Skating sports competition and federation management

Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.

Artificial ice can also be used to provide ice rinks for ice skating, ice hockey, para ice hockey, ringette, broomball, bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, and spongee in a milder climate. The sport of speed skating uses a frozen circular track of ice, but in some facilities the track is combined in an enclosed area used for sports requiring an ice rink or the rink itself is used. Alternatively, ice cross downhill uses a track with various levels of elevation and a combination of bends. Long distance skating (a.k.a. "marathon skating") such as tour skating is only performed outdoors and uses the available natural ice from frozen lakes, ponds, and marshes. Tour skating at times includes speed skaters, though tour skates are more common.

Common individual sports include: cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, figure skating, luge, skeleton, bobsleigh, ski orienteering and snowmobiling.

Common team sports include ice hockey, ringette, broomball (on either an indoor ice rink, or an outdoor ice rink or field of snow), curling, rinkball, and bandy. Based on the number of participants, ice hockey is the world's most popular winter team sport, followed by bandy.

Winter sports at times have their own multi-sport events, such as the Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Universiade.

Snow and ice during the winter time has enabled sliding as a means of transportation, using sledges, skis and skates. This also led to different pastimes and sports being developed in the winter season as compared to other times of the year. Naturally, winter sports are more popular in countries with longer winter seasons.

In the European Alps, St. Moritz became a popular winter resort in 1864.

In the early days of the Olympics there was not much differentiation between the summer and winter games. These confusions would span from around the late 1890s until the early to mid 1900s. During this time, some sports considered to be winter sports and played or performed during the Olympic Winter Games today, would be held during the Olympic Summer Games. It was originally wanted to keep all of the Olympic sports together under one event and program, but due to environmental demands of some sports, it had to be separated.

While most winter sports are played outside, ice hockey, speed skating and to some extent bandy have moved indoors starting in the mid-20th century. Indoor ice rinks with artificial ice allow ice skating and hockey to be played in hot climates.

Outdoor winter sports will likely be severely impacted because of climate change in the next century.

Note: the Olympic rings next to a sport indicates that this particular sport is included in the Winter Olympic Games, as of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Paralympic logo indicates the same for a sport not in the Olympics but in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Figure skating

Short-track speed skating

Speed skating

Ice sledge speed racing

Acroski (no longer part of the Winter Olympics)

Alpine skiing

Para alpine skiing

Biathlon

Para biathlon

Cross-country skiing

Para Cross-country skiing

Downhill skiing

Freestyle skiing

Freeriding

Jack Jumping

Mogul skiing

Monoskiing

Newschool skiing

Nordic combined

Ski archery

Skiboarding

Skibob

Skijoring

Ski jumping

Ski mountaineering

Ski orienteering

Snowkiting

Speed skiing

Speed riding

Telemark skiing

Winter pentathlon

Ski-BASE Jumping

Sports that use sleds going down ice tracks or pulled by something:

Bobsled

Dogsled racing

Ice blocking

Luge

Skeleton

Wok racing

Alpine snowboarding

Boardercross

Freeriding

Para snowboard

Slalom

Snowskating

Slopestyle

Free style

Snocross

Recreation

Cross-country

Hill climbing

Bandy

Broomball

Curling

Ice hockey

Para ice hockey

Wheelchair curling

Ice stock sport

Military patrol

Moscow broomball

Para ice hockey

Ringette

Rinkball

Rink bandy

Snow baseball

Snow rugby

Snow snake

Snow volleyball

Spongee a.k.a. Sponge hockey

Synchronized skating

Yukigassen (competitive snowball fight)

Cold-weather biking

Barrel jumping - (discipline of speed skating)

Ice canoeing

Ice climbing

Ice cricket

Ice cross downhill

Ice racing

Ice speedway

Snowshoeing

Tour skating

Snow drifting

Snow golf (not to be confused with Crackgar, indigenous Kalash snow golf)

Snow Bike (Cycling)

Snow Cross (Moto Cycling)

Snowboard Cross

Snocross

Snow Polo

Snowshoeing

Some sports are competed in (or simply enjoyed) on a more casual basis, often by children:

Crackgar (indigenous Kalash snow golf)

Ice boating or ice sailing

Ice fishing

SheenAab Jung (Jammu and Kashmir Snow Fighting)

Tobogganing

Snow bowling

Winter Olympic Games

Nordic Games

World Cup

Arctic Winter Games

Asian Winter Games

Winter Paralympic Games

Winter Universiade

Winter Dew Tour

Winter X Games

Winter X Games Europe

Bandy World Cup

Biathlon World Cup

Bobsleigh World Cup

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

FIS Cross-Country World Cup

FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup

FIS Snowboard World Cup

Luge World Cup

Short Track Speed Skating World Cup

Skeleton World Cup (toboggan)

Speed Skating World Cup

World Cup in Ski Orienteering

Ice Hockey World Championships

Curling World Championships

Bandy World Championships

Biathlon World Championships

Bobsleigh World Championships

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships

FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined)

FIS Snowboarding World Championships

FIL World