Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants.

On the water

* Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races * Boating, the use of boats for personal recreation *

Cable skiing Cable skiing is a way to water ski (or wakeboard), in which the skier's rope and handle are pulled by an electrically-driven cable, whereas traditionally a waterskier is pulled by a motorboat. The mechanism consists of two cables running paral ...

, similar to wake boarding but with cables for artificial maneuvering * Canoe polo combines boating and ball handling skills with a contact team game, where tactics and positional play are as important as the speed and fitness of the individual athletes. * Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. *

Dragon boat racing A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

, teams of 20 paddlers racing the ancient dragon boat *

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, the recreation and sport of catching fish *

Flyboard A Flyboard is a brand of hydroflighting device which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard into the air to perform a sport known as hydroflying.ExamplesFlyboard Ultimate SupercutPower Board Expert. A Flyboard rider stands on a board connec ...

, a brand of hydroflighting device which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard into the air to perform a sport known as hydroflying. *

Jet Skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

, performed with a recreational watercraft that the rider sits or stands on, rather than sits inside of, as in a boat. * Jet Boarding is a powered surf board usually by 2 stroke engine or electric power. * Kayaking, the use of a kayak for moving across water *

Kiteboating Kiteboating or kite boating is the act of using a kite rig as a power source to propel a boat. Kiteboating is a type of surface water sport, but it also has transportation usesKneeboarding, an aquatic sport where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board at a planing speed, most often behind a motorboat. * Parasailing, where a person is towed behind a vehicle (usually a boat) while attached to a parachute *

Picigin Picigin () is traditional ball game from Split, Croatia that is played on the beach. It is an amateur sport played in shallow water consisting of players keeping a small ball from touching the water. Origin Picigin originated on the sandy beach ...

, a traditional Croatian ball game that is played on the beach. It is an amateur sport played in shallow water, consisting of players keeping a small ball from touching the water. *

Rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water * River trekking, a combination of trekking and climbing and sometimes swimming along the river *

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

, a sport that involves propelling a boat (racing shell) on water, using oars * Sailing, the practice of navigating a sail-powered craft on water, ice, or land *

Sit-down hydrofoil The sit-down hydrofoil, first developed in the late 1980s, is a variation on water skiing, a popular water sport. When towed at speed, by a powerful boat or some other device, the board of the hydrofoil 'flies' above the water surface and generall ...

ing is riding on the water with a hydrofoil attached to a ski. *

Skimboarding Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard (much like a surfboard but smaller and without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. Wave-riding skimboarders p ...

, a sport where people use a wooden board to slide fast on water. *

Stone skipping Stone skipping and stone skimming are considered related but distinct activities: both refer to the art of throwing a flat stone across the water in such a way (usually sidearm) that it bounces off the surface. The objective of "skipping" is ...

, a sport where people compete for number of times and length that they can skip a stone on the water's surface. * Surfing, a sport where an individual uses a board to stand up and ride on the face of a wave. * Wakeboarding, a sport where an individual is attached to a board via bindings and then holds a handle to be towed across the water while riding sideways. *

Wakeskating Wakeskating is a water sport and an adaptation of wakeboarding that employs a similar design of board manufactured from maple or fibreglass. Unlike wakeboarding, the rider is not bound to the board in any way, similar to the skateboard, from which ...

, a sport where the rider stands on a board and is towed across the water performing maneuvers similar to those seen in skateboarding. *

Wakesurfing Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat, riding the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat. After getting up on the wake, typically by use of a tow rope, the wakesurfers will drop the rope, and ride the ...

, a sport where the individual surfs on the wake created by a boat without holding onto the handle. * Water skiing, a sport where an individual holds onto a rope and handle while being towed across the water while riding one or two water skis. *

White water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, rafting on various classes of river rapids * Wing foiling, a sport where an individual holds a lightweight wing on a surf board with a hydrofoil. *

Yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...

, the use of recreational boats and ships called yachts, for racing or cruising

In the water

* Aquajogging, is a cross training and rehabilitation method using low impact resistance training. It is a way to train without impacting joints. Participants wear a flotation device and move in a running motion in the deep end of a pool. Equipment, aside from a pool, can include a flotation belt and weights. * Artistic or synchronised swimming consists of swimmers performing a synchronised routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music. * Diving, the sport of jumping off springboards or platforms into water * Finswimming is a sport similar to traditional swimming using fins, monofin, snorkel and other specific devices * Modern pentathlon includes épée

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

, pistol shooting, swimming, a show jumping course on horseback, and cross country running * Rescue swimming is swimming with the goal to rescue other swimmers *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, including pool swimming and open water swimming * Synchronized diving, Two divers form a team and perform dives simultaneously. The dives are identical. * Triathlon, a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events, usually a combination of swimming, cycling and running *

Water aerobics Water aerobics (waterobics, aquarobics, aquatic fitness, aquafitness, aquafit) is the performance of aerobic exercise in water such as in a swimming pool. It is done mostly vertically and without swimming typically in waist deep or deeper water. W ...

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness ( flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). ...

in the water. * Water basketball, mixes the rules of basketball and water polo, played in a swimming pool. Teams of five players each must shoot at the goal with a ball within a certain time after gaining possession. * Water polo is a sport of two teams played in water with a ball. *

Water volleyball Water volleyball (also called pool and acqua volleyball) is a competitive middle-court oriented water game. It can be played between two teams, each team consisting of 1 to 4 players, depending on the area of water in which the game is being pla ...

Under water

Recreational diving

* Cave diving * Deep diving * Freediving * Ice diving * Mermaiding *

Spearfishing Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familia ...

* Underwater archaeology, particularly activity involving

wreck diving Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...

* Underwater photography, including underwater videography, is

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

done under water. Numerous contests worldwide are arranged every year.

Digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...

s have revolutionized how many divers participate. * Underwater videography

Underwater sports

* Aquathlon (underwater wrestling) * Finswimming, some events are practiced completely underwater * Freediving *

Snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...

is the practice of swimming at the surface (typically of the sea) being equipped with a mask, fins, and a short tube called a snorkel. *

* Sport diving (sport) * Underwater football * Underwater hockey is a game played underwater which has some similarities to

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. Two teams of players use short wooden curved sticks to move a heavy puck across the pool bottom to the opponents' goal. *

Underwater ice hockey Underwater ice hockey (also called Sub-aqua ice hockey) is a minor extreme sport that is a variant of ice hockey. It is played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds. Participants wear diving masks, fins and wetsuits and use the underside ...

Underwater orienteering Underwater orienteering is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in both sheltered and open water testing the competitors' competency in underw ...

Underwater photography (sport) Underwater photography is a scuba-based underwater sport governed by where teams of competitors using digital underwater camera systems all dive at the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period. The submitted digital ...

* Underwater rugby is a game played underwater which has some similarities to rugby football. Two teams try to score goals by sending a slightly negatively buoyant ball into the opponents' goal placed on the bottom of the pool. *

Underwater target shooting Underwater Target Shooting is an underwater sport/shooting sport that tests a competitors’ ability to accurately use a speargun via a set of individual and team events conducted in a swimming pool using freediving or Apnoea technique. The spor ...

References