# Major events in popular sport

A map of a former edition of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. It opens only in the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS, not in the web atlas; see the links below.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/major-events-in-popular-sport/
- Short title: Popular sport
- Map id: 395
- Categories: Tourism and Leisure time › Sport events › Major sporting events
- Keywords: Leisure time, Sport
- Published: 2017-01-04
- Last revised: 2024-09-26
- Content language: English
- Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/grossanlaesse-breitensport.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/grandes-manifestations-de-sport-populaire.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/grandi-manifestazioni-di-sport-popolare.md)

## Description

Popular sport is very diverse, involving all kinds of different sporting activities – mostly played on a non-organised basis.
The main difference between popular sport and competitive sport is the motivation behind it. In popular sport, the focus is on boosting health and enjoying the experience. Competitive sport, on the other hand, is aimed primarily at achieving performance goals in order to be able to compete with other athletes at national or international level. However, there is no clear dividing line between popular and competitive sport. Popular sport should not be confused with club sport or amateur sport. The distinctive characteristic of amateur sport is that amateur athletes engage in other income-earning activities alongside their sporting pursuits in order to earn a living. A variety of commercial providers now offer a range of popular sporting activities such as fitness programmes, walking holidays, etc.

## Sources

- Kempf et al. (2015): Das System Sport – in der Schweiz und international. Magglingen: Bundesamt für Sport

## Data sources

- ETH Zurich: [Atlas of Switzerland](https://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- Swiss Runners (2015): [Veranstaltungen](http://www.swissrunners.ch)
- Swiss Runners (2022): [Swiss Runners-Veranstaltungen](https://www.swiss-running.ch/de/swiss-runners/)
- Swiss Triathlon (2015): [Wettkampfkalender Schweiz 2015](https://www.swisstriathlon.ch)
- Waffenlauf Schweiz (2015): [Läufe](http://www.waffenlauf.ch/)
- Waffenlauf Schweiz (2022): [Läufe](http://www.waffenlauf.ch/)

## Data owners

- [Waffenlauf-Verein Schweiz](http://www.waffenlauf.ch/)
- [Atlas of Switzerland (AoS)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- [Swiss Triathlon](http://www.swisstriathlon.ch/)
- [Swiss Runners](http://swissrunners.ch)

## Citation

The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as:

> Atlas of Switzerland (2024): Major events in popular sport. ETH Zürich. Map data © Waffenlauf-Verein Schweiz, AoS, Swiss Triathlon, Swiss Runners. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/major-events-in-popular-sport/

## Links

- Map page, with the description and sources and a button that opens the map in the desktop atlas: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/major-events-in-popular-sport/
- Open the map in the desktop atlas (version 4), where it is installed: adsglobe://map/395
- Download of the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/ads4-download/

For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).