Millions of people participate in sports every week in the UK, with many involving the rough and tumble of physical contact.
Whether you’re chasing a dream or just enjoying some leisure time, there are all kinds of upsides to playing contact sports, but it can come with risks too.
Here we will look into why contact sports are so popular and where those upsides and drawbacks lie.
What are the most popular contact sports?
According to a study from Sport England, these are the three most popular contact sports in the UK:
- Football: The global game remains highly popular in the country where it was first organised and became professional. Grassroots football in the UK remains as popular as ever, with hopefuls looking to keep fit, meet some new mates, and maybe dream of making it at the very top.
- Rugby: Often punishing physically, but rugby is renowned for its camaraderie and the level of respect shown between opponents and towards officials. Rugby opens doors to people of all shapes and sizes to participate in regular sports.
- Boxing: It doesn’t get much more contact than the ‘sweet science’! Boxing classes help people keep fit, while the amateur scene has enjoyed a boon in recent years as the UK becomes the focal point of professional boxing across the world.
The benefits of contact sports
- Fitness: Any exercise is great for your physical wellbeing. However, contact sports can often be tougher on the body which can finetune your fitness to higher levels.
- Make friends: If your chosen sport is also your passion, you will soon meet like-minded folks who you can bond with.
- Structure: If you are part of a club, you will have to make training sessions in order to be picked for the team and this can also help you add structure to your life outside of sport.
- Discipline: Boxing has a particular reputation for helping people find a purpose in their life, helping get people out of trouble with gangs and the police.
The risks of contact sports
The major risk surrounding any contact sport is the potential to suffer an injury.
In football, lower-body injuries such as broken bones and damage to the knee and ankle joints are commonplace – not to mention the gnarled toes after coming too close to the odd stud here and there!
The main areas of concern in rugby surround the neck and head, while the dangers in boxing are fairly evident. Both can lead to significant head injuries and can sometimes lead to brain injury claims if negligence is a factor.
Typically, however, those who participate in contact sports do so happily accepting that there may be consequences, while several sports have all manner of rules and regulations in place in an attempt to prevent serious injuries.
