Sports in the Philippines

  

There are five major sports in the Philippines. These are basketball, boxing, billiards, football, and volleyball. Despite being a tropical nation, ice skating is a popular sport in the Philippines. Sports such as athletics, weightlifting, aerobics, and martial arts are also popular recreations.

Among the others there are: baseball, swimming, wrestling, underwater diving, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, cockfighting, horse racing, motor racing, rugby and jai alai are also appreciated. With the sport of cockfighting being wildly popular in the Philippines, attracting large crowds who bet on the outcome of fights between the birds,and the sport itself a popular form of fertility worship among almost all Southeast Asians. Such sports activity as the sport of cockfighting, related to ritual forms of worship as practices and rituals of ancient worship intended for the blessings of the supernatural, as "in Indus Valley and other ancient civilizations, mother goddess had been invoked for fertility and prosperity" which included that religious cockfight lay as a prime example of "cultural synthesis of 'little' and 'great' cultures" due to religious syncretism’s causing the loss for some of religious significance and hence a sport, while remaining for some as a form of ‘fertility worship’ and still for others as Baal or Baalim.

On July 27, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9850 into law, declaring Modern Arnis as the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport.

Sport for the disabled

The Philippine Sports Association for the Paralympic Committee of the Philippines (PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines) is the national sports association for people with disabilities, tasked to compete in activities related to sports, and physical fitness. It is affiliated with the International Paralympic Committee. PHILSPADA-NPC Philippines works with the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA),[7] the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, and the Philippine National Sport associations to train, and send qualified disabled Philippine athletes to international disabled sport competitions such as the ASEAN Para Games, the FESPIC Games, the Paralympic Games, as well as national competitions.

4th ASEAN Para Games, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

The Philippineshey athletes with cerebral palsy to compete in boccia in 4th ASEAN Paragames tournament. The Philippine Disabled Shooting Team, with the support of the Philippine National Shooting Association, competed in the Para Games in the Air Rifle, and Air Pistol events.

2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, China

Three athletes, one in powerlifting, and a team of two in sailing, represented the Philippines in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

The 2008 Philippine Paralympic Team was organized, and managed by PHILSPADA with the support of the Philippine Sports Commission, and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Philippine and Olympic sports

Philippine sport is regulated by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee. Sports played in the Philippines:

Ball/Cue sports

    Billiards

    Pool

    Snooker

    Bowling

    Kicking

Boxing and martial arts

    Boxing

    Pekiti Tirsia Kali

    Eskrima

    Mano Mano

    Arnis

    Karate

    Sikaran

    Taekwondo

    Wrestling

    Mixed martial arts

Outdoor

    Caving

    Cycling

    Marathon

    Mountaineering

    Rock climbing

    Orienteering

    Golf

Racquet sports

    Badminton

    Squash

    Table tennis

    Tennis

Skating

    Figure skating

    Inline hockey

    Inline skating

    Skateboarding

In water

    Snorkeling

    Swimming

    Water polo

    Finswimming

    Diving

On water

    Bodyboarding

    Surfing

    Waterskiing

    Windsurfing

Sailing

    Dinghy Racing, Optimist, Laser, 420, 470, Mirror, and Topper

    Monohull Keelboat Racing, Platu, J24, Flying Fifteen, and Sailboat

    Catamarans and Trimarans

    Outrigger paraw racing

Paddle sports

    Dragon boat racing

    Rowing

    Whitewater kayaking

    Rafting

Underwater

    Underwater hockey

    Scuba diving

Air

    Ballooning

    Hang gliding

    Parachuting

    Parasailing

    Skydiving

    Ultra-light flying

Extreme sports

    Adventure racing

    Triathlon

    Paragliding

    Bodyboarding

    Kneeboarding (surfsport)

    Kneeboarding (towsport)

    Kitesurfing

    Wakeboarding

Team Sports Played in the Philippines

American football

American football is a relatively new sport to the Philippines. ArenaBall Philippines currently holds a 4 team competition. Famous Filipino players to have played in the National Football League in the United States include Eugene Amano, Tim Tebow, Roman Gabriel, Tedy Bruschi, Chris Gocong, Steve Slaton, Aaron Francisco and Jordan Dizon.

Association football (soccer)

The Philippine national football team or Azkals, is the national football team of the Philippines, and is controlled by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

Baseball

The Philippine national baseball team is ranked 22nd on the IBAF World Rankings, and after the WBC Qualification tournament held at Taiwan in 2013, baseball in the Philippines is gradually gaining popularity.

Basketball

Basketball is considered to be the most popular sport in the Philippines and is played on both the amateur and professional level. The professional league in the Philippines is the Philippine Basketball Association and currently runs a 10 team competition. The national team is popularly known as Gilas Pilipinas and has recently qualified to compete in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Rugby league

The Philippines National Rugby League is the governing body and is responsible for the growth of rugby league in the Philippines. The sport has recently been introduced to the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy and the plan is to introduce the sport though the maritime industry.[12] The national team are known as the Tamaraws.

Rugby union

The Philippine Rugby Football Union was founded in 1999 and is the governing body of rugby union in the Philippines. There are currently around 12 schools playing rugby union in the Philippines and 10 teams that compete in regular competition. The national team is known as the Volcanoes and competes in the Asian 5 Nations and the Asian Seven Series.

Other notable sports played in the Philippines

    Airsoft

    Australian Rules football

    Baseball

    Beach volleyball

    Beach soccer

    Cricket

    Darts

    Dodgeball

    Dragon Boat

    Lawn bowls

    Pelota[disambiguation needed]

    Paintball

    Pétanque

    Polo

    Roller hockey

    Sipa

    Skateboarding

    Softball

    Streetball

    The Wave (board)

    Touch football (rugby league)

    Ultimate Frisbee

    Volleyball

    Water polo

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