Wikipedia:Notability (sports)

Cue sports (snooker, pool, billiards)

See

Curling

Significant coverage is likely to exist for a curler if they

1. Have won a World Curling Tour event or participated in a Grand Slam of Curling event.
2. Have won a medal at one of the following
   World Curling Federation sanctioned events: the World Junior Curling Championships, World Senior Curling Championships, European Curling Championships, World Mixed Curling Championship, or Pacific-Asia Curling Championships
   .
3. Have won a medal at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships.
4. Have won the
   Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials
   .
5. Are member of the
   WCF Hall of Fame
   .

Cycling

Significant coverage is likely to exist for a male cyclist if he meets:

1. Won a UCI World Tour;
2. Won (a stage, or an overall individual classification) a Grand Tour or finished on the podium of a Monument;
3. Won the
   UCI World Cup
   ;
4. Won Gold at an international multi-sport event (games) (also includes races like the World University Cycling Championship);
5. Won a
   UCI category race (minimum classification 1.1 / 2.1, including Continental and National Championships
   ).

1. Is ranked with the UCI (WT, 1.Pro, 1.1, 1.2, 2.Pro, 2.1, 2.2, CDM, JO, CM, GT, CC, CN, .HC);
2. Is part of an international multi-sport event (games) (also includes races like the World University Cycling Championship);
3. Holds significant recognition (for example,
   People's Choice Classic
   ).

Equestrian sport

This section does not encompass notability issues for individuals in

Equestrians competing at the highest level of international competition are not always "professionals", some earn money and some do not, but most have sponsors or receive money to support their activities. Both professionals and non-professionals have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for individual people and horses who are involved in equestrian sport if they:

1. Have medaled at the Pan American Games as a rider, driver, or official team coach
2. Have medaled at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) as a rider, driver, or official team coach
3. Have medaled individually or were on a team that won gold, silver, or bronze at the
   Dressage World Championship, Combined Driving World Championships, Endurance World Championships or World Vaulting Championships
4. Have won a
   FEI World Cup
   competition.

1. A coach or horse trainer who worked with many competitors (human or animal) considered notable by the criteria above, including at least one individual Olympic medalist or World Equestrian Games champion.
2. Individual inductees into a major equestrian-oriented national hall of fame dedicated to sports with international-level competition, such as the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
3. Heads of national and international federations, for example,
   Fédération Equestre Internationale
   .
4. A horse breeder who was the breeder of record for many notable horses including the mounts of at least one Olympic medal or World Equestrian Games championship competitor.
5. A horse notable for being a parent or ancestor of a major competitor.
6. Some but not all winners of national-level championships, particularly those considered the highest honor within a particular discipline or horse breed competition (especially where there is no significant international championship level).
7. Individuals who made major contributions to the equestrian industry such as veterinarians, researchers, artists, and inventors.

Figure skating

Significant coverage is likely to exist for figure skating figures if they

1. Have won a medal at an international senior-level event or the World Junior Figure Skating Championships
2. Won their country's senior national championships, with the exception of those countries that do not regularly send multiple skaters to the Olympic Games (consult this Olympic athlete tally to check whether the country qualifies).
3. As coach or choreographer, have worked with many notable skaters, including at least one Olympic medalist or senior World Champion (for example,
   David Wilson
   )
4. Have been the heads of national and international federations.
5. Are members of the
   U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame
   .

Golf

Significant coverage is likely to exist for golf figures if:

1. They have competed in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, Solheim Cup, or similar international competition
2. They are enshrined in one of golf's recognized Halls of Fame (example: World Golf Hall of Fame)
3. They have won at least one professional golf tournament (examples:
   European Tour, PGA Tour Champions
   )
4. They have won at least one recognized amateur golf tournament at the national or international level (examples:
   U.S. Amateur, British Amateur
   )
5. They have made the cut in one of the four Men's major golf championships, one of the Women's major golf championships (past or present), or one of the Senior major golf championships (past or present)
6. They have competed as a professional on the PGA, LPGA, European, or Champions Tour for at least one full year

Gymnastics

Significant coverage is likely to exist for artistic gymnasts if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Won a senior individual medal at an elite international competition*
2. Won their country's senior all-around or individual event finals national championship while competing for a country that qualified a full team into the most recent Olympics or senior World Championships
3. Won an individual medal at the senior national championships for any country that medaled in the team competition at the most recent Olympics or World Championships
4. Have been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Significant coverage is likely to exist for junior gymnasts if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Won an individual gold medal at the junior national championships for any of the following countries: USA, Russia, China, Romania (females only)
2. Won an individual gold medal, in the junior division, at an elite international competition*
3. Won an individual medal at the Youth Olympic Games or Junior World Championships

Significant coverage is likely to exist for coaches if they

1. Have coached many notable athletes, including at least one individual Olympic medalist or world champion
2. Have been the official head coach of an Olympic or World Championship team

*An elite international competition is

any competition with considerable international WP:GNG coverage between at least eight notable athletes (examples of such competitions include: Pan American Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, and Pacific Rim Championships).

Horse racing

• Notability for people involved in
  WP:NRODEO

Not all participants in horse racing are athletic "professionals", particularly owners and breeders, but due to purse money and profit motive throughout the sport they are put in the professional sports category for convenience.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for Horse racing figures, including horses and/or their human "connections" (horse trainers, jockeys, or horse owners and horse breeders) if they have accomplished any of the following:

1. Individuals who win a US Grade I/Group I graded stakes race or the equivalent level in their respective nations. (Horses, due to their relatively short careers, at least once; humans best to have done so more than once)
2. Individuals who have won multiple significant US Grade/Group 2 or 3 graded stakes races or the equivalent level in their respective nations.
3. Individuals who have won year-end championship titles, such as an Eclipse Award.
4. Members of a national Racing Hall of Fame.

Significant coverage is also likely to exist for horses or persons associated with horse racing who were not competitors or do not meet the criteria above, if they meet any of the following:

1. Individual humans who were significant for new advancements or trailblazing achievements. (examples: Andrew Beyer, Florence Nagle, Diane Crump)
2. Horses that may not have raced to any significant degree (usually due to injury), but had multiple significant progeny, such as Tapit.
3. Horses who are ranked the leading sire or broodmare for a given year in their respective nations (again, see Tapit)
4. Breeding farms or farm owners that do not race many horses themselves, but have produced or currently stand horses who became notable winners. (i.e., Adena Springs)
5. Agents, race track announcers (e.g., Larry Collmus), racing journalists (e.g., Steve Haskin), venue owners (e.g., Frank Stronach) and other business professionals with a significant connection to horse racing.
6. Horses and individuals involved in highly publicized thefts or other crimes, e.g., Shergar, scandals, or other nefarious activities, such as substitution scams, e.g., Fine Cotton.
7. An individual person with a connection to a notable horse is not presumed notable for that reason only, see
   WP:BIO1E, though if the individual's role is a large one, a significant connection to a single notable horse might justify a spinoff article (e.g., Eddie Sweat, groom of Secretariat). Conversely, a horse is not presumed notable just because the owner is famous – of Jim Rome's racehorses, Shared Belief is notable, Gallatin's Run
   is probably not.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for ice hockey players if they

1. Achieved preeminent honors (all-time top-10 career scorer, first-team all-star) in the Mestis, Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Slovak Extraliga, HockeyAllsvenskan, National League, or American Hockey League;
2. Achieved preeminent honors (all-time top-10 career scorer or first-team all-star) in the
   Elite.A, or Beneliga
   ;
3. Achieved preeminent honors (all-time top-10 career scorer or first- or second-team All-American) in the men's play versions of the Atlantic Hockey, Big Ten Conference, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East, National Collegiate Hockey Conference, or NCAA Division I independent; or
4. Are a first-round draft pick of the NHL entry draft.

For coaches or managers of ice hockey teams, substitute "coached" or "managed" for "played" in the player guidelines.

For participants in defunct leagues who satisfy any of these achievement standards, please see

Significant coverage is likely to exist for a kickboxing athlete if they:

• Have been ranked in the world top-10 by a major, preferably two, independent publication that meets the definition of a reliable source, or
• Have been a Lumpinee or Rajadamnern champion.

Kickboxers who have an amateur background exclusively are not notable unless the person has been the subject examined in detail (more than a single paragraph) in several reliable third-party sources (at least four), excluding local publications.

Mixed martial arts

1. Have been ranked in the world top 10 in their division by either Sherdog (sherdog.com) or Fight Matrix (fightmatrix.com).

Motorsports

Significant coverage is likely to exist for motorsport figures if they are:

1. A driver or rider who has qualified for any of the following events:
   • A
     MotoGP
     World Championship motorcycle Grand Prix.
   • The Indianapolis 500.
2. A driver or rider who has competed for at least one full season in any of the following series:
   • Any primarily-professional single-class series of significant international importance, such as the Superbike World Championship, Formula E, or the World Touring Car Championship.
   • Any category of a multi-class series of significant international importance in which there is not a requirement to run "amateur" or "gentleman" drivers, such as the LMP1 and GTE Pro classes of the FIA World Endurance Championship, or as a manufacturer entry in the World Rally Championship.
   • A top-level feeder series to Formula One or MotoGP, such as the
     Moto2
     World Championship.
   • The modern-era (1972 or later) NASCAR Cup Series.
3. A driver or rider who has finished on the overall podium of any of the following events:
   • Any round of a series in the previous category, if the driver or rider in question did not complete a full season.
   • The
     Grande Épreuve
     .
4. A driver, rider, or co-driver who has won any of the following events overall:
   • A round of any primarily-professional series of significant national importance, such as the
     Stock Car Brasil, or Super GT
     .
   • A high-profile international rally as a driver (such as the
     RAC rallies), or a round of the World Rally Championship
     as a co-driver.
   • A non-championship national Grand Prix (including the Macau Grand Prix and the Gordon Bennett Cup) for cars or motorcycles.
   • Various major road races, such as one of the high-profile inter-city races of the 1890s and 1900s, an Isle of Man TT event, the Targa Florio, or the Mille Miglia.
5. A driver or rider who has won any of the following championship titles:
   • The overall championship title of any series in the previous category without winning a race (a relatively common occurrence in series whose points-scoring systems favour consistent finishes over inconsistent victories).
   • A major championship in which a large number of the competitors are amateur "gentleman" drivers or privateers, such as the European Le Mans Series, Intercontinental GT Challenge, or European Rally Championship.
6. Any driver who does not meet the previous criteria who has received an
   general notability guideline
   .
7. A current or former owner or team principal for a team in a major racing series (Formula One, the World Rally Championship, MotoGP, Formula E,
   IMSA) for a full season or more. This includes Cup Series crew chiefs
   .
8. Enshrined in any notable motorsports hall of fame.
9. A current or former holder of significant motorsports record, such as a land speed record.

Orienteering

Significant coverage is likely to exist for an athlete who competes in the field of orienteering if they meet any of the criteria below

1. Have finished top 3 in the World Orienteering Championships, the European Orienteering Championships, the overall Orienteering World Cup at the end of a season or the World Games.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for an orienteering club if it meets any of the criteria below

1. Has won a major relay (according to the criteria below, which mean presently Tiomila (both the Tiomila relay and the women’s relay, since 1970 when the number of team became so large that it could not anymore be organized from point A to point B) and the Jukola relay (both Jukola, from 1972, and Venla).
2. Has been represented by ten runners who fulfill the criteria above.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for an event apart from the championships mentioned above if it meet all the following criteria

1. It has an international elite field.
2. It regularly has more than 5,000 competitors.
3. It has been held over a period of 25 years.

Presently that means O-Ringen, Tiomila, and the Jukola relay. In addition, an event is also likely to receive significant coverage if it is a competition for developing elite athletes; this includes the Junior World Orienteering Championships, the World University Orienteering Championships and the European Youth Orienteering Championships.

Rodeo

Significant coverage is likely to exist for individuals who participate in the sport of rodeo if they

1. Have been inducted into a national or international rodeo hall of fame such as the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, or Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
2. College rodeo athletes in
   NHSPHSATH
   .
3. Significant coverage is likely to exist for named animals participating in rodeo, such as bucking horses and bucking bulls, if they have been named to a rodeo hall of fame such as those noted above.

Sumo

Significant coverage is likely to exist for sumo wrestlers if they have been ranked in either the top (

Tennis

Significant coverage is likely to exist for tennis figures if they

1. Are a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, either in the contributor or player category
2. Have competed in the main draw in one of the highest-level professional tournaments:

   • Wimbledon, or the US Open
     ).
   • Men:
     ATP Tour 250
     ).
   • Women:
     WTA 250, or the WTA Finals
     ).

3. Have won at least one title in any of the ATP Challenger tournaments.
4. Have won at least one title in any of the
   WTA 125
   tournaments. (From 1978–2007 it was $25,000 tournament, and 2008–2022 it was a $50,000 tournament, roughly based on the lowest payout for a men's challenger tournament in the same year).
5. Hold a tennis record recognized by the International Tennis Federation, ATP, or WTA.

Significant coverage is likely to exist for junior players if they have won at least a junior

This guideline applies equally to singles and doubles players.

Triathlon

Significant coverage is likely to exist for triathletes if they

1. Have had a podium finish at the Commonwealth Games.
2. Have had a top-ten finish in the final
   World Triathlon Series standings (or in the final World Triathlon Cup
   standings, prior to 2009).
3. Have had a top-ten finish in an World Triathlon sanctioned championship event.
4. Have an elite level podium finish at an World Triathlon Continental Championship.
5. Have had a professional division top-ten finish at the Ironman World Championship or at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
6. Have had a podium finish at the XTERRA Triathlon championships.
7. Have won an event that has a starting pro/elite field of at least 15 male or 10 female competitors.
8. Have set a record for a standard distance event or leg.

College athletes and coaches

College athletes and coaches are likely to have been the subject of non-trivial media coverage beyond merely a repeating of their statistics, mentions in game summaries, or other

1. Have won a national award (such as those listed in Template:College football award navbox or the equivalent in another sport), or established a major NCAA Division I record.
2. Were inducted into the hall of fame in their sport (for example, the College Football Hall of Fame).
3. Gained national media attention as an individual, not just as a player for a notable team. Very rarely, a player may gain national media attention despite not being on a notable team, such as Lauren Hill.
4. Have won multiple NCAA Division I national championships as an individual in an individual sport.
5. Served as a full-time (as opposed to interim) head coach for NCAA Division I/University Division football (since the establishment of divisions in 1957), men’s basketball (since 1957) or women’s basketball (since 1982). Other college coaches in other divisions and/or other sports may also meet notability guidelines via
   WP:NBASIC
   .

Gaelic games

Significant coverage is likely to exist for GAA figures if that figure is or has been a:

1. Gaelic footballer who has played in the National League or at senior inter-county level in the Championship
2. Gaelic handballer who has won at senior inter-county level
3. Hurler who has played in the National Hurling League or at senior inter-county level in the Championship

High school and pre-high school athletes

High school and pre-high school athletes are notable only if they have received, as individuals, substantial and prolonged coverage that is: (1) independent of the subject; and (2) clearly goes beyond

Teams and clubs

This guideline does not provide any general criteria for the presumed notability of sports teams and clubs. Some sports have specific criteria. Otherwise, teams and clubs are expected to demonstrate notability by the

Since notability is not inherited, the notability of an athlete does not imply the notability of a team or club, or vice versa.

Olympic and Paralympic Games

• Significant coverage is likely to exist for athletes from any sport if they have won a medal at the modern Olympic Games, including the Summer Olympics (since 1896) or the Winter Olympics (since 1924), e.g., Ian Thorpe, or have won a medal at the Paralympic Games, e.g. Laurentia Tan, unless the athlete competed in an event with fewer than four competitors or teams (i.e., when all participants received a medal). Other exceptions may be listed at sport-specific guidelines.
• Significant coverage is likely to exist for Nations participating at an individual Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games, e.g., United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics or Great Britain at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
• Significant coverage is likely to exist for Sports at individual Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games, e.g., Archery at the 2004 Summer Olympics or Wheelchair curling at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
• Significant coverage is likely to exist for Events at individual Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games, e.g., Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race or Skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's

For details on suggested content for the above article types see Wikipedia:WikiProject Olympics/Manual of Style.

Individual seasons

Individual season articles for top-level professional teams are highly likely to meet Wikipedia notability requirements. If the article is not for a top level professional team (such as for a college team) weigh both the season itself and the sport (for example, if a US college or university's football and fencing teams enjoy the same level of success, the football team is likely to receive a significantly greater amount of coverage):

• A national championship season at the top collegiate level is generally notable.
• A national championship season at a lower collegiate level might be notable
• A season including a post-season appearance (or, if there is no post-season competition, a high final ranking) in the top collegiate level is often notable.
• For programs considered elite in a sport (for example, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, in men's basketball; Tennessee and UConn in women's basketball; Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC in football, etc.) many or all seasons might be notable regardless of the outcome (the amount written by reliable sources on a weekly basis for some of these programs is enough that almost anything or anyone having any relation to them is likely to meet the General Notability Guideline).
• In cases in which the individual season notability is insufficient for an article, multiple seasons may be grouped together in a single article. This grouping might be based on head coaches, conference affiliation, or any other reasonable standard that results in sufficient coverage for the period to warrant an article.

Individual games or series

Regular season games in professional and college leagues are not presumed notable. To be notable, games should be extraordinary and have a lasting impact on the sport; news coverage should be extensive (e.g., outside of the week of its occurrence and in non-local newspapers).

Some games or series are likely or almost certain to be considered notable, including but not limited to the following:

• The final series (or single game when there is not a series) determining the champion of a top league, e.g., 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, or 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, or Super Bowl XLIII, or 2006 UEFA Champions League final
• College bowl games (not limited to BCS or College Football Playoff bowl games, e.g. see 2009–10 NCAA football bowl games).
• All-star or similar exhibition games, e.g., 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• A game that is widely considered by independent reliable sources to be notable, outside
  routine coverage of each game, especially if the game received front page coverage outside of the local areas involved (e.g., The Malice at the Palace, 2009 Republic of Ireland v France football matches, or the Blood in the Water match
  )

Sports rivalries are not presumed notable. Articles on sports rivalries, such as

Arenas, stadia and other athletic venues

As with teams and clubs (see

The following are some potential places to look for sources to establish sports notability:

• Chronicling America Library of Congress, historic newspapers from 1836–1922 (free)
• Google news search (mostly free)
• LA84 Foundation Digital archive of the LA84 Foundation research library; digitized books, periodicals, and magazines on sports (free)
• Newspaper archive Digitized newspapers, broad coverage (free search, paid access)
• NewsLibrary Digitized newspapers, broad coverage (free search, paid access)
• Newspapers.com Digitized newspapers, broad coverage (free search, paid access)