Sports Riddles With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page offers 42 sports riddles with answers for fans of every age. The easy riddles name common equipment and places, the middle sets cover rules and well-known events, and the hard set has number puzzles, tournament maths and a few lateral thinking twists. Use them for team talks, school sports days or a quiz on the sofa.
Easy Sports Riddles
I am round, and you can kick me, throw me or bounce me, depending on the game. What am I?
A ball
I am made of ropes tied in squares, and I catch the ball when a goal is scored. What am I?
A net
I wear black, I carry a whistle and cards, and I make sure the players follow the rules. Who am I?
A referee
I make a loud sound when I am blown, and I start and stop the game. What am I?
A whistle
I am a shiny gold cup, and the winning team lifts me high. What am I?
A trophy
I hang from a ribbon around your neck, and I can be gold, silver or bronze. What am I?
A medal
I have a handle and a frame of tight strings, and I hit the shuttlecock or the tennis ball. What am I?
A racket
I have a deck and four wheels, and you ride me down the ramp doing tricks. What am I?
A skateboard
I am a pair of shoes with studs underneath, so you do not slip on the grass. What am I?
Football boots
I am a huge bowl with thousands of seats, and the crowd roars inside me. What am I?
A stadium
I sit on a swimmer's face and keep the water out of the eyes. What am I?
Swimming goggles
I am a path painted with white lines, and runners race around me. What am I?
A running track
Trickier Sports Riddles
I am an iron ring with a net hanging from it, ten feet above the floor. What am I?
A basketball hoop
I am a very long race, a little over 42 kilometres, and the runners are exhausted at the end. What am I?
A marathon
In me, four runners on a team pass a stick from hand to hand. What am I?
A relay race
I am five coloured circles joined together, and I appear every four years with a flaming torch. What am I?
The Olympic Games (the Olympic rings)
I am the only player on the pitch allowed to use my hands, and I stay near the goal. Who am I?
The goalkeeper
I am played on a course with 18 holes, a flag, and clubs, and the lowest score wins. What am I?
Golf
I have ten pins at the end of a lane, and a roll that knocks all of them down is called a strike. What am I?
Bowling
I am a flat black disc that slides across the ice, and sticks chase me. What am I?
A hockey puck
I am a small cone of feathers, and I fly over a net but never bounces on the floor. What am I?
A shuttlecock (badminton)
I am the red dot in the middle of a target, and an archer hopes to hit me. What am I?
The bullseye
I am a barrier on a track that runners jump over without stopping. What am I?
A hurdle
I am a free kick taken twelve yards from the goal, with only the goalkeeper to beat. What am I?
A penalty kick
Hard Sports Riddles
In a football match, each team has 11 players on the pitch, and there is one referee. How many people are on the pitch?
23, because 11 + 11 + 1 = 23
Eight teams enter a knockout tournament where the loser of each match goes home. How many matches are played to find the winner?
7, because every match removes one team and 7 teams must be knocked out
Five teams each play every other team once. How many matches are played?
10, because 5 x 4 / 2 = 10
A basketball player scores four two-point baskets, three three-point baskets and five free throws worth one point each. How many points does she score?
22, because 8 + 9 + 5 = 22
A running track is 400 metres round. How many laps make 5,000 metres?
12.5 laps, because 5,000 / 400 = 12.5
You are running in a race and you overtake the runner in second place. What place are you in now?
Second place
In cricket, a batter who is out without scoring any runs is said to have scored the name of a bird. Which bird?
A duck
In this sport, the athletes move forwards while facing backwards. What is it?
Rowing
A swimmer swims 1,500 metres in a 50 metre pool. How many times does she turn around at the wall?
29, because 1,500 / 50 = 30 lengths, and there is one fewer turn than lengths
A rugby team scores three tries worth 5 points each and two conversions worth 2 points each. How many points is that?
19, because 15 + 4 = 19
Quick-Fire Sports Riddles
It ticks and records how fast you ran. What am I?
A stopwatch
Three steps, and the winner stands on the top one. What am I?
A podium
Worn on the head to protect it when you ride or bat. What am I?
A helmet
It shows the points of both teams. What am I?
A scoreboard
I train the team and shout from the sideline. Who am I?
A coach
A short, flat-out dash. What is it?
A sprint
Each swimmer stays within me. What am I?
A lane
A costumed character who cheers up the crowd. Who am I?
A mascot
How to Use These Sports Riddles
Use sports riddles as a warm-up before training, a half-time game or an activity on school sports day. Read the easy ones to younger players and ask them to shout the answer, which helps them learn the names of equipment.
For older teams, set the hard riddles as a challenge. The tournament and scoring puzzles reward careful thinking, and arguing about the working is half the fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good sports riddle for kids?
Try 'I hang from a ribbon around your neck, and I can be gold, silver or bronze.' The answer is a medal. Riddles about balls, whistles and trophies are easy for younger players.
How many matches are in a knockout tournament?
A knockout tournament always has one fewer match than teams, because each match eliminates exactly one team and only the winner remains. Eight teams therefore need seven matches, and sixteen teams need fifteen.
Why do rowers face backwards?
A rower sits facing the stern and pulls the oars towards the body, which pushes the boat in the opposite direction. This gives the most power, so the boat moves forwards while the rower faces backwards.
Are these riddles good for a school sports day?
Yes. They are clean, short and need no equipment, so they work for waiting between events or a team quiz. Choose the easy and quick-fire sets for younger classes and the tournament puzzles for older pupils.
