Use these questions as a full trivia night, a quick warmup activity before practice, or a way to fill the hours on a long drive to an away tournament. Play in teams, play individually, or run speed rounds and see how many correct answers the group can rattle off in two minutes.
However you play, everyone gets to be the expert on something.
Rookie Round (Easy)
These questions are designed for younger players and beginners. Every answer is something a casual sports fan would know with a little thought.
Q: What does NBA stand for? A: National Basketball Association
Q: How many bases are on a baseball field? A: Four
Q: What part of the body cannot touch the ball in soccer, except for the goalkeeper? A: Hands
Q: How many holes are played in a standard round of golf? A: 18
Q: What color flag is waved in motor racing to signal the winner? A: The checkered flag
Q: How many players are on a basketball team on the court at one time? A: Five
Q: What tool is used to strike the ball in tennis? A: A tennis racket
Q: In what sport would you find a pommel horse? A: Gymnastics
Q: What color are the goal posts in American football? A: Yellow
Q: How many points is a touchdown worth in football? A: Six
Q: What sport is played at Wimbledon? A: Tennis
Q: In soccer, what is it called when the goalkeeper stops a shot on goal? A: A save
Q: How many players are on a baseball team on the field at one time? A: Nine
Q: What do you call the area where baseball players sit when they are not on the field? A: The dugout
Q: In basketball, how many points is a shot worth if it is made from beyond the three-point line? A: Three
Q: What is the name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl? A: The Vince Lombardi Trophy
Q: In swimming, what is it called when a swimmer touches the wall at the end of the pool and pushes off to swim back? A: A flip turn or a turn
Q: How many regulation swimming strokes are there? A: Four. Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly
Q: What sport uses a puck instead of a ball? A: Ice hockey
Q: In which sport do players dribble a round ball and shoot it into a hoop? A: Basketball
Pro Round (Medium)
These questions require a bit more sports knowledge. Good for players who have been around the game for a season or two.
Q: How long is a marathon? A: 26.2 miles
Q: What five colors make up the Olympic rings? A: Blue, yellow, black, green, and red
Q: What is the only sport known to have been played on the moon? A: Golf. Alan Shepard hit two golf balls during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
Q: What is it called when a bowler gets three strikes in a row? A: A turkey
Q: In what sport is the score "love" used? A: Tennis. Love means zero.
Q: What is the diameter of a basketball hoop in inches? A: 18 inches
Q: In which sport are the terms "stale fish" and "mule kick" used? A: Snowboarding
Q: What type of race is the Tour de France? A: A cycling race
Q: How many laps make up a standard outdoor track mile? A: Four
Q: What is it called when a baseball batter hits a ball over the outfield fence in fair territory? A: A home run
Q: How many events make up a decathlon? A: Ten
Q: In what sport would you perform a pirouette? A: Figure skating or gymnastics
Q: What is the only country to have played in every FIFA World Cup? A: Brazil
Q: What is the maximum number of clubs a golfer is allowed to carry during a round? A: 14
Q: In football, what is it called when the defense tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage? A: A sack
Q: What was temporarily banned in basketball from 1967 to 1976? A: The slam dunk
Q: How many points is a safety worth in American football? A: Two
Q: What sport uses a shuttlecock instead of a ball? A: Badminton
Q: In baseball, how many strikes does it take to strike out a batter? A: Three
Q: What is it called when a soccer player scores three goals in a single game? A: A hat trick
Genius Tip
Running trivia at your end-of-season party or team banquet? Assign a trivia captain role in your event sign up so someone is responsible for running the game. One slot, one person, no scrambling on the night of the event.
Hall of Fame Round (Difficult)
These questions will stump most adults. Save them for your most competitive trivia players or use them as tiebreakers.
Q: What three horse races make up the Triple Crown? A: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes
Q: In what year were women first allowed to compete in the modern Olympic Games and in what sport? A: 1900, in tennis
Q: The Borg-Warner Trophy is awarded to the winner of which race? A: The Indianapolis 500
Q: Who was the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game? A: William Howard Taft in 1910
Q: How long is the free skate program in senior men's figure skating? A: Four and a half minutes
Q: How many sports were featured in the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896? A: Nine sports: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling
Q: What is the only team sport in the Summer Olympics in which the United States has never won a gold medal as of 2024? A: Men's handball
Q: In which year did the shot clock first become part of NBA rules? A: 1954
Q: What is the name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs? A: The Stanley Cup
Q: How many dimples does a regulation golf ball have? A: Between 300 and 500, with 336 being the most common number
Q: Who holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals won by a single athlete? A: Michael Phelps with 23 gold medals
Q: What country has won the most FIFA World Cup titles? A: Brazil with five titles
Q: In what year did the Boston Marathon first allow women to officially compete? A: 1972
Q: What is the maximum score possible in a single game of ten-pin bowling? A: 300, achieved by rolling 12 consecutive strikes
Q: How many stitches are on a regulation Major League Baseball? A: 108 double stitches, or 216 individual stitches
Q: What sport did James Naismith invent in 1891? A: Basketball
Q: In track and field, how high is the hurdle in the men's 110 meter hurdles? A: 42 inches, or 1.067 meters
Q: What is the name of the playing surface at the Augusta National Golf Club where the Masters Tournament is held? A: Augusta National Golf Club does not have a separate named surface — the course itself is the venue. The correct answer is Augusta National Golf Club.
Q: In Olympic swimming, what is the order of strokes in an individual medley race? A: Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle
Q: What is the term for a score of two under par on a single hole in golf? A: Eagle
Planning the party that goes with the trivia?
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Posted by Trey Mosier
