Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sports equipment includes any object used for sport or exercise.
Examples for sports include balls, goals, sticks for hockey and lacrosse, bats, wickets and bails for cricket, nets for tennis, volleyball and badminton.
Examples for exercise include swiss balls, weights, equipment for the gym.
eBay, the world's largest online auction site, is one of the better known examples. Like most auction companies, eBay does not actually sell goods that it owns itself. It merely facilitates the process of listing and displaying goods, bidding on items, and paying for them. It acts as a marketplace for individuals and businesses who use the site to auction off goods and services.
Several types of online auctions are possible. In an English auction the initial price starts low and is bid up by successive bidders. In a Dutch auction, multiple identical items are offered in one auction, with all winning bidders paying the same price -- the highest price at which all items will be sold (treasury bills, for example, are auctioned this way). Almost all online auctions use the English auction method.
Globalisation and the reach of the internet have allowed the auction business model to extend beyond its traditional realm of the trade in goods into the area of service provision. Outsourcing companies exist, such as guru.com and getafreelancer.com that now provide services such as programming and web design as the result of a competitive bidding auction process. Others, such as earn.co.uk have taken the auction model to the provision of local services.
A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.
Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century. Industrialization has brought increased leisure time to the citizens of developed and developing countries, leading to more time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans began following the exploits of professional athletes through radio, television, and the internet--all while enjoying the exercise and competition associated with amateur participation in sports.
In the new millennium, new sports have been going further from the physical aspect to the mental or psychological aspect of competing. Cyber sports organizations are becoming more and more popular.
Activities where the outcome is determined by judgement over execution are considered performances, or competition.