with any part of the stick other than the rounded side (back). The flat side is always on the "natural" side for a right-handed person — there are no "left-handed" hockey sticks (for actual use in play, some have been made as novelties).

Teams consist of eleven players on the field, and up to five substitutes. Substitutions are not limited but may not be made during a penalty corner. There are no set positions (even a goalkeeper is not required under the 2007 rules), but most teams arrange themselves (in a similar way to football (soccer) teams) into fullbacks (defence), midfielders (halfback) and forwards (front line)). Many teams include a single sweeper. The rules do not specify a minimum number of players for a match to take place, but most competitions have some local ruling on this, with seven players being a common minimum.

One player from each team may be designated the goalkeeper. Goalkeepers must wear a suitable helmet with full face mask and are also permitted to wear protective padding, including large leg guards, kickers and gloves. Although goalkeepers may block or deflect the ball with any part of their bodies, and propel the ball with their feet (and from 2007 any other part of their equipment in a "goal-saving action"), they must always carry a stick, and normal stick rules apply. Goalkeepers are permitted to play the ball outside their defensive circle (scoring area or "D"), but must only use the stick in this circumstance. Fully protected goalkeepers are prohibited from passing their side's defensive 23m line during play, unless they are taking a penalty stroke.

For the purposes of the rules, all players on the team in possession of the ball are attackers, and those on the team without the ball are defenders.

The match is officiated by two field umpires. Traditionally each umpire generally controls half of the field, divided roughly diagonally. These umpires are often assisted by a technical bench including a timekeeper and record keeper.

Prior to the start of the game, a coin is tossed and the winning captain can choose a starting end or start with the ball. The game time is divided into two equal halves of 35 minutes each, with five minutes for half-time. At the start of each half, as well as after goals are scored, play is started with a pass from the centre of the field. All players must start in their defensive half, but the ball may be played in any direction along the floor. Each team starts with the ball in one half, and the team that conceded the goal has possession for the restart.

Field players may only play the ball with the face of the stick. Tackling is permitted as long as the tackler does not make contact with the attacker or his stick before playing the ball (contact after the tackle may also be penalised if the tackle was made from a position where contact was inevitable). Further, the player with the ball may not deliberately use his body to push a defender out of the way.

Field players may not play the ball with their feet, but if the ball accidentally hits the feet, and the player gains no benefit from the contact, then the contact is not penalised. Although there has been a change in the wording of this rule from 1 January 2007, the current FIH umpires' briefing instructs umpires not to change the way they interpret this rule.

Obstruction typically occurs in three circumstances - when a defender comes between the player with possession and the ball without first performing a legitimate tackle; when a defender's stick comes between the attacker's stick and the ball or makes contact with the attacker's stick; and also when (usually deliberately) blocking the opposition's passage to the ball (called third party obstruction).

If the ball is raised off the ground in a manner that is, in the umpire's opinion, dangerous, the ball is turned over to the other team and they receive a free hit. The free hit is taken where the action that caused the danger occurred (that is, not where the danger itself occurs). The definition of a "dangerous ball" is a matter of interpretation by the umpires. Guidance in the rules states "a ball is considered dangerous when it causes legitimate evasive action by players" — but it also depends on the speed of the ball, the height to which it is raised, and the number of players near its path.

Hockey uses a three-tier card system of warnings and suspensions:

    * A Green card is a warning.
    * A Yellow card is a temporary suspension, just like in rugby football, normally for a minimum of 5 minutes duration without substitution. (In some modes, including indoor, shorter periods of suspension are applied, dependent on local rules).
    * A Red card, just like in association football, is a permanent exclusion from the rest of the game, without substitution, and in many circumstances will also result in the player being banned for a certain period of time or number of matches (this is governed by local playing conditions, rather than the rules of hockey).

Unlike football, a player may receive more than one green or yellow card. However they cannot receive the same card for the same offence (example two yellows for dangerous play), and the second must always be a more serious card. In the case of a second yellow card for a different breach of the rules, the temporary suspension would be expected to be of considerably longer duration than the first. However, local playing conditions may mandate that cards are awarded only progressively, and not allow any second awards.

The teams' object is to play the ball into their attacking circle and, from there, hit, push or flick the ball into the goal, scoring a point. The team with more goals after two 35-minute halves wins the game. The playing time may be shortened, particularly when younger players are involved, or for some tournament play.

Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each. It is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. Football is a ball game played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeeper is the only player allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, while they may also occasionally use their torso or head to intercept a ball in mid air. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.

the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off (a set kick from the centre-spot by one team) until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play:

    * Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.
    * Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
    * Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by an attacker; awarded to defending team.
    * Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a defender; awarded to attacking team.
    * Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution/send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an indirect free kick.
    * Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls.
    * Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their opponent's penalty area.
    * Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason (e.g., a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective). This restart is uncommon in adult games.

A foul occurs when a player commits a specific offence listed in the Laws of the Game when the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.

The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. Non-players, such as managers and support staff, may be dismissed from the field and its surrounds by the referee if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.

Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue when its continuation will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period of time, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised because the referee plays an advantage, the offender may still be sanctioned for any associated misconduct at the next stoppage of play.

The offside law effectively limits the ability of attacking players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent's goal-line) of the ball, the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper), and the half-way line.

I really like your clever introductory sport-realted jargon, Mateui.