Hybrid Sports
Of the many different sports played around the world, there are many that could be considered hybrid sports, made up of combining the attributes of two or more current sports to create a new sport.
Sports Combined
- Polocrosse — a hybrid of Polo and Lacrosse, played on horseback.
- Korfball – it may have been developed as a hybrid of netball and basketball, as a mixed-gender sport.
- Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) — a full-contact individual combat sport which include aspects of several other combat sports and martial arts.
- Headis — combining table tennis and soccer, players use their heads to hit a soccer ball across the table tennis table and net.
- Darchery — a combination of darts and archery, using bows and arrows typically used for archery, but the target is a dartboard.
- Chess boxing — a combination of chess and boxing.
An International Rules Football game at Subiaco Oval, Perth WA, in 2017Joining Codes
Some hybrid sports were created to enable players from different sports to play games against each other.
- Shinty-Hurling – The Irish sport of hurling combined with the Scottish sport of shinty.
- International Rules — a composite sport invented so that Australian football players (Aussie Rules) could play games against Irish football players (Gaelic football).
- Samoa Rules – A hybrid of rugby union and Australian rules football.
- International Game — a sport created to join up many sports that are allegedly derived from Jeu de paume.
No Longer Active Hybrid Sports
- Universal Football — a hybrid sport of Australian rules football (AFL) and rugby league, which unfortunately did not gain popularity. The sport is not currently played and was actually played officially just once in 1933.
- Austus — a hybrid sport between Australian Rules Football and American Football, created in Australia during World War II when soldiers stationed there from the USA wanted to play football against the Australians, but not played since.
- Volata — ball game that was developed in fascist Italy as a substitute for association football (soccer) and rugby union
Alternative Transport
These are not really hybrid sports, but many sports have been created by using a traditional sport, and changing the mode of moving. Polo played on horseback would be one example. Using the standard rules of polo, there are variations of polo with riders on bicycles, segways and elephants.
New Sports
Many of the new sports that have been submitted to Topend Sports have described their process of combining the attributes of different sports. It is not surprising that most new sports will have some many things in common to an existing sport, it would be challenging to come up with something completely novel considering the large number of sports already in existence.
Related Pages
- Complete List of Sports
- Multi-Sports — two or more sports played consecutively
- List of new sports
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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