An amateur is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Princess Auto Stadium. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manitoba Soccer Fields while the track and field teams use the University Stadium as their home track. The University has 18 different teams in 10 sports: basketball, curling, cross country running, Canadian football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, swimming, track & field, and volleyball.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 700,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. The philosophy of the AAU is "Sports for All, Forever."
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent The Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, the Ohio buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. The Ohio State women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The school colors are scarlet and gray. The university's mascot is Brutus Buckeye. "THE" is the official trademark of the Ohio State University merchandise. Led by its gridiron program, the Buckeyes have the largest overall sports endowment of any campus in North America.
The Special Olympics World Games also known as Special Olympiad are an international sporting event for participants with intellectual disabilities, organized by the IOC-recognised Special Olympics organization.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities.
Sport is considered a national pastime in Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part in sports activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are the Swedish Sports Confederation, and the Swedish Olympic Committee. In total over 2 million people are members of a sports club.
The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. The name comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I to the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Alpine light infantry battalion.
The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of the summer of 2023, Stanford's program has won 134 NCAA team championships, the most of any university. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 47 consecutive years, starting in 1976–77 and continuing through 2022–23. Stanford athletes have won 544 individual NCAA titles.
Sport in China has been long associated with the martial arts. Today, China consists of a variety of competitive sports. Traditional Chinese culture regards physical fitness as an important characteristic. China has its own national quadrennial multi-sport event similar to the Olympic Games called the National Games.
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.
The Hong Kong Sports Institute is a sports institute located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is mandated to provide training to athletes, and also offers academic qualification in the field of sports training. The institute sponsors elite athletes and trains them as full-time employees, based on their talent and potential. The campus is located on reclaimed land on the bank of the Shing Mun River, next to the Sha Tin Racecourse.
Historically, North Korea's participation in international sporting events has been hindered by the relations with South Korea. Until the 1990s, North Korea used to host up to 14 international events every year, albeit in small scale. Since the early 1990s, the amount was reduced to just one, the Paektusan Prize International Figure Skating Festival. More recently, since the 2000s, North Korea both participates in and hosts more international competitions.
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.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Middlebury Panthers are the 31 varsity teams of Middlebury College that compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Panthers lead the NESCAC in total number of national championships, having won 42 team titles since the conference lifted its ban on NCAA play in 1994. Middlebury enjoys national success in soccer, cross country running, field hockey, men's basketball, women's hockey, skiing, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse, and fields 31 varsity NCAA teams and several competitive club teams including a sailing team (MCSC), a crew team, a water polo team, an ultimate frisbee team, and a rugby team. Since 2000, Middlebury's varsity squads have won 84 NESCAC titles. Currently, 28% of students participate in varsity sports.
The Bay State Games are an Olympic-style athletic event for amateur athletes in the state of Massachusetts, which includes several divisions and allows athletes of all ages to compete. The Games are divided into Summer and Winter Games. The Summer Games include 25 sports and are usually held in late July. The Winter Games include three different sports and are usually held in late January or early February. The Bay State Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games. Kevin Cummings currently serves as executive director.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across the state.
The Games of Texas are a series of amateur Olympic-style events held each summer and winter in the U.S. state of Texas. They are organized by the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) and are part of the National Congress of State Games. Medalists from the Games qualify to participate in the State Games of America, a biennial multi-sport event.
Harvey Hill Carrow Jr. is an American-born sports tourism executive who has led the development of the sports tourism industry in the United States. He founded the National Association of Sports Commissions, now known as the Sports Events & Tourism Association, the national trade association for the sports tourism industry in the U.S. Carrow also founded the North Carolina Sports Association, the state trade association for the sports tourism industry in North Carolina.
