In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1st through October 1st; in European football (soccer), it is generally from August until May (although in some countries, especially those in Scandinavia, the season starts in the spring and finishes in the autumn due to the weather conditions encountered during the winter). A year can often be broken up into several distinct sections (sometimes themselves called seasons). These are:
[edit] Pre-season
Most team sports have a period of training ("pre-season training") to recover fitness levels, followed by exhibition games or friendly matches prior to the official start of the season. The games' results have no meaning for the upcoming season, but serve as a way to prepare the players and the team, and sometimes to raise the team profile through lucrative overseas tours.
[edit] Regular season
The terms season (UK), regular season (North America) and home and away season (Australia) are used to denote the time when the bulk of games are played. In Australia and North America, it is common for a teams to play a regular season and use the results to seed a playoff tournament (see below). Elsewhere, league and/or cup competitions are played at the same time during the season. Depending on the sport and league, all teams may or may not play against each other. All teams usually play the same number of games, and will play half the matches at their home ground or arena and the other half away at opponents' venues.
[edit] Post-season
Many sports have playoffs, which generally occur after the regular season is finished. A select number of teams, generally the ones with the best overall records (most wins, fewest losses) from the regular season, enter into a playoff tournament. Each sport may use one of many playoff systems to determine the champion. The teams compete against each other for the top prize of their league.
[edit] Off-season
The off-season, vacation time, or close season is the time of year when there is no official competition. Although upper management continues to work, the athletes will take much vacation time off. Also, various events such as drafts, transfers and important off-season free agent signings occur. Generally, most athletes stay in shape during the off-season in preparation for the next season. Certain new rules in the league may be made during this time, and will become enforced during the next regular season.
[edit] Seasons by league
Seasons of certain leagues occur usually during these months:
Each color corresponds to a specific sport (leagues of the same sport are colored identically), with months of the year indicated as follows:
- Start of the season denoted by "S"
- Playoff(s)/postseason/knockout stages denoted by "P"
- Final(s) denoted by "F"
- Off-season are denoted with blanks
- ^ a b During Summer Olympic Years
[edit] Summary
| Sport | Duration |
| American football | August to December, playoffs from January to early February. College bowl games from December to January. |
| Association football | Usually August to May in the Northern Hemisphere, and February to November in the Southern Hemisphere. Exceptions are generally for one of two reasons: - In some northern countries with severe winter weather, such as Norway, Russia, and Sweden, the season is contested within a calendar year (roughly March to November) to avoid the worst weather.
- In some countries where association football competes with one or more football codes that are more popular locally (e.g., Major League Soccer and the A-League), the season is arranged so as to minimize the time that it is in conflict with the more popular code(s).
|
| Australian rules football | March to September |
| Baseball | April to early October, with postseason extending up to early November. |
| Basketball | Late October to mid-April, with playoffs extending up to mid-June. The WNBA season is scheduled during the offseason of its parent league, the NBA; the scheduling also allows many of its players to participate in overseas leagues, primarily in Europe and Australia, during the traditional basketball season. |
| Canadian football | July to November |
| Cricket | Year-round. Domestic seasons typically held in the driest period of the year—summer in temperate climates, dry season in tropical climates. |
| Golf | Year-round |
| Ice hockey | Early October to mid-April, with playoffs extending up to early June. |
| Motor racing | Year-round, but generally concentrated from March to October. |
| Rugby league | Late February to October in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. |
| Rugby union | September to mid-May in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Super 14 runs February to May, with domestic competitions in New Zealand and South Africa starting after the Super season and ending in October or November. |
| Tennis | Year-round |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ The European Tour is in the process of realigning its schedule with the calendar year. From 2000 through 2009, the season began in late November of the previous calendar year and ended in mid-November. Starting in 2010, the season will start in January and end in November.
- ^ The bulk of the tour's sole-sanctioned events are in Europe, with some in the Gulf countries. It co-sanctions many other events with other tours in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Along with the PGA Tour, the European Tour co-sanctions the major championships and the World Golf Championships; one of the majors is held in the UK, one of the WGC events is held in China, and the rest of these events are in the US.
- ^ The 2009 season was played in South Africa because of security issues related to the Indian general elections scheduled for the same time as the league.
- ^ Two races are held in Canada and one in Japan, and a race in Brazil will be added in 2010.
- ^ Most LPGA events are held in the US, but it also sole-sanctions events in Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, and China. It co-sanctions two European tournaments, including one of its majors, with the Ladies European Tour, and also co-sanctions events with the Korean LPGA and Japan LPGA in those countries.
- ^ Current plans call for the league to include teams from
Italy from 2010–11. - ^ The top-level Sprint Cup Series and third-level Camping World Truck Series race only in the US. The second-level Nationwide Series has one race in Canada, and previously had a race in Mexico. NASCAR also operates four developmental series—two regional series in the US, and national series in Canada and Mexico.
- ^ The Buffalo Bills play one annual regular-season home game in Toronto, and the NFL currently takes one other regular-season game outside the US (London in 2007 through 2009).
- ^ Almost all of the PGA Tour's sole-sanctioned events are in the US proper, but the tour also has events in Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Along with the European Tour, the PGA Tour co-sanctions the major championships and the World Golf Championships; one of the majors is held in the UK, one of the WGC events is held in China, and the rest of these events are in the US.
