Sports facilities & surfaces
The courts, pitches, tracks, pools and studios where sports happen — what defines each and which sports use it.
Browse facilities
Each entry is cross-linked to the sports it belongs to and the terms around it.
Athletics track
An oval multi-lane running track, usually 400 metres per lap, used for sprints, distance running and relays.
Badminton court
A rectangular indoor court, divided by a high net, on which badminton is played as singles or doubles.
Basketball court
A rectangular hard-surfaced court with a raised hoop and backboard at each end where basketball is played.
Driving range
A practice facility with hitting bays and an open landing area, used to repeat shots without playing a hole.
Fitness studio
An open indoor room used for instructor-led group fitness classes such as yoga, aerobics and indoor cycling.
Football pitch
The large rectangular grass or artificial-turf field on which football (soccer) is played, with a goal at each end.
Golf course
A large outdoor course of individually designed holes, each running from a teeing area to a hole cut in a putting green.
Gym
An indoor facility equipped with free weights, machines and cardio equipment for strength training and general fitness.
Ice rink
A sheet of prepared ice, usually rink-boarded with rounded corners, used for skating and ice sports.
Multi-use games area (MUGA)
A fenced outdoor hard-surface area marked for several sports, common in schools, parks and community facilities.
Padel court
An enclosed court, much smaller than a tennis court, walled with glass and mesh so the ball can be played off the walls.
Padel court dimensions
The exact size and markings of a padel court under FIP rules — the 10 by 20 metre rectangle, the service lines, the line width, and the free height the rules require above it.
Padel walls and enclosure
The feature that makes padel its own sport — the glass and mesh enclosure, the two permitted side-wall layouts, and why the wall material is specified by how the ball bounces off it.
Ski slope
A prepared, marked and patrolled run down a mountainside, served by lifts and graded for difficulty.
Sports hall
A large indoor hall with multi-sport line markings, used for court sports like basketball, volleyball and badminton.
Swimming pool
A water-filled basin, divided into lanes for competition, used for swimming and other aquatic sports.
Tennis court
A rectangular marked court, divided across the middle by a net, where tennis is played as singles or doubles.
Tennis court geometry
Every measurement on a tennis court and the rule that governs them all — court and service-box dimensions, line widths, the centre mark, and why measurements are taken to the outside of the lines.
The cricket field and boundary
How the edge of a cricket field is defined and marked, what scores four and what scores six, and why the Laws set no boundary distance while international playing conditions do.
The cricket pitch
The 22-yard strip at the centre of a cricket field where the bowling and batting happen — its exact dimensions, how it is bounded, and who decides whether it is fit to play on.
The ice hockey rink
The dimensions and markings of an IIHF ice hockey rink — length, width, corner radius, the blue and centre lines, the goal lines and the face-off circles, with the line widths the rule book specifies.
The rugby union field
The dimensions and markings of a rugby union pitch — the field of play, the in-goal areas, the 22-metre and 10-metre lines, the goal posts, and what the Laws fix versus what they leave open.
The table tennis table
The exact dimensions of a table tennis table and its markings — length, width, height, the bounce test the surface must pass, and the lines that only matter in doubles.
Velodrome
A steeply banked oval track for track cycling, with sloped bends that let riders hold high speeds through the turns.
Volleyball court
A rectangular court split by a high net over which two teams rally the ball, played indoors or on sand.
Find a sport and put it into practice
Pick a sport, read the guide and take the first step — it's free to explore.