Sports in Brazil are those that are widely practiced and popular in the country, as well as others which originated there or have some cultural significance. Brazilians are heavily involved in sports. Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. Other than football, sports like volleyball, mixed martial arts, basketball, tennis, and motor sports, especially Formula One, enjoy high levels of popularity. Great players like Neymar have devoted their life to sports and became a celebrity.

Sports

Football

Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazil national football team, governed by the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, has won the FIFA World Cup a record 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002, and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every FIFA World Cup competition ever held. Brazil also hosted the 1950 and 2014 World Cups, becoming the only country in South America to have hosted two World Cups (Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile being the other former hosts). It is among the favorites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled. After Brazil won its third World Cup in 1970, they were awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy, when Pelé, one of the most recognized football players in history and all-time top scorer in the sport, led Brazil to three of those championships. The national football team has also won the Copa América 9 times, the Olympic football tournament twice and is the most successful team in the FIFA Confederations Cup, with 4 titles. All of the leading players in the national teams are prominent in the football world, including Pelé, Zico, Garrincha, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Romário, Ronaldinho, Taffarel, Falcão, Rivaldo and Neymar in the men's game, and Marta in the women's game. Some of these players can be considered super-stars, achieving celebrity status internationally and signing multi-million club contracts, as well as advertisement and endorsement deals.

Football variations: futsal, beach soccer, footvolley

Brazil invented some variations of football, such as beach soccer and footvolley. Futsal, having been invented in Uruguay, neighboring Brazil, is also widely practiced in the country, mainly in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, neighboring Uruguay.

In futsal, Brazil is one of the greatest world powers. Before the Fifa Era, there were three World Cups, organized by the former International Federation of Indoor Soccer (Fifusa), where Brazil was world champion twice. Brazil is the biggest champion of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, with 5 titles. Falcão is the most renowned male Brazilian player.

In beach soccer, Brazil is among the world's greatest powers, being the biggest champion of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with 5 titles. In addition, it has nine world titles from the former competition organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), the Beach Soccer World Championships.

Footvolley is a recreational sport widely practiced on Brazilian beaches, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, where it was invented. It was created by Octavio de Moraes in the 1970s. It is a mix of football and volleyball, where the players must use their feet and head to get the ball over the net and into the opponent's side, and is played on the beaches. It is one of the most popular beach sports in Brazil. Footvolley started out with 5 players on each team but later got cut to 2 players on each team and is still so to this day.

Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music, and is marked by deft, tricky movements that are often played on the ground or completely inverted. It also has a strong acrobatic component in some versions and is always played with music. It is a culturally significant sport, developed in colonial times by slaves. Nowadays, capoeira is practiced internationally and found its way into popular culture, through many computer games and movies.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, vale tudo, and mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts is one of the most popular sports in Brazil. It is considered to be only behind football in terms in national popularity.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu originated in Brazil in the 1910s, and emphasizes ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and chokeholds. Hélio Gracie had a rather small build and changed jiu-jitsu (originating from Japan) to be used by anyone in a real fight situation. The belt progression system goes in the following order: White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, Red-black, and Red. Gracie Jiu Jitsu became known internationally in the 1990s, due to the very skilled fighters in the Gracie family, namely Hélio Gracie, Royce Gracie, and Rickson Gracie, which are also responsible for spreading the practice of vale tudo, meaning "anything goes", which evolved into mixed martial arts tournaments such as PRIDE, DREAM, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Many Brazilian fighters have become significant figures in various mixed martial art tournaments abroad, some notable Brazilian fighters in these tournaments include Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Vitor Belfort, Mauricio Rua, José Aldo, Murilo Bustamante, Junior dos Santos, Rafael dos Anjos, Fabricio Werdum, Lyoto Machida, Alex Pereira and Amanda Nunes.

Volleyball

Brazil is the most successful country in volleyball.

The Brazil men's national volleyball team is currently the champion in 3 competitions, the Volleyball World Cup, the Volleyball World Championship and the Olympic Volleyball Tournament, and is ranked number 1 in the FIVB World Rankings.

Here is a record for achievements of the Brazilian men's volleyball team:
Olympics:
 (1992, 2004, 2016)

 (1984, 2008, 2012)
World Championship:
 (2002, 2006, 2010)

 (1982, 2014, 2018)

 (2022)
World Cup:
 (2003, 2007, 2019)
FIVB World League:
 (1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League:
 (2021)
Volleyball Grand Champions Cup:
 (1997, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017)

The Brazil women's national volleyball team is ranked number 4 in the FIVB World Rankings.

Here is a record for achievements of the Brazilian women's volleyball team:
Olympics:
 (2008, 2012)

 (2020)

 (1996, 2000)
World Championship:
 (1994, 2006, 2010, 2022)

 (2014)
FIVB World Grand Prix:
 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017)
FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League:
 (2019, 2021, 2022)
Volleyball Grand Champions Cup:
 (2005, 2013)

Brazilian younger teams maintain the same success rate as the senior squads. As of March 25, 2007, in the FIVB men ranking for junior and youth, Brazil is placed first for women, while the men are placed second.

Today, Brazil is the ruling country in volleyball, and it is Brazil's second most popular sport.

Brazil has professional volleyball team competitions: the Superliga Masculina de Vôlei and its female counterpart, Superliga Feminina de Vôlei. Among the most successful teams are Minas, Banespa, and Santo André for the male league, and Rexona, Osasco, and Flamengo for the female league.

Beach Volleyball

Brazil is one of the strongest countries in the world in beach volleyball, a sport widely practiced in the country due to its long coastline, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, on the coast of Santa Catarina, and in the Northeast Region of the country. Until the 2020 Olympic Games, the country had 2 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze in the men's modality, and 1 gold, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes in the women's modality. In world championships, Brazil has already won numerous titles.

Basketball

Basketball is the third most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national basketball team has won the Basketball World Championship twice, in 1959 and 1963. They have also been runners-up on two occasions in 1954 and 1970, as well as coming third on two occasions in 1967 and 1978, meaning that the Brazilian national basketball team has won in total six medals at the Basketball World Championship. The Brazilian national basketball team has also won three Olympic bronze medals (1948, 1960, 1964) and total of nine medals at the FIBA Americas Championship, three gold (1984, 2005, 2009) two silver (1988, 2001), and four bronze (1989, 1992, 1995, 1997). Oscar Schmidt is the most renowned male Brazilian player, and Hortência Marcari the most renowned female. Both were inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame.

The major basketball leagues are called Novo Basquete Brasil – the men's tournament – and Liga de Basquete Feminino – the female tournament. Various famous Brazilian players play in those leagues. In addition, on the men's side, various players are competing in the National Basketball Association and European leagues. A record nine Brazilians were on NBA rosters at the start of the —Leandro Barbosa, Bruno Caboclo, Cristiano Felício, Marcelo Huertas, Nenê, Raul Neto, Lucas Nogueira, Tiago Splitter, and Anderson Varejão. On the women's side, players like Izi Castro Marques and Érika de Souza compete in the WNBA.

Motorsport

Brazil has produced three Formula One world champions: Emerson Fittipaldi ( and ), Nelson Piquet (,  and ), and Ayrton Senna (,  and ). In total, Brazilian drivers have won 101 Formula One races (as of the 2009 Italian Grand Prix), distributed between Senna (41), Piquet (23), Fittipaldi (14), Felipe Massa (11), Rubens Barrichello (11), and José Carlos Pace (1).

In , Brazil declared three days of national mourning after Senna's death during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

From Emerson Fittipaldi's debut in  to Felipe Massa's retirement in , there were 48 consecutive Formula One seasons with at least one Brazilian driver. As of the  season, Massa is the last Brazilian driver to have competed full-time in Formula One.

The Brazilian Grand Prix has been on the Formula One calendar since , currently held in October or November. Two circuits have been host to the race: Jacarepagua and Interlagos. The Jacarepagua circuit, located in Rio de Janeiro, hosted the 1978 race, and then between 1981 and 1989. From 1972 to 1977, in 1979 and 1980, and from 1990 to the present, the Grand Prix has been held at the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo.

One Formula One team has been based in Brazil: Fittipaldi Automotive, owned by Emerson Fittipaldi and his brother Wilson. The team competed from 1974 to 1982.

Brazil has produced several notable drivers in American open-wheel car racing, some of whom also competed in Formula One. Emerson Fittipaldi was the 1989 CART champion, Gil de Ferran was the 2000 CART and 2001 CART champion, Cristiano da Matta was the 2002 CART champion and the Tony Kanaan was 2004 IndyCar Series champion. Brazilian drivers have won the Indianapolis 500, the most prestigious race in American open-wheel racing, eight times: Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989 and 1993; Hélio Castroneves in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021; Gil de Ferran in 2003; and Tony Kanaan in 2013. Castroneves is one of only four drivers two have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, and the only one from a country other than the United States. Two American open-wheel races have been held in Brazil: CART hosted the Rio 400 (later the Rio 200) at Jacarepagua from 1996 to 2000, and the IndyCar Series hosted the São Paulo Indy 300 from 2010 to 2013.

In the sports car racing scene, Raul Boesel won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and got close to winning the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours, when he was second, and Ricardo Zonta won the 1998 FIA GT Championship. Boesel was part of the winning team at the 1988 Daytona 24 Hours, a race which was also won by fellow Brazilians Christian Fittipaldi (twice, in 2004 and 2014), Oswaldo Negri (2012), Kanaan (2015) and Pipo Derani (2016). Fittipaldi also won the United SportsCar Championship in 2014 and 2015, alongside Portuguese team-mate João Barbosa. Also the Mil Milhas Brasil, an endurance race, has the longest history in the Brazilian racing events.

Nelson Piquet Jr. was the inaugural Formula E champion in 2014-15 and Lucas Di Grassi won 2016-17 with Audi Abt Sportsline .

The popularity of auto racing is rising, with the Stock Car Brasil and Fórmula Truck being broadcast nationally. The South American Formula Three series was mostly held in Brazil until 2013, and developed several South American circuit drivers. In 2014 it was succeeded by a revived Brazilian Formula Three Championship.

In motorcycle racing, the most prominent Brazilian racer in MotoGP as of now is Alex Barros, who is the most experienced racer of all time in the category, with 276 race starts and seven wins. The Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix was held four times between 1987 and 1992, followed by the Rio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix which was held nine times between 1995 and 2004.

Tennis

Maria Esther Bueno is the most successful Brazilian tennis player at the Grand Slam tournaments. She won seven single titles (four wins at the US Open and three at Wimbledon) and twelve doubles titles (five at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, two in the Roland Garros, including a mixed doubles title). In the men's game, Gustavo Kuerten is the most successful Brazilian player, with three wins at Roland Garros (1997, 2000, 2001) as well as being ranked number one in the world for almost a full year. However, bad administration and lack of serious support resulted in poor results in the present years and scarcity of national-level competitiveness. Beatriz Haddad Maia is the first Brazilian woman to enter the world's top 20 in the Open Era.

Brazil has also had other historically important players, such as Luiz Mattar, Fernando Meligeni and Thomaz Bellucci, who were already top 30 in the ATP rankings.

In the country, Doubles has been stronger, especially with Marcelo Melo, Bruno Soares and Luisa Stefani. Melo has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings and Soares has achieved a peak ranking of No. 2. Stefani was the first Brazilian woman to reach the world's top 10 in the Open Era. Melo won his first Grand Slam title in Roland Garros and his second in Wimbledon. He has also reached at least the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, has won 9 Masters 1000 titles and reached the doubles final on the ATP World Tour Finals. In 2009, he reached the mixed doubles final at the French Open with American Vania King, becoming the seventh Brazilian to reach the final of a Grand Slam and the first since Gustavo Kuerten. Soares won the 2016 Australian Open and US Open Men's Doubles with Jamie Murray, 2020 US Open Men's Doubles with Mate Pavić, the US Open Mixed Doubles title in 2012 (with Ekaterina Makarova) and 2014 (with Sania Mirza), and the 2016 Australian Open Mixed Doubles with Elena Vesnina. He also has 4 Masters 1000 titles (a double championship at Canada's Masters 1000 in 2013 and 2014, the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in 2018 and the Shanghai Masters 1000 in 2019).

Swimming

Swimming is very popular in Brazil. Being a sport usually recommended for children, and suitable for a country with a tropical climate like Brazil, swimming has grown and started to produce important sporting icons. Although the country had some success with swimmers like Piedade Coutinho, Tetsuo Okamoto, Manuel dos Santos and José Fiolo, the sport started to become more popular with Djan Madruga, Rômulo Arantes and Ricardo Prado in 1970s and 1980s; going through Gustavo Borges and Fernando Scherer in the 1990s, Brazilian swimming today manufactures great talents in succession.

Today Brazil has one of the best swimmers in the world, César Cielo, who is an Olympic champion, world champion and world record holder; olympic medalists like Thiago Pereira, Bruno Fratus and Fernando Scheffer; swimmers like Felipe França and Kaio de Almeida who managed to beat world records in their events, as well as medalists in World Championships, such as Nicholas Santos, João Gomes Júnior, Felipe Lima and Guilherme Costa. Even female swimming has been developing and creating athletes like Etiene Medeiros, Ana Marcela Cunha and Poliana Okimoto. With the multiplication of the emergence of talents, swimming has been standing out and conquering its space. Brazil hosted the 1995 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) and won the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m).

Athletics

Athletics is a traditional sport in Brazil, winning Olympic medals for the country. In athletics, the best known athletes are Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, João Carlos de Oliveira, Joaquim Cruz, Robson Caetano, Maurren Maggi and Fabiana Murer. Other important athletes in the history of Brazil are: Thiago Braz, Alison dos Santos, Nélson Prudêncio, Jadel Gregório, Zequinha Barbosa, Sanderlei Parrela, Claudinei Quirino , Vicente de Lima, André Domingos, Édson Ribeiro, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, Caio Bonfim, Rosângela Santos, Letícia Oro Melo, Mauro Vinícius da Silva and Darlan Romani.

In Brazil, athletics tends to lose many practitioners to football, who grant better salaries to athletes. It's one of the reasons why the country has less global prominence in events such as the 100 metres. The sport is usually concentrated in some clubs specializing in athletics, and also receives attention and support from the country's Armed Forces. Brazil has a tradition in events such as triple jump and hosts important long-distance running events, such as Saint Silvester Road Race.

Judo

Judo is another sport usually recommended for children in Brazil, and therefore it is widely practiced. The country has a growing international tradition in the sport, constantly winning medals and titles. The sport was brought and developed by its large Japanese community. The greatest exponents of the sport until today were Aurélio Miguel, Sarah Menezes and Rogério Sampaio, Olympic champions. Brazil also had several other important judô athletes, such as the Olympic runners-up Douglas Vieira, Tiago Camilo, Carlos Honorato, and the Olympic bronze medalists Chiaki Ishii, Luiz Onmura, Walter Carmona, Henrique Guimarães, Leandro Guilheiro, Flávio Canto, Ketleyn Quadros, Felipe Kitadai, Mayra Aguiar, Daniel Cargnin and Rafael Silva.

Handball

Handball is a sport that came with German immigrants, which is very popular in schools around the world. It's the second most practiced sport in schools in Brazil, second only to football / futsal. The national team is considered the best in South America, and the sport is gaining in media coverage. Brazil women's national handball team were crowned world champions for the first time at the 2013 World Championship. They also finished 5th at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Beach handball
At the Beach Handball World Championships Brazil has more titles for both genders than any country.

Boxing

Boxing is another popular sport, especially in Northeast Brazil; it's considered a sport of the working class. Eder Jofre,  Acelino Freitas, Maguila, Miguel de Oliveira, Valdemir Pereira, Rose Volante and Patrick Teixeira are former world champions. In the Olympics, Brazil won the gold medal in the category of up to 60 kg with the fighter Robson Conceição, being the first Olympic gold in Brazilian boxing. Hebert Conceição was also an Olympic champion. Other Olympic medalists in Brazil were Servílio de Oliveira, Yamaguchi Falcão, Esquiva Falcão, Abner Teixeira, Adriana Araújo and Beatriz Ferreira. Another famous boxer in Brazil was Maguila, a heavyweight who came to face Evander Holyfield and George Foreman.

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is a popular sport in Brazil. According to a study of 2019, the estimated number of skateboarders in Brazil was close to 8.5 million (the majority in the state of São Paulo). Many of the world's top skateboarders are Brazilian, including Bob Burnquist, Sandro Dias, Lincoln Ueda, Rodrigo Menezes, Luan de Oliveira, Felipe Gustavo, Rodil Ferrugem, Nilton Neves, Fabrizio Santos, Alex Carolino, Christiano Mateus, Karen Jones, Ricardo Porva, Daniel Vieira, and Og de Souza. Fabiola da Silva is well known for aggressive inline skating.

With the rise of skateboarding to the category of Olympic sport in 2020, Rayssa Leal became famous for her silver medal obtained at the age of 13. Pedro Barros and Kelvin Hoefler also won Olympic medals. Other famous skaters like Pâmela Rosa and Letícia Bufoni also stand out.

Surfing

Surfing is one of the most popular aquatic sports in Brazil, with several professional Brazilian surfers competing in the men's and women's ASP World Tour, including former world champions Gabriel Medina and Adriano de Souza. Brazil is known for producing longboard surfers (such as former world champion Phil Razjman), big-rider surfers (such as Carlos Burle and two-time XXL award winner Maya Gabeira) and well-known bodyboarders.

Brazilian surfing has progressively evolved to become one of the biggest forces in the sport in the world. Fábio Gouveia reached number 5 in the world in 1992. In the 2010s, the Brazilian Storm appears, with several Brazilians getting closer and closer to the world title, until Gabriel Medina conquers the same in 2014 and Adriano de Souza wins in 2015. In 2020 surfing ascends to the category of Olympic sport and Ítalo Ferreira becomes Olympic champion. Filipe Toledo was also world champion, in 2022.

Yachting and Equestrianism

Despite yachting and equestrianism being inaccessible sports for the general population, Brazil has a great tradition in yachting, and, to a lesser extent, but no less important, tradition in equestrianism. The biggest center for these sports in Brazil is Rio de Janeiro and its neighboring city Niterói. Several Olympic medalists in yachting have trained in Guanabara Bay, such as Martine Grael, Clinio Freitas, Daniel Adler, Eduardo Penido, Isabel Swan, Kiko Pellicano, Marcelo Ferreira, Marcos Soares, Nelson Falcão and Ronaldo Senfft. The country also has olympic medalists from São Paulo Robert Scheidt, Torben Grael, Kahena Kunze, Reinaldo Conrad, Alexandre Welter, Bruno Prada and Peter Ficker. In equestrianism, the Gávea Hippodrome trained athletes such as Rodrigo Pessoa and his father Nelson Pessoa, as well as Luiz Felipe de Azevedo; the country also has olympic medalists from São Paulo Álvaro de Miranda Neto and from Rio Grande do Sul André Johannpeter.

Chess

Chess is a sport with many fans in Brazil. Henrique Mecking, known as Mequinho, is considered the most important Brazilian chess player, having reached his peak in 1977, when he was considered the third best player in the world, surpassed only by Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi. More recently, in an online blitz game played in May 2020, Luis Paulo Supi defeated reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in 18 moves after sacrificing his own Queen. The match received worldwide attention as Carlsen broadcast it live, and was left speechless after his defeat. In April 2021, Chess.com awarded that game the first spot in their Chess.com Immortal Game Contest.

Table tennis

Table tennis is very popular and widely played in Brazil, and the country has a considerable tradition in this sport. The greatest player in the history of the country is Hugo Calderano, who reached number 3 in the world in 2022 (becoming the greatest Americas player of all time), and was the first South American to reach the quarterfinals of this sport at the Olympic Games. Other historically important players in the country are Gustavo Tsuboi, Cláudio Kano, Hugo Hoyama and Bruna Takahashi.

Taekwondo

In taekwondo, Brazilian Natália Falavigna was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 4th place in 2004. Maicon Siqueira won bronze in 2016. Diogo Silva finished 4th in 2004 and 2012, and Milena Titoneli finished 4th in 2020.

Gymnastics

Brazil has a large training center for Olympic athletes in artistic gymnastics, which has already revealed athletes such as Rebeca Andrade, Arthur Zanetti, Daiane dos Santos, Jade Barbosa, Flávia Saraiva, Arthur Mariano, Diego Hypólito and Daniele Hypólito. In rhythmic gymnastics, the Brazilian team won an unprecedented bronze in the general event of the Athens, Greece stage of the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup, held in March 2023.

Modern pentathlon

Yane Marques is the only person born in South America to win an Olympic medal in modern pentathlon (until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games), having also been the first person in Latin America to do so.

Canoeing

The Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz is the best canoeist in the history of South America, being the only Olympic champion of this modality on the continent and adding a total of four Olympic medals until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Erlon Silva also won Olympic silver for Brazil in canoeing.

Archery

Marcus Vinicius D'Almeida, in the recurve bow category, is the greatest male archery athlete in the history of South America, having been number 1 in the world in 2023, and world runner-up in 2021. Ane Marcelle dos Santos went to the 3nd round of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Fencing

Although Brazil has little tradition in fencing, the country has produced some renowned athletes. Nathalie Moellhausen was world champion in 2019 and reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Olympic Games in Women's épée. Guilherme Toldo reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Men's foil.

Diving

Brazil also does not have a long tradition in diving, but work carried out over the decades allowed the emergence of some high-level athletes. The most relevant so far are Ingrid de Oliveira, who finished 4th at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, César Castro, 5th place on the 3-meter springboard at the 2009 Worlds, and Juliana Veloso, 10th place on the platform in 2001.

Hockey
In Brazil, roller in-line hockey is the most popular form of hockey, unlike ice hockey that is still dependent on infrastructure. Brazilians that practices hockey, mostly practices the roller in-line hockey.

The main world championships of Ice Hockey are transmitted through cable TV in the country, among them the NHL played between teams of Canada and the United States, and the European League. Despite this, the modality finds difficulties in falling in the popular taste of the country.

American football

American football is played by young people in some states. The most popular varieties are flag football (especially in São Paulo) and beach American football (played in coastal cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Recife and João Pessoa).

Also, the sport is already one of the most played around the country, with approximately 130 teams. The Superliga Nacional de Futebol Americano (National American Football Superleague) is a recently created Brazilian American football league, created and organized by the  (Brazilian Confederation of American Football).

Rugby union

Rugby has been played in Brazil since at least 1888. Although it has been played in Brazil for as long as football, it has never enjoyed its popularity, it's also mostly played amateurly. The Brazil national rugby union team has so far never qualified for a Rugby World Cup, it did secured the South American Rugby Championship for the first time in 2018 and in November the national team had an historical friendly with the Māori All Blacks. A domestic club competition, the Campeonato Brasileiro de Rugby, has been contested annually since 1964.
Rugby returned to the Olympics in Rio 2016 (in the 7-a-side tournament form) - see Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
As 2016 Olympic hosts, Brazil men's and women's teams automatically qualified.

The sport is not widely played in schools, but is common in universities. All 27 states were reported to have rugby clubs, but around 50% of the active clubs are located in the São Paulo state. As of 2016, rugby was played by about 60,000 Brazilians and has experienced sizeable growth in the country.

Rugby league

Rugby league has been played in Brazil in the 2010s, and has developed a small but growing domestic presence. The Brazilian national team will compete in the 2022 South American Rugby League Championship, their first major international tournament, which is part of the qualifying process for the 2025 World Cup.

The Brazil women's national rugby league team was successful in qualifying for and participated in the 2021 Women's World Cup.

Baseball

Baseball is traditionally practiced mostly by the Japanese communities in Brazil. It is not very popular in the country, but with the cable TV coverage of the games, baseball is also gaining fans among non-nisseis. There are several regional leagues on the rise in the country, however, the difficulty in finding baseball fields prevents regular practice of the sport that is often played on adapted football fields.

The National team appeared in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Paulo Orlando and Yan Gomes are the only Brazilians to win the World Series.

Other sports in Brazil

In horse racing, Silvestre de Sousa was the British flat racing Champion Jockey in 2015. The Brazilian-bred horse Glória de Campeão won the Dubai World Cup, then the world's richest Thoroughbred race, in 2010 with Brazilian jockey T. J. Pereira aboard.

Curling is a growing sport in Brazil; the creation of a national team was inspired by the audience for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A temporary rink in the Eldorado Shopping Center in São Paulo featured Norwegian curler Linn Githmark and a winter-sports complex is planned, probably in the city of Campos do Jordão.

 is a native Brazilian sport similar to tennis and cricket, played with a wooden racket and soft rubber ball on the beach with no scoring system. It began during the 1960s on Ipanema beach. Biribol is another native sport created in Birigüi, São Paulo state. It is a kind of volleyball played in a swimming pool. Peteca (shuttlecock) is a native sport which originated from indigenous games.

Rodeo enjoys significant popularity in some rural regions of southern states. The rodeo event of bull riding has become a significant niche sport on its own since the success of Adriano Moraes on the US-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit in the 1990s and 2000s. PBR now runs a national touring series in Brazil, and Brazilian riders are heavily represented on the main PBR circuit in the US.

Cricket has a burgeoning Brazilian women's national team, who won the 2018 South American Women's Cricket Championship. See Cricket in Brazil.

Brazil at the Olympics

Due to the tropical and subtropical nature of the climate of Brazil, it has not traditionally competed in the Winter Olympics, although it made its first appearance in the 1992 Winter Olympics, and most recently participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, Brazil has been competing in the Summer Olympics since 1920. Brazil is currently ranked 33rd in the overall ranking of medals in the Summer Olympics. Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games held in South America.

Sports in media

On television, football is by far the most watched sport on both free and paid television, games from regional teams often guarantee the top audience in its cities, also European football (especially UEFA Champions League) are guaranteed high viewing figures.

In motorsport, the main national competitions are Stock Car Brasil and Fórmula Truck. Formula One is considered the second most watched sport in terms of TV audience, behind football. The IndyCar Series also has a good fanbase in Brazil.

MMA in a short period of time has become the second most broadcast sport on Brazilian TV, due mainly to the resounding success of Brazilian fighters in the UFC.

Both men and women's volleyball enjoy very good viewing figures, especially the Brazilian national volleyball teams, Superliga and beach volleyball matches.

Basketball is also widely broadcast, prominently the national league (NBB), the NBA and FIBA. Basketball's level of popularity is returning to its historical levels.

In recent years, American football has been gaining fast popularity, with NFL games guaranteeing an audience on ESPN Brasil and Esporte Interativo. Also, some Torneio Touchdown (Brazilian League) games are shown by BandSports. In 2016, the two main leagues merged into the Superliga Nacional.

Curling was the latest sporting phenomenon in Brazil in terms of audience. During the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship, held in late March in Canada, about 3.6 million people watched the channel SporTV, leading audiences among sports channels on pay TV. The audience was even greater during the men's worlds that year.

Gallery

Competitions hosted by Brazil

Some of the most important sports competitions hosted by the country were:

2016 Summer Olympics
1950 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
1963 Pan American Games
2007 Pan American Games
2002 South American Games
1995 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
1954 FIBA World Championship
1963 FIBA World Championship
1957 FIBA World Championship for Women
1971 FIBA World Championship for Women
1983 FIBA World Championship for Women
2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
1960 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
1990 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
1994 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship
1965 World Judo Championships
2007 World Judo Championships
2013 World Judo Championships
2011 World Women's Handball Championship
2016 World Fencing Championships
2003 Beach Volleyball World Championships
1998 World Karate Championships
2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup
2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
1997 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
2007 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
2018 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
 2019 World Skateboarding Championship
1960 Star World Championship (Sailing)
1980 Star World Championships (Sailing)
1996 Star World Championships (Sailing)
1977 Laser World Championships (Sailing)
2005 Laser World Championships (Sailing)
2005 Laser Radial World Championships (Sailing)
1998 Tornado World Championship (Sailing)
1980 470 World Championships (Sailing)
1996 470 World Championships (Sailing)
2013 RS:X World Championships (Sailing)
1986 Flying Dutchman World Championship (Sailing)
1988 Finn Gold Cup (Sailing)
2004 Finn Gold Cup (Sailing)
1978 Soling World Championship (Sailing)
2004 Soling World Championship (Sailing)
1983 Optimist World Championship (Sailing)
2009 Optimist World Championship (Sailing)
1991 Europe World Championships (Sailing)
2000 Europe World Championships (Sailing)
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
1919 South American Championship (Copa América)
1922 South American Championship (Copa América)
1949 South American Championship (Copa América)
1989 Copa América
2019 Copa América
2021 Copa América

Competitions hosted annually:

Brazilian Grand Prix
Rio Open (tennis)
Saint Silvester Road Race
São Paulo International Marathon
Grande Prêmio Brasil

Discontinued events:

Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix
Champ Car event into 1996–1999
WCT/WQS Surf championships from 1985 to 2001

See also

 Sport in South America
 Button Football

References

External links
 Brazilian most visited sports websites:
 Globo Esporte
 Lancenet
 Gazeta Esportiva
 UOL Esporte
 Terra Esportes
 Yahoo/Esporte Interativo

Sport in Brazil


Craig K. Manscill is a religion professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) and a historian who specializes in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), especially during the 1830s.  Among other things he has edited the journal of the part of Zion's Camp that started in Pontiac, Michigan under the direction of Hyrum Smith.  He is also a sociologist who has done studies on the family in Utah.

Manscill was raised in the town of Farr West, Utah.

Manscill served a mission for the LDS Church in the Ohio West Virginia Mission as a young man.  He received his bachelor's degree from Weber State University in 1978 and his masters and Ph.D. degrees from BYU, the latter in 1987.  Between receiving his two degrees from BYU, Manscill was director of the English department in the LDS high school in Fiji.  From 1987 to 1991 Manscill worked in New York City as the director of the Institutes of Religion adjacent to Columbia University and West Point.  From 1991 to 1999 he was Manager of College Curriculum for the Church Educational System.  He has been a member of the BYU faculty since 1999.

Manscill and his wife Jana are the parents of eight children and currently live in Lindon, Utah.

Manscill is a co-author of Our Heritage and was on the compiling committee for many of the books in the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church series.

Manscill also served as a historical consultant to Lee Groberg and Heidi Swinton in producing such works as Trail of Hope and American Prophet.

Manscill is a co-author of Mormon Thoroughfare: a History of the Church in Illinois, 1830-1838, Presidents of the Church: The Lives and Teachings of the Modern Prophets (with Robert C. Freeman), The A to Z of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History and Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint History: Ohio and Upper Canada.

References
BYU faculty bio
Manscill's vita
Cedar Fort Pub. author bio
bio of Artemus Millet co-authored by Manscill

External links
All Books listing of works by Manscill
Deseret Book author listing

20th-century Mormon missionaries
Latter Day Saints from New York (state)
American Mormon missionaries in the United States
Brigham Young University alumni
Brigham Young University faculty
Church Educational System instructors
Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement
People from Weber County, Utah
People from Lindon, Utah
Weber State University alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American expatriates in Fiji
American Mormon missionaries in Fiji
Latter Day Saints from Utah

Craig K. Manscill


Helmut Gunter Wilhelm Panke (born on 31 August 1946 in Fürstenwalde, East Germany) is a German manager and physicist who has been holding board membership in several companies - Microsoft, Bayer AG and Singapore Airlines. During the past recent 30 years, Panke's management career spread over several companies, including e.g. serving as the chairman of the board of management at BMW AG from May 2002 through August 2006.

Education
In 1972, Panke graduated from the University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) in physics, having started his studies in 1968, and received his Ph.D. in 1976.

Prior to his studies, during the period from 1964 to 1965, Panke was an AFS Exchange Student to the United States.
After the award of the doctorate degree in nuclear physics, Panke joined the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research.

Career
From 1976 to 1978, Panke was a researcher at the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research and a lecturer at the University of Munich.

From 1978 to 1982, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. In 1982, he started at Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) as a head of planning and control of the research and development division, before assuming management functions in 1985.

He later said that his attraction to the company was based on the reputation it had for encouraging creativity and independence among its staff.

Over the next 20 years, Panke worked his way up through the company, working in nearly every department: he served as the chairman of the management board at BMW (UK) Capital PLC, and as Chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corporation from 1993 to 1996, he managed the US manufacturing facility that was responsible for building, as well as corporate planning, organisation, staff, IT, finance and sales. From 1996 to 1999, his tasks focused on Human Resources and Information Technology. From 1999 to 2002, he served as a member of the board of management responsible for finance.

In 2002, Panke succeeded Joachim Milberg to become the chairman of BMW after Milberg's resignation due to health reasons.
During his tenure from May 16, 2002 until September 1, 2006, he was credited with leading the company's internationalization and his refusal to move the company into the lower priced mass market.

Other activities
Panke served on the board of directors for Microsoft from 2003 until 2019, as the first board member from outside the United States. In this capacity, he was also the chairman of the Regulatory and Public Policy Committee, a member of the Compensation Committee and of the Audit Committee of Microsoft.

In 2004, Panke was elected into the board of directors of UBS AG, where he served as a member for eleven years. He left the BoD at the Annual General Meeting of 2015, stepping down due to regulatory provisions regarding the term of office. He also worked as a member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and of the Risk Committee from 2008.

In addition, Panke has held the following mandates:
 Singapore Airlines, Independent Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors (2009-2018)
 Bayer AG, Member of the Supervisory Board (2006-2016)
 Bertelsmann AG, Member of the Supervisory Board (2005-2017)
 Dubai International Capital, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2007)
 Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Member of the Supervisory Board

During his time at BMW, Panke served as a member of the board of directors of ACEA, the Association des Constructeurs Européens d'Automobiles, Belgium, a member of the board of directors of VDA, the association of the German automobile industry, and of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany.

Recognition
 2006 – Prize for Understanding and Tolerance, awarded by the Jewish Museum Berlin

References

Living people
Businesspeople from Brandenburg
Chief executives in the automobile industry
BMW people
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Directors of Microsoft
1946 births
German corporate directors
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
UBS people
Singapore Airlines
McKinsey & Company people
People from Oder-Spree
German physicists

Helmut Panke


Ronald Davis (born 1937) is American Abstract Geometric painter.

Ronald Davis or Ron Davis may also refer to:

Sports
 Ronald Davis (field hockey) (1914–1989), British field hockey player
 Ron Davis (outfielder) (1941–1992), right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder
 Ron Davis (basketball) (born 1954), American basketball player
 Ron Davis (pitcher) (born 1955), former Major League Baseball pitcher
 Ron Davis (defensive back) (born 1972), American football player

Other
Ronald Davis (physician) (1956–2008), American physician
Ron Davis (filmmaker), American documentary filmmaker
Ron Davis (jazz musician), pianist and composer based in Toronto, Canada
Ronnie Davis (1950–2017), Jamaican reggae singer
Ronald W. Davis (born 1941), biochemist and geneticist at Stanford University
Ronald Bramwell-Davis (1905–1974), cricketer and British Army officer
Ronald L. Davis, American law enforcement officer and government official

See also
Ronald Davies (disambiguation)

Ronald Davis (disambiguation)


Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 – May 5, 1988) was an American author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to an Italian immigrant father (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pronounced in a similar way) in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated in 1951 from Rutgers University, where he joined Theta Chi, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division prior to the Korean War.

Before Shaara began selling science fiction stories to fiction magazines during the 1950s, he was an amateur boxer and police officer. The stress combined with cigarette smoking led to a heart attack   at the early age of 36. He managed to recover completely and later taught literature at Florida State University while continuing to write fiction. His novel about the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. Shaara died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 59.

Shaara's children, Jeffrey and Lila, are also novelists. In 1997, Jeffrey Shaara established the annual Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction, awarded at Gettysburg College.

Works

Novels
The Broken Place (1968)
The Killer Angels (1974), Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. Later, used as the basis for the film Gettysburg in 1993.
The Noah Conspiracy (1981), also known as The Herald.
For Love of the Game (1991), made into a film in 1999.

Short story collections
Soldier Boy (1982)

Short stories
"Orphans of the Void" (1952)
"All the Way Back" (1952)
"Grenville's Planet" (1952)
"Be Fruitful and Multiply" (1952)
"Soldier Boy" (1953)
"The Book" (1953)
"The Sling and the Stone" (1954)
"Wainer" (1954)
"The Holes" (1954)
"Time Payment" (1954)
"Beast in the House" (1954)
"The Vanisher" (1954)
"Come to My Party" (1956)
"Man of Distinction" (1956)
"Conquest Over Time" (1956)
"2066: Election Day" (1956)
"Four-Billion Dollar Door" (1956)
"Death of a Hunter" (1957)
"The Peeping Tom Patrol" (1958)
"The Lovely House" (1958)
 "Citizen Jell" (1959)
"Opening Up Slowly" (1973)
"Border Incident" (1976)
"Starface" (1982)
"The Dark Angel" (1982)

References

External links

Analysis of Soldier Boy
Biography at jeffshaara.com
Michael Shaara prize details

1928 births
1988 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
American writers of Italian descent
American science fiction writers
American historical novelists
Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners
Rutgers University alumni
Novelists from New Jersey
Florida State University faculty
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Florida

Michael Shaara


The parish of Algalah is an Australian cadastral parish in the NSW county of Narromine.  It is located 367km west north west from Sydney approximately midway between Tottenham and Narromine and is in Narromine Shire, at .

The area is predominantly agricultural and significant geographic features include the Bogan River and Bullock Tank Swamp.

The parish is named for the Algalah Run Sheep station that occupied the majority of the parish, and which was founded by Robert John Walker who is reputed to have moved a World Record Wagon load of wool to the local railway station with a single Shire stallion.
Walkers' business partner Andrew Taylor Kerr founded "Deribong run" after which the neighbouring parish of Deribong is named.

Gallery

References

Parishes of Narromine County

Parish of Algalah


Washington, D.C., has major league sports teams, popular college sports teams, and a variety of other team and individual sports. The Washington metropolitan area is also home to several major sports venues including Capital One Arena, RFK Stadium, FedExField, Audi Field, and Nationals Park.

The NFL's Washington Commanders were among the most successful professional sports teams in North America throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, making four Super Bowl appearances and winning three in a ten-year period ending in 1992. The sports of this region would then fall into a period of irrelevance; after the NHL's Washington Capitals reached the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, none of the "Big Four" teams in the area (the Commanders, the Capitals, the NBA's Washington Wizards and MLB's Washington Nationals) would reach its league's semifinal round for several years. The Commanders and Wizards often struggled in their respective regular seasons, while the Capitals and Nationals were known for having spectacular regular seasons followed by demoralizing playoff losses. (However, D.C. United of Major League Soccer would win several league championships during the late 1990s and early 2000s.)

In 2018, the Big Four drought was broken when the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The following year, the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in the 2019 World Series. Outside of the Big Four, the Washington Valor defeated the Baltimore Brigade to win ArenaBowl XXXI in July 2018, and the Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun in the 2019 WNBA Finals barely a month before the Nationals won their title, giving the Washington area four first-time champions in under two years. In addition, the Washington Spirit of the NWSL captured their first NWSL championship in 2021.

Popular collegiate teams include the Georgetown Hoyas and Maryland Terrapins; both schools have each won an NCAA Division I men's basketball championship (Georgetown in 1984, Maryland in 2002). The region is also home to two regional sports television networks: Monumental Sports Network, based in Washington, D.C., and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Professional sports
The following table shows the major league sports teams in the Washington area sorted by attendance.

Map of major league teams and sports stadiums in Washington, D.C.

Soccer

Historic teams
Washington has had several professional soccer teams over the years. The Washington Whips played in the United Soccer Association between 1967 and 1968, playing their games at RFK Stadium, when it was known as D.C. Stadium. The Washington Darts played in the American Soccer League from 1976 to 1969 and then in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1970 and 1971. The Washington Diplomats played in the NASL from 1974 to 1981, and had a record attendance of 53,351 in a match against the New York Cosmos in 1980. Team America played in the NASL for one season in 1983, playing their home games at RFK Stadium.

Washington also has a history of women's professional soccer. The Washington Freedom were a professional women's team playing in the Washington area from 2001 until 2011. The team first played in the now-defunct Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) between 2001 and 2003. The Freedom played at RFK for the three years of the league's existence and won the league championship in 2003, the WUSA's final year. Following the WUSA's demise, the team continued as an associate member of the W-League, playing their home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. In 2009, the team joined the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. In 2011, the franchise relocated to Boca Raton, Florida.

Current teams

Washington is home to an original Major League Soccer (MLS) club, D.C. United, which began play at RFK Stadium in 1996. One of the most successful MLS teams (with twelve major trophies, won domestically and at an international level), United has won four MLS Cups, including three of the first four played. They also won the U.S. Open Cup in their first year, in 2008, and again in 2013. In addition, United have captured four MLS Supporters Shields, the most out of any MLS club in the region. D.C. United's 1997 MLS Cup victory at RFK Stadium was the only time a Washington team has won a championship within the District. United is also the first American team to win the continental CONCACAF Champions Cup, which they won in 1998. United moved to their new home, Audi Field, in 2018.

The Washington Spirit began play as a women's professional soccer team in 2011 under the name D.C. United Women. In December 2012, the franchise rebranded as the Washington Spirit. During its early years, the team played at the Maryland SoccerPlex, but in 2019 it moved select games to Audi Field. In 2020, the Spirit began transitioning away from the SoccerPlex, playing four home games at each of three venues: the SoccerPlex, Audi Field, and Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia. Then in 2021, the team left the SoccerPlex entirely, splitting home games between Audi Field and Segra Field. Beginning in 2023, the team moved all of its home games to Audi Field. The team is one of the eight charter members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a professional league launched by the United States Soccer Federation in 2013. The Spirit won the 2021 NWSL Championship.

Since 2019, the area has been represented in the second tier of U.S. men's soccer, the USL Championship, by Loudoun United FC, owned and operated by D.C. United as their official reserve side. Loudoun United started play at Audi Field, moving to their permanent home of Segra Field during their first season.

Other information
RFK Stadium has hosted two more MLS Cup championships. In 2000, the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City) won their first championship with a 1–0 win over the Chicago Fire. In the 2007 MLS Cup, the Houston Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution 2–1. RFK Memorial Stadium also served as a soccer venue in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 Summer Olympics. FedExField has also hosted several prominent soccer games, including six matches in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. In July 2011, a match between Manchester United and Barcelona at FedExField drew a crowd of 81,807, a record soccer attendance for the D.C. metropolitan area.

DC United has hosted three MLS All-Star Games. It hosted the 2002 and 2004 games at RFK Stadium. The team hosted the 2023 MLS All-Star Game at Audi Field on July 19, 2023.

American football

Historic teams
In the early years of professional football, teams were focused mostly in the northeast of the US, with Philadelphia typically being the southern end of the highest professional circuit. However, Washington, D.C. had a very successful professional football team in the city during the early 1900s. The Washington Vigilants dominated the mid-Atlantic professional football landscape. From 1907 until 1914, they were an independent football team and were not affiliated with any league. During their existence, they played against several semi-professional and amateur football teams from Washington, D.C., including the Washington Potomacs, Washington Engineers, and Washington All-Stars. In the 1915 season, they were affiliated with the Ohio League, though the only team from that league they played against were the Youngstown Patricians. The team folded after the 1915 season.

The first professional football team in Washington, D.C. to compete in a country-wide football league were the Washington Senators. The team was founded in 1921, and played the 1921 season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was renamed the National Football League (NFL) the next year. Following that one season, the team left the APFA and continued playing as an independent professional football team until 1941, when they folded. The team was also known as the Washington Pros and Washington Presidents during its existence. They practiced and played their home games at American League Park.

Washington Redskins / Commanders

The NFL's Washington Commanders (known as the Washington Redskins until 2020) have played professional football in the Washington, D.C. area since 1937, when the team moved from Boston, where it was founded in 1932. Believing the team would find greater financial success in the nation's capital, the team's owner, George Preston Marshall moved the team to Washington, where they played at Griffith Stadium until 1960. Upon arriving in Washington, the team found immediate success, winning the 1937 NFL Championship over the Chicago Bears, with a final score of 28-21. The Redskins were led by Sammy Baugh, who is widely considered to be one of the best and most important football players in the early years of the NFL. Baugh played multiple positions, including quarterback, defensive back, and punter. He was the first quarterback to popularize the forward pass, and threw the ball down field with greater success than any quarterback before. The Redskins lost the 1940 NFL Championship game 73-0 to the Bears, in what remains the most lopsided final score in NFL history. It is believed that the team performed so poorly in that game as a form of protest against the team's ownership. Sammy Baugh led the Redskins to their second championship in 1942 as well, defeating the Bears 14-6 in the championship game, which was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Redskins lost the 1943 NFL Championship 41-21 to the Chicago Bears and lost the 1945 NFL Championship by a score of 15-14 to the Cleveland Rams.

From that final NFL Championship game appearance in 1945 to the 1970s, the Redskins were perennially among the worst teams in the league, even when Sonny Jurgenson took over as the team's quarterback in the 1960s. Jurgenson was widely considered to be among the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history during his time. Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi coached the Redskins for one season in 1969, before dying of cancer. That was the first season the Redskins finished with a winning record since 1955. George Allen coached the team to Super Bowl VII in 1972, where they lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, 14-7.

In 1981, the team's owner Jack Kent Cooke hired Joe Gibbs to be the new head coach. Gibbs led the Redskins to four Super Bowl appearances and three victories. The team won Super Bowl XVII in 1982, lost Super Bowl XVIII in 1983, won Super Bowl XXII in 1987, and won Super Bowl XXVI in 1991. Gibbs is considered to be among the greatest coaches in the history of professional football, and is the only coach to win Super Bowls with three different starting quarterbacks. The 1982 Super Bowl was won with Joe Theismann, the 1987 Super Bowl was won with Doug Williams—who became the first Black quarterback to start in and win a Super Bowl—and the 1991 Super Bowl was won with Mark Rypien as quarterback.

The success of the Redskins in the 1980s and early 1990s vaulted the team to become one of the most important and widely supported sports franchises in the country. In the D.C. area, the Redskins were perhaps the most important cultural entity, as stores would close and people would return to their homes or go to bars to watch Redskins games. The team's valuation increased to being the second highest valued sports team in the world by the time Daniel Snyder purchased the team in 1999.

In 1997, the team moved to a new stadium in Landover, Maryland, an eastern suburb of Washington. This marked the first time the team played its home games outside the District of Columbia since moving there in 1937. From 1961 through 1997, the team played their home games at RFK Stadium, which had become among the country's most iconic sports and football venues.

In the years since Gibbs' retirement in 1993, the team's move to FedExField in Landover, and Snyder's purchase of the team, the glory years have faded and the team's success has dried up. Although Gibbs returned to coach the team from 2004 to 2007, the success of his earlier stint as head coach was not re-lived.

In 2020, following decades of controversy regarding the team's Native American name, and decisions by several of the team's largest sponsors to stop financing the team until they changed their name, the organization announced that they were dropping the name Redskins, and would pick up the temporary name Washington Football Team until a new name could be determined. After a two-year process, the team announced in 2022 that their permanent name moving forward would be the Washington Commanders.

In 2023, Daniel Snyder, whose ownership of the team had been mired in controversy amid a lack of on-field success since buying it in 1999, sold the team to an investment group led by Josh Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, for $6.05 billion. In addition to Harris, the group has 20 limited partners worth a combined $100 billion, including Danaher founder and art collector Mitchell Rales, Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, 76ers and Devils co-owner David Blitzer, venture capitalist and Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, Maverick Capital founder Lee Ainslie, Blue Owl Capital founders Marc Lipschultz and Doug Ostrover, financier Alejandro Santo Domingo and his family, ProShares founder Michael Sapir, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Cambridge Information Group CEO Andy Snyder. The deal was the highest price ever paid for a sports team.

Other teams
Two other professional football leagues to have had teams in Washington include the indoor Arena Football League (AFL) and the XFL.

The Washington Commandos competed in the Arena League in 1987, 1989, and 1990. In 1987 and 1989, the team played their home games at the Capital Centre in the suburb of Landover, Maryland. In 1989, the team was known as the Maryland Commandos. In 1990, they played their home games at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, and returned to being called the Washington Commandos.

The Washington Valor competed in the AFL from 2017 to 2019. As an indoor football league that competes on a smaller playing surface than traditional football, the team played their home games in Capital One Arena. Although the team finished with an overall regular season record of 12-26 and an overall postseason record of 2-3, they won ArenaBowl XXXI in 2018 by a score of 69-55 against the Baltimore Brigade. Following the 2019 season, the AFL was suspended indefinitely, and the Valor have not played since.

The DC Defenders have competed in the XFL since 2020. They play their home games at Audi Field. In the 2023 season, the Defenders finished with a league-best record of 9-1 in the regular season and were the heavy favorites going into the playoffs. However, they lost the 2023 XFL Championship Game to the Arlington Renegades, 35-26.

The D.C. Divas of the Women's Football Alliance are a women's tackle football team based in the Washington area. They've competed since 2000, and won the championship in 2006, 2015, and 2016.

Other information
The headquarters of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), which is the labor union representing the players of the NFL, is located in the Upshaw Place building on 20th Street in Northwest Washington. The 1941 NFL Draft was held at the Willard Hotel in Washington.

Baseball

Historic teams
Washington's first professional baseball team was the Washington Olympics, which played in Washington, D.C. in 1871 and 1872. A new team known as the Washington Senators played in the American Association in 1891, after which it played in the National League (NL) for the duration of its existence. After this Senators franchise folded in 1899, another Washington Senators team was founded in 1901 and played in the American League (AL). This franchise was officially called the Washington Nationals from 1905 to 1955, but was commonly called the "Senators" during its time in Washington. The team played from 1911 onwards at Griffith Stadium in Northwest Washington. The Senators won the 1924 World Series in seven games against the New York Giants, with game seven at Griffith Stadium ending in the bottom of the 12th inning. The team also won the 1925 and 1933 AL Pennants. This team left for Minnesota in 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins. The very next season, an expansion Washington Senators franchise was founded in the city, and played in Washington from 1961 to 1971. Following the 1971 season, the team moved to Dallas and became the Texas Rangers.

The ceremonial first pitch, which is now common across baseball, began in Washington in 1910 when President William Howard Taft threw out the first pitch at the Senators' Opening Day game.

Several Negro league baseball teams played in Washington including the Black Senators and the Elite Giants. The longest lasting was the Homestead Grays, which played some home games in Washington from 1940 to 1950. Though officially based in the Pittsburgh area, the Grays played a number of home games at their "home away from home", Griffith Stadium in Washington, and were often referred to as the Washington Grays. The Grays won the Negro League World Series in 1943, 1944, and 1948.

Current team

Washington was without a professional baseball team for over three decades until Major League Baseball relocated the Montreal Expos to the city for the 2005 season, becoming the Washington Nationals. In the interim, the Baltimore Orioles served as Washington's home team. Orioles ownership marketed the team heavily to Washington baseball fans, even removing "Baltimore" from the team's uniform (however, since the return of baseball to the D.C. area, Baltimore is now on the uniform). The Orioles' reliance on the Washington market became a hindrance to Washington's efforts to gain their own baseball team as Orioles ownership lobbied Major League Baseball to keep a professional team out of Washington. Eventually, baseball's owners, burdened with a poorly performing Montreal franchise, were convinced to move the team to Washington with the promise of a brand new stadium fully financed by the D.C. government. Orioles' owner Peter Angelos cast the lone dissenting vote in the 28–1 decision. After spending their first three seasons at RFK Stadium, the Nationals began playing at Nationals Park in the Navy Yard neighborhood in 2008. The Nationals won their first-ever World Series pennant in 2019, beating the Houston Astros in seven games.

Other information
Washington, D.C. has hosted five Major League Baseball All-Star Games. The Washington Senators hosted the 1937 and 1956 All-Star Games at Griffith Stadium. The 1962 and 1969 Games were hosted by the next Washington Senators franchise and were played at RFK Stadium. The 2018 All-Star Game was hosted by the Nationals at Nationals Park.

Basketball

Historic teams
Washington's first professional basketball team was the Washington Capitols, which played in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) (the precursor to the National Basketball Association (NBA)). The team played their home games at Uline Arena. In 1946, their first year, the Capitols had a .817 winning percentage, and had a 17-game winning streak at one point during the season. The team began the 1948–49 season with a 15-game winning streak. The Capitols continued playing in the BAA until halting operations on January 9, 1951.

There were no professional basketball teams in Washington until the Oakland Oaks moved to Washington in 1969 and formed the Washington Caps. The Caps played as part of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played their home games in Uline Arena, which was then known as the Washington Coliseum. The team only played two seasons in Washington, before moving to Norfolk, Virginia in 1970 to become the Virginia Squires.

Current teams
On December 2, 1973, the NBA's Baltimore Bullets moved to the Washington area and played their first home game at the newly built Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The team changed their name to the Capital Bullets during their first year in the Washington area. Their second year, they changed their city designation and became the Washington Bullets. Despite the name change, the team continued to play many of their home games in Baltimore at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Bullets went to the NBA Finals in 1975, where they were swept in four games by the Golden State Warriors.

The Bullets' next appearance in the NBA Finals happened in 1978, when they beat the heavily favored Seattle SuperSonics in seven games. To date, this is the franchise's only league title. The two teams met again in the 1979 NBA Finals, with the Sonics winning 4 games to 1.

In 1995, team owner Abe Pollin announced the Bullets would change their name out of sensitivity to the high rate of gun violence in Washington, D.C. Following a fan vote, the team became known as the Washington Wizards on May 15, 1997. Later that year, the Wizards moved to D.C. to play in the newly constructed MCI Center, now known as Capital One Arena. This new arena was constructed by Pollin. Since the 1980s, the team has suffered from many losing seasons, and did not win a playoff series for 23 years until 2005. They followed up this season by making the playoffs the next four years under the leadership of star point guard, Gilbert Arenas.

Following the departure of star players like Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, the Wizards finished with the 5th worst record in the 2009-10 NBA season. The team subsequently won the 2010 Draft Lottery and selected Kentucky point guard John Wall with the first pick, whom new owner Ted Leonsis and team president Ernie Grunfeld would build the team around in the years to come. Despite this, success remained mediocre, and attendance has flat-lined as the team continues to struggle perennially.

Women's basketball has also played an important part in Washington's basketball history. In 1998, soon after the opening of the new MCI Center, an expansion team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Washington Mystics, began playing their home games there. Despite having only two winning seasons and a mere four playoff wins in their early years, the Mystics led the league in attendance from 1998 through 2000 and again from 2002 through 2004. The team hung six banners in their home arena, touting themselves as "Attendance Champions". These banners were frequently criticized and in 2010 the new owner of the team and arena, Ted Leonsis, ordered them removed.

The Mystics moved to the newly constructed Entertainment and Sports Arena (ESA) in Southeast D.C. in 2019. The arena hosts the Wizards' practice facility as well. Their first season in the new arena saw the Mystics claim their first WNBA title, with the team's star player, Elena Delle Donne, being named season MVP on the strength of the first 50–40–90 season in league history, and Emma Meesseman earning Finals MVP honors.

The 2018–19 season marked the debut of the Capital City Go-Go, a team owned by the Wizards that plays in the NBA's official minor league, the NBA G League. The Go-Go play at ESA.

Other information
Washington, D.C. hosted the NBA All-Star Game once at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in 2001. The same arena has hosted two WNBA All-Star Games, one in 2002 and another in 2007.

Ice hockey

Historic teams
From 1939 through 1942, the Washington Eagles were a minor league hockey team playing in the Eastern Hockey League, which was a minor league made up of teams focused mostly on the eastern United States. They won the league championship in 1940-41. The next season, the team competed for fans with the newly established Washington Lions of the American Hockey League, which was another minor league. Ultimately, the Lions succeeded in getting a larger fanbase than the Eagles, leading the Eagles to stop operations in 1942. The Lions played initially in Washington from 1941 to 1943 and then again from 1947 to 1949. They played their homes games at Uline Ice Arena in Northeast D.C. In 1949, the team moved to Cincinnati and became the Cincinnati Mohawks. The team returned to Washington in 1951, again with the name Washington Lions. This time, however, the team was a part of the Eastern Hockey League. In an effort to rebrand and increase its fanbase, the team changed its name in 1957 to the Washington Presidents. Despite its attempt to rebrand, the team was financially unstable and ended up folding in 1960.

Current team
Following many years without professional ice hockey in Washington, businessman and sports team owner Abe Pollin decided to purchase an expansion team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for Washington, D.C. The new hockey team for Washington was created as part of the NHL's 1974 expansion. Pollin offered fans the opportunity to send in suggestions for the team's new name. Ultimately, he chose to call the new hockey team the Washington Capitals, often shortened to Caps.

Their first season, the Capitals only won eight games, which earned them an NHL-record low .131 winning percentage. The team found greater success through the 1980s and 1990s. From the 1982-83 season through the 1995-96 season, the Caps made the playoffs every year and won the division in 1988-89.

After spending their first 23 seasons playing in the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, the Caps moved into D.C. to play in the newly constructed MCI Center (now known as Capital One Arena) located in Chinatown in 1997. A competitive high point for the team came in their first season in the new arena, when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals, earning a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings. In 1999, the team was purchased by local businessman Ted Leonsis.

For many years after the Cup Finals appearance, the team struggled mightily on the ice. In 2004, the Capitals drafted Russian winger Alexander Ovechkin with the first overall draft pick. The team made the playoffs in 2007-08, which was the beginning of a long stretch during which the team was consistently among the best in the league. Despite the many regular season successes during this time, including seven division titles and three Presidents' Trophy wins between 2007 and 2017, the team struggled to achieve playoff success, and failed to make it past the second round.

This playoff disappointment ended when Evgeny Kuznetsov lifted the Capitals over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of Game 6 in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. Led by their captain Alexander Ovechkin, the Capitals went on to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games to claim the title as 2017–18 Eastern Conference champions, the second title in franchise history. On June 7, 2018, the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Among the most important members of this team were Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, goalie Braden Holtby, defensman John Carlson, and center Nicklas Backstrom. The team was coached by Barry Trotz.

In addition to their Stanley Cup championship and two Eastern Conference championships, the Capitals have won three Presidents' Trophies for having the best regular season record and have claimed 13 division titles. The team won four straight division championships as members of the Southeast Division between the 2007 and 2010 seasons, and five straight in the current Metropolitan Division, between 2015 and 2020. Four Capitals players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Mike Gartner, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy, and Scott Stevens. Ovechkin is widely considered to be among the greatest NHL players in history and is currently chasing Wayne Gretzky's record for most career NHL goals.

Other information
The Capitals hosted the 1982 NHL All-Star Game at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.

Tennis

In late July and early August, Washington hosts an annual joint ATP Tour men's tennis and WTA Tour women's tennis event: the  Washington Open at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. The tournament has been held at the same venue since its founding in 1969. It is an ATP 500 and WTA 500 event, and serves as a popular tune-up tournament prior to the  US Open. It is the first tennis tournament in history to be both an ATP 500 and WTA 500 event, and is one of the few tournaments in the world to host both men and women. The tournament's sponsorship name is the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

From 1972 until 1991, Washington hosted the Virginia Slims of Washington, a WTA Tour women's tennis tournament. It was played on indoor carpet courts from 1972 to 1975 and then again from 1978 to 1990. It was played on indoor hard courts from 1976 to 1977, and was played on outdoor hard courts during its final year in 1991. The most successful champion at the tournament was Martina Navratilova, who won the singles title nine times.

In July 2008, the Washington Kastles, a World TeamTennis (WTT) team founded by Mark Ein, played their first season in a temporary stadium in downtown Washington, D.C. finishing with a 6–8 record. In 2009, despite losing their first four matches, the Kastles won the WTT championship. The Kastles were 8–6 and just missed the playoffs in 2010. In 2011, the Kastles moved to Kastles Stadium at the Wharf at 800 Water Street, SW in Washington right off Maine Avenue. The Kastles played the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons there. In 2011, the Kastles posted a perfect season of 16–0 and won the WTT Championship. The 2011 season was the 36th for World Team Tennis, and the Kastles became the first team to accomplish the feat of a perfect season. They posted a second perfect season of 16–0 in 2012, and won another WTT Championship, becoming the only professional sports team to have back-to-back undefeated seasons. In 2013, the Kastles won their first match of the season to post a record of 33 straight wins, equaling the 33 games winning streak of the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. The Kastles won the second match of the season to set a new record of 34 straight wins by a top-tier professional sports team. Even though the Kastles lost the third and fourth matches of the 2013 season, they went undefeated for the remainder of the season to finish with a 14–2 record and won their third consecutive WTT Championship. In 2014, the Kastles moved to Kastles Stadium at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University and won their fourth consecutive WTT Championship with an overall record of 12–4. In the first seven years of the franchise, the Kastles won five WTT titles.

Golf
The wider Washington region has hosted multiple professional golf tournaments, including men's and women's majors. The 1921 U.S. Open was played at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just north of the city's borders. The 1964, 1997, and 2011 U.S. Opens were played at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Congressional also served as the location for the 1976 PGA Championship. The 1994 U.S. Women's Open was played at the Prince George's Golf and Country Club in Landover, Maryland. Congressional hosted the 2022 Women's PGA Championship. The 2027 Women's PGA Championship and 2031 Men's PGA Championship are scheduled to be played at Congressional.

Congressional also served as the home for the PGA Tour's Kemper Open from 1980 through 1986, and again in 2005. The course also hosted The National, which was Tiger Woods' tournament, from 2007 to 2009, again from 2012 to 2014, and one final time in 2016. Woods' tournament was played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in the D.C. suburb of Gainesville, Virginia in 2015 and at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in suburban Potomac, Maryland in 2017 and 2018. TPC Potomac also hosted the tournament originally known as the Kemper Open from 1987 to 2004 and again in 2006. It also hosted the Wells Fargo Championship in 2022.

The Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., located in Sterling, Virginia, hosted a LIV Golf tournament in May 2023. It was the final LIV Golf tournament to be played before the tour merged with the PGA Tour.

Fighting, boxing, and wrestling
Washington has hosted numerous WWE events, as well as the final four editions of WCW's Starrcade. Capital One Arena has hosted Backlash in 2000, SummerSlam in 2005, Cyber Sunday in 2007, Survivor Series in 2009, Capitol Punishment in 2011, and Battleground in 2016. The arena frequently hosts Raw and SmackDown shows as well.

Capital One Arena was also home to Mike Tyson's final fight (Mike Tyson vs. Kevin McBride) on June 11, 2005. On October 1, 2011, UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson was held at the arena.

On December 7, 2019, UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik was held at Capital One Arena.

On October 2, 2019, Capital One Arena hosted AEW Dynamite, the first televised professional wrestling event by All Elite Wrestling. It was broadcast on TNT in the United States of America and on ITV4 in the United Kingdom.

Collegiate sports
The following schools are located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area:

On December 20, 2008, Washington hosted its first college bowl game, the EagleBank Bowl, at RFK Stadium. The first match-up saw Wake Forest defeat Navy, 29–19. After the sponsorship deal between the bowl organizers and EagleBank expired following the 2009 edition, the game was renamed the Military Bowl, thanks to a new sponsorship deal with a major defense contractor. The game left the Washington metropolitan area after its 2012 edition; it has since been played at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, which lies within the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Georgetown basketball
Georgetown University began fielding a basketball team in 1907. The Georgetown Hoyas compete in the Big East Conference. They have won eight Big East tournament championships and ten Big East regular season championships. They have appeared the NCAA Final Four five times, winning the national championship in 1984; that team was coached by John Thompson.
Several NBA players got their start playing for Georgetown including Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Reggie Williams. The Hoyas play their home games at Capital One Arena.

Maryland basketball
The University of Maryland men's basketball team won the 2001 NCAA men's basketball tournament and made the Final Four in 2001 and 2002. They qualified for the Elite Eight in 1973, 1975, 2001, and 2002. The 2001 championship team was coached by Gary Williams.

Hosting collegiate sporting events
Capital One Arena has hosted games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament numerous times over the years. The city hosted first and second round games in 1998, 2002, 2008, and 2011, and hosted the regional finals (sweet sixteen and elite eight) in 2006, 2013, and 2019. The 2005–06 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team from neighboring Fairfax, Virginia advanced to the Final Four in the Washington, D.C. region of the NCAA bracket, and played their sweet sixteen and elite eight games at Capital One Arena in 2006. The arena also hosted the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament in 2018 and 2022. It hosted the ACC men's basketball tournament in 2005 and 2016, and will host it again in 2024. In 2017, the arena hosted the Big Ten Men's basketball tournament.

Capital One Arena also hosted the 2009 "Frozen Four," the final two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

FedExField in Landover, Maryland has served as a neutral site for numerous college football games over the years. Among the most prominent was the 112th Army-Navy game, played in 2011.

Other sports

Flag football
Washington, D.C. is home to 22 flag football teams that play under the DC Gay Flag Football League which is part of the National Gay Flag Football League. In 1994, the DC League formed as an organized unit. The DCGFFL won the Gay Bowl in 2003 and 2004. In September 2010, DCGFFL premiered in its first season as an official league as part of the NGFFL. Washington, D.C. hosted the Gay Bowl in 2016 on the National Mall.

Lacrosse
Fairfax, Virginia in the Washington suburbs was home to the Washington Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Bayhawks moved to George Mason Stadium, after playing one season at Georgetown University and six seasons in Baltimore. The Bayhawks are one of Major League Lacrosse's original six teams, created in 2001 the same year the league started. The Bayhawks have twice won championships in the MLL in 2002 and 2005. The Bayhawks began playing their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, which is in the federally defined Baltimore Metropolitan Area, for the 2009 season and changed their name to the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2010. The Washington Power were a member of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), which is a box lacrosse league, during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. After the inaugural championship in 1987 in Baltimore (as the Thunder) through 1999 and an unsuccessful stint in Pittsburgh (as the CrosseFire), the franchise moved to Washington, D.C. in 2001. They played their first season at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena), and their second season at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. After two seasons of low attendance in Washington, the franchise moved, this time to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Mammoth. In Colorado they have seen success both on and off the field, culminating in 2006, when they had the highest attendance in the league, and also won the Champion's Cup.

Rugby union
The Washington, D.C. area has been home to numerous rugby union teams, including men's, women's, college and high school. Prominent club teams include the Potomac Athletic Club, Washington Rugby Football Club, Washington Irish R.F.C.,and the Maryland Exiles. These two clubs merged in 2014 as the Potomac Exiles Rugby Club The Maryland Terrapins rugby team plays in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League against its traditional ACC rivals. At the high school level, Gonzaga fields one of the strongest programs in the country, and Pride rugby (formerly Hyde rugby) gained national attention as the first rugby program at a predominantly African-American school.

In 2018, it was announced that Paul Sheehy, owner and director of used operations for Sheehy Auto Stores, and Chris Dunlavey, president and co-founder of Brailsford & Dunlavey, have secured the right to launch a D.C.-based Major League Rugby (MLR) team, named Old Glory DC. The Scottish Rugby Union has a part ownership of the team. The team is coached by Nate Osborne in an interim capacity after former head coach Andrew Douglas departed the club halfway through the 2022 season. Old Glory played an abbreviated schedule of exhibition games in 2019 and began regular-season MLR play in 2020.

Rugby league
The Washington, D.C. Slayers rugby league team played in the USA Rugby League (USARL) from 2003 until 2016, when they folded. They played their home games at Duke Ellington Field, located at 38th St NW and R St NW. The other USARL rugby league team in the Washington, D.C. area, the Northern Virginia Eagles, played in Fairfax County, Virginia until suspending their operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian rules football
The Baltimore Washington Eagles played in the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) from 1998 until 2017. That year, the team split into two separate franchises. The DC Eagles became the team representing Washington and the Baltimore Dockers began representing Baltimore.

Running
Washington is home to two annual marathon races: the Marine Corps Marathon which is held every autumn and the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon held in the spring. The Marine Corps Marathon begun in 1976 is sometimes called "The People's Marathon" because it is the largest marathon without prize money. The Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run is another annual race that began in 1973 and is conducted as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Army Ten-Miler, started in 1985, is the country's largest ten-mile race with over 26,000 participants; it is held each October and its course runs through Washington, D.C. and finishes at the Pentagon.

Esports
The Washington Justice compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as part of the West region. The team was founded in 2018.

The Washington Wizards host the Wizards District Gaming esports team as part of the NBA 2K League. Wizards District Gaming won the 5v5 championship in 2020 and 2021.

Sports media

The Washington, D.C. area's regional sports television network, Monumental Sports Network, is based in Washington. The Capitals and Wizards air their games on this network. The network also has shows focused on the Commanders.

The Nationals play their games on MASN, a network they share with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Commanders have a partnership with the classic rock radio station BIG 100.3.

Local sports talk radio stations include 106.7 The Fan (serving Manassas, VA), The Team 980, and ESPN 630 D.C. The Sports Junkies are among the most popular shows on The Fan, and they have covered local sports and culture in the D.C. area since 1996.

The primary print news source for local sports coverage is The Washington Post, whose sports section has been written by numerous award-winning journalists over the years.

Washington, D.C. is also home to nationally televised sports shows, including the midnight edition of ESPN's SportsCenter, hosted by Scott Van Pelt, as well as ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, hosted by former Washington Post columnists Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. Previously, the city was home to ESPN's Around the Horn, and production for the show still occurs in ESPN's Washington studio.

Rivalries

New York City

The rivalries between the sports teams in New York City and Washington, D.C. have been among the best and most historic in the country. Each city's importance in America's media landscape has helped increase the notoriety of these rivalries, as has the fact that many teams in each city play in the same division.

The rivalry with the longest history between teams in each city is the rivalry between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders in the National Football League (NFL). Both teams play in the Eastern division of the National Football Conference (known as the NFC East). The two teams therefore play against each other twice every regular season. Both teams are among the oldest and most successful in professional football, with the rivalry dating back to 1932. This matchup has included some of the game's greatest players and coaches throughout the decades.

In the National Hockey League (NHL), strong rivalries exists between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, as well as the Capitals and the New York Islanders. All three compete in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. Both the Capitals–Rangers rivalry and Capitals–Islanders rivalry have increased in intensity over the decades as a result of highly competitive playoff matchups, in addition to regular season encounters. Though not as historic and intense as the ones with the two New York-based teams, the New Jersey Devils also play in the Metropolitan Division and are therefore a division rival for the Capitals.

There is also a rivalry between the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United of Major League Soccer (MLS). The teams are among the oldest and most historic teams in the league. This rivalry dates back to 1996, the league's inaugural season. Both teams play in the Eastern Conference and have competed against each other in critical playoff matches over the years. Their rivalry is known as the Atlantic Cup, which is also the name of the trophy awarded to the team that wins the matchup.

The Washington Nationals and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) also share a rivalry. Though this rivalry has not existed for as long as the others between teams based in New York and Washington, the two compete in the other division between the NL East and AL East. This has helped a rivalry develop between the two teams in the years since the Nationals moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005.

Philadelphia

The rivalry between teams in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. has been aided by the fact that the two cities have teams in the same division in the NFL, NHL, MLB, and MLS.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders of the NFL have a long and historic rivalry, having (almost always) competed in the same division since 1933. Currently, both teams play in the NFC East and therefore play each other twice every regular season.

The Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals of the NHL both played in the Patrick Division during the 1980s and early 1990s, during which time the rivalry was extremely intense. Since 2013, both play in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The Capitals–Flyers rivalry has been intense both during the regular season as well as during the playoffs. The teams have met five times in the NHL playoffs. This rivalry dates back to 1974, when the Capitals joined the league.

Since the Nationals moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005, they have had a rivalry with the Philadelphia Phillies, as both compete in the NL East of the MLB. The Philadelphia Union of the MLS have developed an intraconference rivalry with D.C. United. The Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers both play in the NBA's Eastern Conference, and the two teams met in the NBA playoffs five times, most recently in 2021. They also met in 1971, when the current Washington franchise was based in Baltimore.

Baltimore

Due to the two cities' proximity to one another, historic and contemporary rivalries have existed between teams from both cities.

From 1972 to 2004, Washington did not have a baseball team; as a result, many baseball fans in the Washington area supported the nearby Baltimore Orioles, making them the de facto baseball team for Washington. When Washington was looking for a team, the ownership of the Orioles disapproved of the effort for fear that they would lose the Washington market to the new team. They were the only team to vote against moving the Montreal Expos to Washington. Therefore, when the Nationals began play in 2005, a natural rivalry was born between the new Washington team and the team that had historic support in the Washington region. This rivalry is known as the Beltway Series, or Battle of the Beltways, due to each city's proximity to the Capital Beltway, a major ring road that circles around Washington and its immediate suburbs. Given that the two teams play in different leagues (the Nationals play in the National League and the Orioles play in the American League), it is a rare interleague rivalry.

The Commanders and Baltimore Ravens of the NFL have a slight rivalry. Though because the two teams play in different conferences (the Commanders play in the National Football Conference and the Ravens play in the American Football Conference), they rarely play against each other in the regular season. However, there generally is a matchup between these two teams every preseason.

See also
Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame
District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association
U.S. cities with teams from four major sports

Notes

External links

D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission
Greater Washington Sports Alliance

Sports in Washington, D.C.


Marie Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (17 November 1663 – 1675) was the eldest legitimate child of Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart and her husband, the Marquis of Montespan. She died in her teens and never married.

Biography

Marie Christine was born in Paris to Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis de Montespan and his wife of nine months Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart. She was the older of two children born to the couple and had numerous half brothers and sisters as a result of her mother's affair with Louis XIV of France.

When her father found out about the affair between the King and her mother, Montespan decided to take his children away to his country estate before raising a scandal at court, challenging the king one day at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and decorated his carriage with antlers (like horns, these were traditional symbols of the cuckolded husband).

He was promptly imprisoned in the For-l'Évêque, then exiled to his lands - taking young Marie Christine and the even younger Louis Antoine.

This did not stop his agitation, and he not only came to Paris nearly every year between 1670 and 1686 but also commanded an annual requiem mass to be sung for his wife during her lifetime.

Twelve-year-old Marie Christine died at the Château de Bonnefont, one of her father's castles in Gascony.

Ancestry

References and notes

1663 births
1675 deaths
17th-century French people
French nobility
Marie Christine
Royalty and nobility who died as children


The New Zealand Squadron was the name given by the Royal Air Force to the men of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in the United Kingdom to train on the 30 Vickers Wellington Mk1C bombers the New Zealand Government ordered in 1938 to introduce the latest in aviation military technology to the RNZAF.  Some RNZAF aircrew had been sent to the United Kingdom and others already there were posted to the group training on the new aircraft based at RAF Marham in Norfolk commencing on 1 June 1939 under the command of Squadron Leader Maurice Buckley.  The crews were to fly the aircraft to New Zealand in batches of six, to their new airbase, RNZAF Base Ohakea in the country's North Island, that was being built to receive them.

RAF official records name this group of airmen as "The New Zealand Squadron", and shared RAF Marham with No. 38 and No. 115 Squadrons.  They moved to RAF Harwell, and then to RAF Feltwell on 12 February 1940. Those aircraft initially delivered and being used by the New Zealand crews had their RNZAF serial numbers painted under the wings, "NZ301" to "NZ305".

As a result of Britain declaring war against Germany, the New Zealand Government made the airmen and the aircraft – that had so far been delivered and those still on the production line – available to the RAF to help with the new war effort.  Also called or known as The New Zealand Flight, they completed several operations of their own across to various European destinations.  The New Zealand airmen were concerned that they would be split up and posted to existing RAF squadrons, however a decision by the Air Ministry to give them the defunct No. 75 Squadron numberplate on 4 April 1940, meant that the nucleus of The New Zealand Squadron personnel remained together but under the command of the RAF as No. 75 (NZ) Squadron.

Notes

Bibliography

Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1940

The New Zealand Squadron


The Fairey Hamble Baby was a British single-seat naval patrol floatplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation for the Royal Naval Air Service

Design and development
Fairey Aviation built a number of Sopwith Baby floatplanes at its Hamble works. A variant of the Sopwith Baby was built by the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd. On 23 October 1916, Sopwith Baby No.8134 was sent to the Fairey works for repair, and the opportunity was taken to rebuild the aircraft to incorporate a number of modifications. The most significant was the Fairey Patent Camber Gear, which was a form of trailing edge flap used to increase lift. On the Fairey-built aircraft, the entire trailing edge of each wing was hinged along the rear spar, lowered by rotating a handwheel in the cockpit. A differential device ensured that the flaps could still be actuated as ailerons; thus, lateral control was maintained. In this modified form, the aircraft was known as the Fairey Hamble Baby. Production Hamble Babies differed in appearance from those built by Sopwith and Blackburn. The planform of wings and tailplane were changed: the wings had increased span and reduced chord, had rounded tips, and the tailplane had a characteristic shape different from the semi-circular outline of the Sopwith original. A new and angular fin, Fairey-designed main floats of new form, and an enlarged tail float were fitted, and the engine cowling was modified. Parnall also produced Hamble Babies, which had some detail differences from the Fairey produced aircraft. The last 74 aircraft were produced by Parnall as landplanes and known as the Hamble Baby Convert.

Operators

Hellenic Navy

Royal Air Force
No. 219 Squadron RAF
No. 225 Squadron RAF
No. 229 Squadron RAF
No. 249 Squadron RAF
No. 253 Squadron RAF
No. 263 Squadron RAF
Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications (110 hp Clerget)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

Floatplanes
Hamble Baby
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Rotary-engined aircraft

Fairey Hamble Baby