An invented sport refers to a modern-day sport which is conceived and developed by a single person, team, or committee. Unlike most sports, which are derived from pre-existing pastimes or sport-like activities, invented sports have a direct lineage to a complete set of rules designed by an inventor to be different than what was before, rather than an improvement or codification of an existing sport or contest. Thus, baseball, with its disputed origin and its precursors in cricket, rounders, town ball, and "stickball", is not ordinarily considered "invented". Likewise, arena football, futsal, and roller hockey are not invented sports, since they are merely existing, established sports adapted to new equipment or surfaces.
Under this definition, the most notable invented sport is perhaps basketball, with an estimated 42.1 million people who played the game at least once per year in the United States alone. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891. Another invented sport, volleyball, was the second-fastest growing sport over the same period.
Sports are often invented to fulfill specific needs or test certain theories that pre-existing sports do not fulfill. Tchoukball, for example, was invented by a Swiss physician who wished to have a team game that de-emphasized aggression and violence. And SlamBall was conceived by a fledgling American television network as a spectator sport for broadcasting; as such, it is probably the only sport in existence which was first played by professionals, with no amateurs ever taking part.
List of invented sports
* There is some debate as to whether these are invented sports.
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