Examples of Non-Contact Sports

Sports can be a great way to get and stay fit, let off steam or provide an outlet for your competitive spirit. Whatever your height, weight or build, there is probably a sport for you. Some sports, such as football and rugby, involve physical contact. As physical contact can lead to injury, you may be better off sticking to non-contact sports, particularly if you just want to play sports for fun or to stay fit and healthy.

Racquet Sports

Racquet sports are all mostly non-contact. Badminton, tennis, table tennis racquetball and squash are all good examples. Any contact is limited to accidentally running into your partner if you are playing doubles or games like squash and racquetball where both competitors play side-by-side. Racquet sports, which involve running, jumping and lunging, provide a fun and energetic total body workout.

Some Olympic Sports

Many sports fall under the umbrella of athletics in the Olympic Games, including long distance running and sprinting, long and high jump, discus and javelin throwing and multi-sports events such as the decathlon and heptathlon. All Olympic athletic events are non-contact. Accidental contact in running races may result in disqualification. Gymnastics includes the beam, vault, floor, rings and high bar. Like athletics, gymnastics is strictly non-contact with the exception being acrobatic gymnastics, for which gymnasts perform in pairs and one lifts or supports the other.

Team Sports

Many team sports involve contact and that aspect means some are wary of participating in them because they pose a certain risk of injury. There are, however, some team sports that involve no purposeful contact. These include volleyball, cricket, rowing and ultimate frisbee.

Shooting Sports

Shooting sports are completely non-contact and actually require a lot of calm, steady breathing and concentration. Clay pigeon shooting, pistol shooting, archery, crossbow shooting and rifle shooting competitions are all examples of non-contact shooting sports. Biathlon, the combination of shooting and skiing, and modern pentathlon, in which running and shooting are included with other events, are other examples of shooting sports.