Around the world, athletes engage in more than 200 sports recognized by national or international federations,^a yet estimates suggest there are actually more than 8,000 indigenous sports or sporting games around the world.^b No matter how you tally the count or what you consider a “sport,” it is clear that humans find a lot of ways to play and compete.

While some of the more popular sports worldwide include soccer, football, baseball, auto racing, basketball, hockey, tennis, and golf, there are diverse ways that athletes engage. The following is a sample of some more obscure sports with which you may not be familiar.^c–e