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Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called as sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. Sporting equipment can be used as protective gear or a tool used to help the athletes play the sport. Over time, sporting equipment has evolved because sports have started to require more protective gear to prevent injuries. [1] Sporting equipment may be found in any department store or specific sporting equipment shops.
Historically, many sports players have developed their own sporting equipment over time. For instance, the use of a football dates back to ancient China, between 225 BC and 220 AD. [2] [ citation needed ] As football remains the most popular sport in the 21st century, the material of the ball has completely changed over the centuries; from being made out of animal skin, to being lined with multiple layers of polyester or cotton. [3] [ citation needed ]
As the sporting equipment industry improves, so do the athletes' performance. This is due to the fact that the equipment is more efficient, lighter and stronger, thus forming a biomechanical system that is interacting with the athlete. [4]
Since the massive adoption of wearable, new sport equipment tend to be electronics and connected to deliver data performances.
Standards and monitoring processes apply in certain industries aimed at the elimination of child labour in the manufacturing of sports goods. One example would be the Atlanta Agreement of 1997 in relation to child labour in the football-making industry in Pakistan. [5]
The ball is often what a sport requires and revolves around. A sports ball is typically round, but can also be in the shape such as association football, American football, baseball and basketball, or the ball is named after the sport. Other cases are the Gaelic ball. In other cases, the name of the sport is indicated, just as the cricket ball, golf ball, lacrosse ball or tennis ball.
Flying discs are used for various games such as freestyle, disc golf and ultimate. [6] [7]
In many games, goal posts are at each end of the playing field, there are two vertical posts (or uprights) supporting a horizontal crossbar. In some games, such as football, hockey or water polo, the object is to pass the ball or puck between the posts below the crossbar, while in others, such as those based on rugby, the ball must pass over the crossbar instead.
Nets are used for tennis, volleyball, football, basketball, hockey, and badminton. Throughout the course of these games, the ball involved with the sport is making contact with these nets. [8] A different type of net is used for various forms of fishing.
Racquets are used for racquet sports such as tennis, squash and badminton, and are used to hit a ball between opposing players or teams. [9]
Fishing rods and fishing tackle are primarily used for fishing and sport fishing.
Sticks are used for sports such as hockey and lacrosse. Bats are used for sports such as baseball, cricket and rounders (UK). Clubs are used mainly for golf (golf club)
Wickets, creases and balls are used in cricket, and bases are used in baseball. [10]
Footwear for sports includes:
Protective equipment is often worn for sports including motor sport and contact sports, such as ice hockey and American football or sports where there is a danger of injury through collision of players or other objects. Protective equipment includes:
Examples of training equipment include swiss balls, resistance bands, tennis balls, balance discs, cones, weights, chin-up bars, weight machines, and gym equipment. Also, protective equipment such as weight lifting belts and bench shirts are used for weight training and powerlifting. [11]
Special sports equipment, is the equipment usually worn by the athletes according to their needs or desires.
Vehicles (sometimes specialized) are used as equipment for some sports, including motor sport, cycling, aeronautics, sailing and hot air ballooning.
Small vehicles with flatbeds are often used to carry injured athletes off the field, most commonly in American football.
Adidas AG is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which also owns an 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern München, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.
Cricket clothing and equipment is regulated by the laws of cricket. Cricket whites, sometimes called flannels, are loose-fitting clothes that are worn while playing cricket so as not to restrict the player's movement. Use of protective equipment, such as cricket helmets, gloves and pads, is also regulated.
Voit is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in Mexico. The company was founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit (1880–1946) of Worthington, Indiana. The current range of products by Voit includes balls, and also goalkeeper gloves, tennis rackets, football uniforms, shin guards, and swimming equipment and accessories.
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball, badminton, American football, basketball, fastpitch softball, golf, racquetball, soccer, squash, tennis, pickleball and volleyball.
A contact sport is any sport where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, gridiron football. Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the players in the course of play. This is in contrast to noncontact sports where players often have no opportunity to make contact with each other and the laws of the game may expressly forbid contact. In contact sports some forms of contact are encouraged as a critical aspect of the game such as tackling, while others are incidental such as when shielding the ball or contesting an aerial challenge. As the types of contact between players is not equal between all sports they define the types of contact that is deemed acceptable and fall within the laws of the game, while outlawing other types of physical contact that might be considered expressly dangerous or risky such as a high tackle or spear tackle, or against the spirit of the game such as striking below the belt or other unsportsmanlike conduct. Where there is a limit as to how much contact is acceptable most sports have a mechanism to call a foul by the referee, umpire or similar official when an offence is deemed to have occurred.
Rawlings Sporting Goods is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Town and Country, Missouri. Founded in 1887, Rawlings currently specializes in baseball and softball clothing and equipment, producing gloves, bats, balls, protective gear, batting helmets, uniforms, bags. Footwear includes sneakers, and sandals. The company also sells other accessories such as belts, wallets, and sunglasses. Former products manufactured by Rawlings included American football, basketball, soccer, and volleyball balls.
Spalding is an American sports equipment manufacturing company. It was founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago in 1876 as a baseball manufacturer, and is today headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It sells softballs through its subsidiary Dudley Sports. In the past, Spalding has manufactured balls for other sports, including American football, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and golf.
Knee pads or kneepads are protective gear worn on knees to protect them against impact injury from falling to the ground or hitting an obstacle, or to provide padding for extended kneeling.Their primary purpose is to shield this vulnerable joint from potential impact injuries that may occur due to accidental falls, collisions with objects, or striking obstacles. By providing a cushioning barrier between the knees and the ground or other hard surfaces, knee pads help minimize the risk of severe damage or trauma.
A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field.
The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Masters Games is open to sports people of all abilities and most ages – the minimum age criterion ranges between 25 and 35 years depending on the sport. Auckland, New Zealand hosted the event's ninth edition from 21 to 30 April 2017.
Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
A shin guard or shin pad, is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mountain bike trials. They are also used in combat sports and martial arts competitions including kickboxing, mixed martial arts, taekwondo, karate and professional wrestling. This is due to either being required by the rules/laws of the sport or worn voluntarily by the participants for protective measures.
Protective equipment in gridiron football consists of equipment worn by football players for the protection of the body during the course of a football game. Basic equipment worn by most football players include helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, shoes, and thigh and knee pads, a mouthguard, and a jockstrap or compression shorts with or without a protective cup. Neck rolls, elbow pads, hip pads, tailbone pads, rib pads, and other equipment may be worn in addition to the aforementioned basics. Football protective equipment is made of synthetic materials: foam rubbers, elastics, and durable, shock-resistant, molded plastic. Football protective equipment has remained consistent in use for decades with some slight modifications made over the years in design and materials. The assignment and maintenance of football gear belongs to the team equipment manager.
Pads are a type of protective equipment used in a number of sports and serve to protect the legs from the impact of a hard ball, puck, or other object of play travelling at high speed which could otherwise cause injuries to the lower legs. These are used by batters in the sport of cricket, catchers in the sports of baseball and fastpitch softball, and by goaltenders in sports such as ice hockey, ringette, bandy, rinkball, field hockey, rink hockey and box lacrosse.
EvoShield is an American brand that specializes in protective gear. Some of EvoShield products are wrist guards, elbow guards, as well as rib and heart protectors for the sports of baseball, gridiron football, lacrosse and softball.
Personal protective equipment serves an integral role in maintaining the safety of an athlete participating in a sport. The usage and development of protective gear in sports has evolved through time, and continues to advance over time. Many sports league or professional sports mandate the provision and usage of protective gear for athletes in the sport. Usage of protective gear is also mandated in college athletics and occasionally in amateur sports.
Nivia Sports is an Indian corporate and sports equipment manufacturing industry founded in 1934 at Sialkot and named Freewill Sports Pvt Ltd. Later the company shifted to Mumbai and finally headquartered in Jalandhar, Punjab, India which designs and manufactures sports equipment, accessories, and sportswear including athletic clothes, and footwear. It has been the official ball partner for most reputed national and international leagues and tournaments including Indian Super League, The Basketball Federation of India, All India Football Federation, Volleyball Federation of India, Sri Lanka Super League. Nivia's basketball has received certification from FIBA, the International Basketball Federation.