95 Fun Facts About Sports Trivia for Kids

How many players from each team are on a basketball court at the same time?

Each team puts five players on the court, and the rest of the squad waits on the bench to be substituted in.

How many players per soccer team take the field at kickoff?

One of the eleven is the goalkeeper, the only player allowed to use their hands.

Which sport is played at Wimbledon?

Tennis: Wimbledon, first played in 1877, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is played on grass courts in south-west London.

In which sport do players use sticks to shoot a rubber puck into a net?

Ice hockey is played on skates on a rink, and the hard rubber puck slides across the ice instead of bouncing like a ball.

How long is a marathon race?

The official marathon distance is 42.195 kilometres, which works out at about 26.2 miles. Half that distance is called a half marathon.

Which country did the football star Pelé play for?

Pelé was a Brazilian forward and is one of the most famous footballers who ever lived.

Simone Biles is a champion in which sport?

Gymnastics is Simone Biles's sport: she won the Olympic all-around title at Rio 2016 and again at Paris 2024, plus dozens of world championship medals.

Michael Jordan became famous playing which sport?

Michael Jordan is a former professional basketball player, best known for his years with the Chicago Bulls.

In baseball, how many strikes make a strikeout?

Once a batter has collected three strikes in one turn at bat, that turn ends in a strikeout.

In American football, how many points is a touchdown worth?

A touchdown is worth 6 points, and the scoring team then gets a chance at an extra point or a two-point conversion.

How often is the FIFA World Cup held?

The tournament has taken place every four years since the first one in 1930, apart from 1942 and 1946 because of the Second World War.

In which country were the ancient Olympic Games held?

The ancient Games were athletic contests between the city-states of ancient Greece, first recorded in 776 BC and held every four years.

In which sport can you score a hole in one?

A hole in one happens when a golfer's very first shot from the tee lands straight in the cup.

Which sport is played by hitting a shuttlecock over a net?

Badminton players use light racquets to hit a shuttlecock, which has feathers or plastic vanes and flies quite differently from a ball.

Which country does the sprinter Usain Bolt come from?

Usain Bolt is from Jamaica, born in Trelawny Parish in 1986; he won eight Olympic gold medals for Jamaica and was nicknamed Lightning Bolt.

What time did Usain Bolt run in 2009 to set the 100 m world record?

Bolt ran 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, taking 0.11 off the 9.69 he had set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

What feat did Usain Bolt pull off at three Olympic Games in a row?

Bolt won both the 100m and 200m at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, the only sprinter to complete that double at three Olympic Games.

How many Grand Slam singles titles did Serena Williams win, a women's Open Era record?

Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles between 1999 and 2017, the women's Open Era record; only Margaret Court, with 24, has more among women.

How many Olympic gold medals did Serena Williams win?

Three of them came in doubles. She is the only player with a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

Which trophy did Lionel Messi lift with Argentina in 2022?

Messi captained Argentina to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, beating France on penalties in the final, and became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice.

How many goals did Lionel Messi score for Barcelona?

Messi scored 672 goals in 778 official games for Barcelona between 2004 and 2021, the most any player has scored for a single club.

Which American club did Lionel Messi join in 2023?

Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023 and won the Leagues Cup within weeks of arriving; the club then set an MLS points record to take the 2024 Supporters' Shield.

How many Olympic medals had Simone Biles won after the 2024 Paris Games?

Eleven: Simone Biles won five medals at Rio 2016, two at Tokyo 2020 and four at Paris 2024; only Larisa Latynina, with 18, has more among female gymnasts.

Which apparatus do female gymnasts compete on but male gymnasts do not?

The balance beam is one of the four women's artistic gymnastics events, with vault, uneven bars and floor; the beam is only 10 centimetres wide and 1.25 metres high.

Whose all-time NBA scoring record fell to LeBron James in 2023?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 points had stood as the NBA record since 1984; LeBron James passed it on 7 February 2023 against Oklahoma City.

What was LeBron James's slot in the 2003 NBA draft, straight out of high school?

Cleveland took him with the top selection and he was Rookie of the Year that season.

Which word joined the Olympic motto in 2021, its first change in over a century?

Together was added with a dash in 2021: 'Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together', after the Latin Citius, Altius, Fortius.

How many players does each volleyball team have on the court at the same time?

Six a side: the game was invented in 1895 by William Morgan at a YMCA in Massachusetts and first called 'mintonette' because he borrowed the idea from badminton.

How high off the ground is the rim of a basketball hoop?

10 feet, or 3.05 metres: the height James Naismith set when he invented basketball in Springfield in 1891, and it has never been changed.

How many innings make up a regular baseball game?

A regulation baseball game lasts nine innings, each side batting once per inning; Little League plays six, and each side fields nine players at a time.

What colour jersey does the leader of the Tour de France bicycle race wear?

Yellow was chosen because L'Auto, the newspaper that created the Tour in 1903, was printed on yellow paper; the best climber wears polka dots.

Which trophy do the NHL's ice hockey champions win each season?

The Stanley Cup, donated by Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, goes to the NHL playoff champion; the same trophy is handed over every year with the winners' names engraved on it.

In ten-pin bowling, what is it called when you knock down all the pins with your first ball?

Knocking down all ten pins with the first ball is a strike; twelve strikes in a row make a perfect 300 game, and three in a row is a turkey.

Surfing as we know it today is thought to have started where?

Hawaii is the birthplace of modern surfing; Hawaiian swimmer Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic champion in 1912 and 1920, spread the sport to America and Australia.

Skateboarding became an Olympic sport for the first time at which Games?

Skateboarding debuted at Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, where Japan's 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya won the first women's street gold and Britain's Sky Brown, also 13, took park bronze.

Table tennis is also known by what nickname?

Ping-pong, a trademark registered in 1901 and named for the sound of the ball, is the everyday name for table tennis, which began as an after-dinner game in Victorian England.

What are the three wooden posts a cricket bowler aims at called?

The three upright posts are the stumps; with the two bails resting on top they form the wicket, which the bowler tries to hit to dismiss the batter.

The first modern Games of the Olympiad were held in 1896 in which city?

Athens hosted the first modern Olympics in April 1896; winners received a silver medal and an olive branch rather than gold, and no women competed.

In which winter sport do players slide granite stones across ice while teammates sweep with brooms?

Curling began in Scotland in the 1500s and is nicknamed 'chess on ice'; sweeping warms the ice a little so the stone slides further and curls less.

When a soccer player scores three goals in one game, what is it called?

A hat-trick: the term comes from cricket, where in 1858 HH Stephenson took three wickets with three balls and was presented with a hat bought by a collection.

The Paralympics are held shortly after which event in the same host city?

The Paralympics follow the Olympics in the same host city; they grew out of a 1948 sports day for injured soldiers at Stoke Mandeville hospital, and the first official Games were Rome 1960.

Which swimmer has won more Olympic medals than any other athlete in history, 28 in total?

Michael Phelps won 28 Olympic medals between 2004 and 2016, 23 of them gold; eight of those golds came at a single Games, Beijing 2008.

What shape is a rugby ball?

A rugby ball is oval: the first ones, made in the town of Rugby in the 1800s, were built around a pig's bladder, which gave the egg-like shape.

Which Canadian player is known as 'The Great One' and had his number 99 retired by every team in the NHL?

Wayne Gretzky, 'The Great One', retired in 1999 with 2,857 NHL points; his 1,963 assists alone exceed any other player's career points total.

How many holes does a full round of golf usually have?

The standard was set in 1764 at St Andrews in Scotland, when members cut their course from 22 holes down to 18.

In volleyball, what is a serve that wins the point without being touched called?

An ace is a serve that lands in the opponents' court untouched or cannot be returned; a spike is an attacking hit, a dig a defensive save and a block stops the ball at the net.

In tennis scoring, which word is used for a player's score of zero points?

Love probably comes from 'playing for love', meaning for nothing; another theory is the French l'oeuf, 'the egg', because an egg looks like a zero.

What did James Naismith use as the goals in the very first basketball game in 1891?

Naismith nailed two peach baskets to a gym balcony at the Springfield YMCA training school; the baskets kept their bottoms, so someone fetched the ball after every score.

Volleyball was invented in 1895 in which US state?

Massachusetts: William G. Morgan invented volleyball at the Holyoke YMCA in 1895, first calling it 'mintonette' and meaning it as a gentler alternative to basketball.

Rafael Nadal won a record 14 titles at which tennis tournament?

The French Open at Roland Garros, the only major played on red clay; Nadal won it 14 times between 2005 and 2022, the most titles anyone has won at a single major.

Where is the Olympic flame lit before every torch relay?

Olympia, Greece: the flame is kindled at the ancient site using a parabolic mirror that focuses the sun's rays, then carried to the host city by relay runners.

Which metal makes up most of an Olympic champion's medal?

Olympic gold medals are mostly silver: IOC rules require at least 92.5 per cent silver, with only about 6 grams of gold plated onto the outside.

How many seconds does an NBA team have to shoot before the shot clock expires?

24 seconds: the NBA shot clock was introduced for the 1954-55 season to stop teams stalling; before it some games ended with scores in the teens.

Which country is marathon great Eliud Kipchoge from?

Eliud Kipchoge is from Kenya; in Vienna in 2019 he ran the marathon distance in 1:59:40, the first sub-two-hour run, though it did not count as an official record.

In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under how long?

Four minutes: on 6 May 1954 at Oxford's Iffley Road track, Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds, the first time anyone had broken four.

Who scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics, in 1976?

Nadia Comăneci, aged 14, scored the first perfect 10 on the uneven bars at Montreal 1976; the scoreboard could not display a 10, so her score appeared as 1.00.

What does the winner of the Masters golf tournament get to wear?

The Masters champion receives a green jacket at Augusta National; he may keep it for a year, after which it stays at the club and is worn only there.

In golf, what is a score of one stroke under par on a hole called?

A birdie is one under par; two under is an eagle and three under an albatross. The term began at Atlantic City Country Club, where a fine shot was called 'a bird'.

Which uniform number is retired across all of Major League Baseball in honour of Jackie Robinson?

Number 42 is retired across all of Major League Baseball in honour of Jackie Robinson; every player wears 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, 15 April, the anniversary of his 1947 debut.

How far apart are the bases on a Major League baseball diamond?

The bases are 90 feet apart, a distance written into the rules at the 1857 baseball convention; early clubs had measured it by pacing it out.

What is it called when a baseball batter hits a home run with the bases loaded?

A grand slam: a bases-loaded home run scores four runs, the most possible on one swing, and the term was borrowed from the card game bridge.

Which team won the very first Super Bowl in 1967?

The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in January 1967; it was billed as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, and tickets cost as little as six dollars.

How many Super Bowls did quarterback Tom Brady win?

Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls, six with the New England Patriots and one with Tampa Bay in 2021; no single NFL franchise has won more than six.

In soccer, how far from the goal line is the penalty spot?

The penalty spot is 12 yards from the goal line, a position fixed in 1902 when the penalty area took its modern shape; only the goalkeeper may defend the kick.

What colour card does a soccer referee show to send a player off?

A red card sends a player off and a yellow is a caution; English referee Ken Aston thought of the idea at a traffic light, and cards debuted at the 1970 World Cup.

Which country hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930?

Uruguay hosted and won the 1930 World Cup, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final; only 13 teams entered, and every match was played in the capital, Montevideo.

Which country won the first FIFA Women's World Cup, held in China in 1991?

The United States beat Norway 2-1 in the 1991 final in Guangzhou, China; the US went on to win again in 1999, 2015 and 2019.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003 for which country?

Portugal: Ronaldo debuted in 2003 and captained the side to the Euro 2016 title; his CR7 nickname combines his initials with his shirt number.

Kylian Mbappé made his international debut in 2017 for which country?

France: Mbappé debuted in 2017, won the 2018 World Cup at 19 and became France captain in 2023; he left PSG in 2024 as the club's all-time top scorer.

Naomi Osaka plays tennis for which country?

Naomi Osaka represents Japan, where she was born in the city of Osaka in 1997; in 2019 she became the first Asian player ranked world number one in singles.

The Ashes cricket series is played between England and which country?

Australia: the Ashes began after Australia beat England at The Oval in 1882; the tiny urn is said to hold the ashes of a burnt cricket bail.

Which country's rugby team, the All Blacks, performs the haka before matches?

New Zealand's All Blacks perform the haka, a Māori ceremonial dance; their usual 'Ka Mate' was composed by the chief Te Rauparaha around 1820.

The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy for which competition?

The Rugby World Cup trophy is named after William Webb Ellis, the Rugby School pupil said to have picked up the ball and run with it in 1823; players nickname it 'Bill'.

What does the Indianapolis 500 winner traditionally drink in victory lane?

Milk: the tradition began in 1936 when winner Louis Meyer drank buttermilk in victory lane and a dairy executive spotted a marketing chance.

What colour jersey does the leader of the Giro d'Italia bike race wear?

The colour matches the pink paper of La Gazzetta dello Sport, the newspaper that created the race.

The Iditarod is a long-distance race across Alaska for teams of which animals?

Sled dogs: each musher drives a team of a dozen or more dogs along the roughly 1,000-mile trail from Anchorage to Nome, a journey of more than a week.

Which flowers are draped over the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby?

The blanket holds 554 blooms, which is why the race is called 'The Run for the Roses'.

Which three sports make up a triathlon?

A triathlon is swimming, cycling and running, in that order, from the Greek for 'three' and 'contest'; the clock keeps running while athletes change gear between legs.

How many events does an athlete compete in during a decathlon?

A decathlon has 10 events over two days, from the 100 metres to the 1500 metres; the winner is often called 'the world's greatest athlete'.

The 'Fosbury Flop' is a backwards-over-the-bar technique in which event?

The high jump: Dick Fosbury won gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics going over the bar backwards, and the technique became standard for high jumpers worldwide.

Which stroke is swum first in an individual medley race?

The order is butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, then freestyle, so the hardest stroke comes first.

Who landed the first 900 on a skateboard at the 1999 X Games?

Tony Hawk landed the first 900, two and a half mid-air rotations, at the 1999 X Games in San Francisco after ten or so failed attempts.

At 17, Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to win Olympic gold in which snowboard event?

Halfpipe: Chloe Kim had already clinched gold at PyeongChang 2018 when her final run, with back-to-back 1080s, scored 98.25 out of 100.

In which winter sliding sport do racers go head-first down an icy track?

Skeleton racers lie face-down and go head-first; the sport is thought to be named after the bony look of the early metal sleds, and luge riders go feet-first on their backs.

Which martial art was founded by Kanō Jigorō in Japan in 1882?

Judo, 'the gentle way', was founded by Kanō Jigorō in Tokyo in 1882; its dan grading system was borrowed from the board game Go.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was born with what name?

Cassius Clay: he was named after Cassius Marcellus Clay, a 19th-century Kentucky abolitionist, and took the name Muhammad Ali in 1964 after joining the Nation of Islam.

Which city was the first to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics?

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Games, the first city to do both; the Bird's Nest stadium from 2008 was reused for the 2022 opening ceremony.

Which city was chosen to host the 2028 Summer Olympics?

Los Angeles was chosen in 2017 to host the 2028 Games, its third after 1932 and 1984; the same IOC vote awarded Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 together.

What does a Zamboni machine do at an ice rink?

A Zamboni resurfaces the ice, shaving the top layer and laying down fresh water; Frank Zamboni built the first one in 1949 to do a job that had taken several workers.

Fencing has three weapons: the foil, the sabre and which other?

Each weapon has its own rules; with the épée, the whole body is a valid target.

In rowing, who steers the boat and shouts commands to the crew?

The coxswain, or cox, steers and calls the commands; the word comes from 'cock', a small boat, and 'swain', a servant, and a good cox is light and loud.

Which sailing trophy is the oldest international competition in any sport?

The America's Cup, first raced around the Isle of Wight in 1851 and watched by Queen Victoria, is the oldest international trophy in sport.

In which year did Tiger Woods win his first Masters, by a record 12 strokes?

1997: Tiger Woods, aged 21 and a professional for less than a year, won the Masters by a record 12 strokes with an 18-under total of 270.

Soccer legend Pelé's real first name, Edson, honours which famous inventor?

Thomas Edison: Pelé's parents named him Edson after the inventor, though his birth certificate misspelled it 'Edison'; the nickname Pelé came from mispronouncing goalkeeper Bilé's name.

Which figure-skating jump is the only one that takes off facing forward?

It is named after Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first did it in 1882 while wearing speed skates.