The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 days. The World Games are governed by the International World Games Association, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee.
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by an international governing body called an International Federation (IF).
Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a very fast-paced and free-flowing game and is considered a contact sport, but body checking is prohibited. There are five players including the goalkeeper from each team on the rink at a time, while teams normally consist of 16 players. There are professional leagues, one of which is the National Roller Hockey League (NRHL). While it is not a contact sport, there are exceptions, i.e. the NRHL involves fighting.
The 2009 World Games (2009年世界運動會) the eighth edition of the World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from 16 July 2009 to 26 July 2009. The games featured sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games.
Macau residents participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation and competition. Football, basketball, volleyball, Dragon Boat, jogging, swimming, table tennis, and badminton are among the most popular in the community. Local leagues and competitions are organized regularly every year, but owing to Macau's small population professional leagues are financially unfeasible and so most participants are merely local sport enthusiasts.
The 2001 World Games, the sixth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Akita, Japan.
Sports in Colombia includes professional sports leagues, as well as amateur leagues for numerous sports. Football, cycling, and roller skating are the most popular sports in Colombia. The Government of Colombia sponsors numerous individuals and teams nationally and internationally through the Ministry of Sports to enable sportspeople to represent Colombia in competition. The achievements of professional sportspeople are a source of national pride for Colombians.
The 2013 World Games, the ninth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in the city of Cali, Colombia, from July 25 to August 4. It is the first edition of the World Games to be held in South America.
The 1997 World Games, the fifth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Lahti, Finland on August 7–17, 1997. The opening and closing ceremonies took place at the Lahti Sport Centre.
The 2017 World Games, also known as Wrocław 2017, was the tenth edition of the World Games, held from 20 to 30 July 2017 in Wrocław, Poland. The World Games were organized by the Wrocław Organizing Committee. Wrocław was selected as the host city in January 2012 in Lausanne, over Budapest, Hungary. It was the first time The World Games was organised in Poland.
The World Games sports comprise all the sports contested in The World Games. Starting in Birmingham 2022, there was no distinction between official and invitational sports. José Perurena, IWGA President, stated, "In Birmingham, for the first time, invitational sports were no longer presented separately but were also part of the official programme." This is now The World Games policy.
The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions that are not currently contested at the Olympic Games; the Games featured 3,457 athletes competing in 223 medal events over 34 total sports.
The World Skate Games are an international biennial multi-sport event, comprising all the world roller sport disciplines as regulated by the World Skate international federation. The games involve 11 World Championships in one multi-sport event.
The 2022 Bolivarian Games, officially the XIX Bolivarian Games Valledupar 2022, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Valledupar, Colombia from June 24 to July 5. It was the fifth time of the event in Colombia.
The United States competed as host country at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing the United States won 16 gold medals, 18 silver medals and 10 bronze medals. The country finished in 2nd place in the medal table.
France competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing France won 11 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 16 bronze medals. The country finished in 5th place in the medal table.
Colombia competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing Colombia won nine gold medals, ten silver medals and six bronze medals. The country finished in 9th place in the medal table.
Germany competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing Germany won 24 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 16 bronze medals. The country finished in 1st place in the medal table.
The 2025 World Games (2025年世界运动会), commonly known as Chengdu 2025, is the 12th edition of the World Games, which includes sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. It is expected to be held from 7 to 17 August 2025 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. This is the first edition to be held under the guidelines set by the strategy paper "Growth Beyond Excellence", the third edition to be held in Asia, and the first time for the nation to host the World Games.
