Sports Facts for Kids
Fun facts from the world of sports
The FIFA World Cup trophy is made of 18-carat solid gold and weighs 6.175 kilograms. Winning teams receive a gold-plated replica to keep, not the original.
In ancient Hawaii, surfing was considered a royal sport. The best waves were reserved for chiefs and kings, and commoners could face punishment for riding them.
The very first basketball hoops were peach baskets with closed bottoms. After each goal, someone had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball.
A regulation table tennis ball weighs just 2.7 grams, yet professional players can hit it at speeds exceeding 110 kilometres per hour.
The All Blacks rugby team perform the haka before every match, a traditional Maori war dance meant to challenge opponents and show strength and unity.
An official NBA basketball weighs about 620 grams and must be inflated to a pressure that makes it bounce between 1.2 and 1.4 metres when dropped from 1.8 metres.
Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021). The youngest medal winners were just 13 years old.
The Olympic decathlon tests athletes across ten different track and field events over two days, including sprinting, jumping, and throwing. The winner is often called the 'world's greatest athlete'.
The fastest goal in professional football history was scored in just 1.8 seconds by Nawaf Al Abed for Al-Hilal in a Saudi league match in 2009.
Competitive swimmers often shave their entire bodies before big races. Removing body hair can reduce drag in the water and improve times by as much as two per cent.