This is a list of sports played in the biennialSoutheast Asian Games. Unlike theOlympic games, there are no official limits to the number of sports which may be contested, and the range may be decided by the organising host pending approval by theSoutheast Asian Games Federation. Albeit for some core sports which must be featured, the host is also free to introduce other sports. Over time, this has meant as much as 43 sports in the24th edition of the games, and the programme has included relatively obscure sports such asarnis,finswimming andpétanque.
In the2019 Southeast Asian Games, medals in 56 different sports were contested—the most in its history.
The Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, as the Southeast Asian Games was then known, was first held inBangkok in 1959 with 12 sports, namely aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and weightlifting.[1]
Before and up to 2023, the SEAGF Charter and Rules dictated that the following sports be on the program:[2]
In 2023, the charter was modified to specify the following:[3]
The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) are part of the current program or were contested before, and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; abullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. A "Y" is used to indicate that a sport was played, but the number of events is not yet established. An "X" is used to indicate a sport that is set to be included in a future event.
Twelve of the sports (Aquatics, baseball and softball, basketball, cycling, equestrian, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, volleyball, winter sports, and wrestling) consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same colour:
Aquatics – Baseball andsoftball – Basketball – Cycling – Equestrian – Football – Gymnastics – Volleyball – Winter sports – Wrestling
The SEA Games features numerous non-Olympic sports in its programme, reflecting the popularity of some sports to the region, or as a means of introducing more obscure sports to the region and beyond.[4] Some sports dropped from the Olympic programme may still be retained in the SEAG, although the games does not feature all of the Olympic sports, often in favour of the traditional ones.[5]
| Sport | Common in | Introduced | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnis | Philippines | 1991 (Philippines) | Unique to SEAG |
| Chinlone | Myanmar | 2013 (Myanmar) | Unique to SEAG |
| Muay thai | Thailand | 2005 (Philippines) | Unique to SEAG |
| Pencak silat | Indonesia | 1987 (Indonesia) | Unique to SEAG |
| Sepak takraw | ThroughoutSoutheast Asia | 1965 (Malaysia) | Also inAsian Games |
| Shuttlecock | Malaysia andVietnam | 2003 (Vietnam) | Unique to SEAG |
| Vovinam | Vietnam | 2011 (Indonesia) | Unique to SEAG |
| Games |
|  |
|---|---|---|
1 Formerly known as Southeast Asian Peninsular Games from 1959 until 1975.2 Cancelled due to hosting issues and due to theVietnam War.3 Postponed to 2022 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. | ||
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