Ways to use this list
- PE class: spin the main sport for the lesson. On wet days press Indoor (PE hall), so the wheel never lands on cricket in a downpour.
- Sports day: spin to decide which event each house starts at, or put the events in the list randomizer for a running order.
- Trivia: spin a sport and ask "how many players a side?" The answers for most team sports are in the full list below.
- Try something new: spin a sport for the month, then look for a beginners' session nearby. Many clubs run taster days for newcomers of every age.
- Weekend in the park: press Outdoor and play a small-sided version with whatever you have, such as two jumpers for goalposts.
- School projects: each pupil spins a sport and finds out where it began, how it is scored and what kit it needs, then presents it in two minutes.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (49 entries)
- Soccer – called football in most countries; team, outdoor, 11 a side
- Basketball – team, indoor, 5 a side
- Volleyball – team, indoor, 6 a side; beach volleyball is 2 a side
- Baseball – team, outdoor, 9 a side
- Softball – team, outdoor, a larger ball pitched underarm
- Cricket – team, outdoor, 11 a side
- Rugby – team, outdoor; 15 a side in union, 13 in league
- Ice hockey – team, on a rink, 6 a side including the goalie
- Field hockey – team, outdoor, 11 a side
- Handball – team, indoor, 7 a side
- Netball – team, indoor or outdoor, 7 a side
- Water polo – team, in a pool, 7 a side including the goalkeeper
- Lacrosse – team, outdoor, a ball carried in a netted stick
- Dodgeball – team, indoor, a favourite PE game
- Ultimate (flying disc) – team, outdoor, 7 a side
- Kabaddi – team, 7 a side, a tagging game hugely popular in India
- Korfball – team, 8 a side with four women and four men
- Rounders – team, outdoor, a bat-and-ball game played in UK schools
- Futsal – team, indoor, 5-a-side football with a low-bounce ball
- Curling – team of 4, on ice, sliding stones to a target
- Tennis – racket, singles or doubles, indoor or outdoor
- Badminton – racket, singles or doubles, indoor, with a shuttlecock
- Table tennis – bat, singles or doubles, indoor
- Squash – racket, usually singles, on an indoor court with four walls
- Pickleball – paddle, singles or doubles, on a small court
- Swimming – solo or relay, in a pool or open water
- Running – solo, on a track, road or cross-country
- Cycling – solo or team, on road, track, trails or BMX
- Gymnastics – solo, indoor; artistic, rhythmic and trampoline
- Golf – solo, outdoor, 18 holes on a full course
- Archery – solo, on an indoor or outdoor range
- Fencing – solo, indoor; foil, épée and sabre
- Martial arts – solo; karate, judo and taekwondo among many
- Rock climbing – indoor walls or real rock, usually with a partner on the rope
- Skateboarding – solo, on the street or in a skatepark
- Ten-pin bowling – solo or team, indoor
- Athletics – track and field: sprints, jumps and throws
- Triathlon – solo; swim, then cycle, then run
- Horse riding – solo, outdoor; dressage, show jumping and eventing
- Trampolining – solo, indoor, an Olympic sport since 2000
- Orienteering – solo, outdoor, finding checkpoints with a map and compass
- Rowing – solo or crew, on rivers and lakes
- Surfing – solo, on ocean waves
- Skiing – solo, on snow; downhill or cross-country
- Snowboarding – solo, on snow, both feet on one board
- Kayaking – solo or in pairs, on rivers, lakes or the sea
- Sailing – solo or crew, in boats moved by the wind
- Diving – solo or synchronised pairs, from a springboard or platform
- Ice skating – solo or pairs; figure skating and speed skating
📖 Related guide: How to make fair random teams
Questions people ask
Can I make teams for the sport too?
Yes. Spin the sport here, then paste the players into the random team generator to split them into fair teams. In PE, that takes you from register to warm-up in a minute.
Can I limit it to indoor sports?
Yes: press Indoor (PE hall) above for sports that fit a school hall, such as badminton, basketball, futsal, netball and dodgeball. Delete any your hall can't host, and the picker remembers your edit on this device.
Does it include Olympic sports?
Many, including swimming, tennis, archery, fencing, rowing, gymnastics and table tennis, but netball, dodgeball and rounders are not Olympic sports. For the official line-up, spin the Olympic sport generator.
What is the most popular sport in the world?
Football, called soccer in the US, is widely seen as the most popular, with fans and players in almost every country. Cricket is usually named next by number of fans, thanks to its huge following in South Asia.
Which sports need the least equipment?
Running needs only trainers, and football, dodgeball and netball need one ball for the whole group. Ultimate needs a single disc and a few cones, and kabaddi needs no equipment at all, just a marked court and two teams.