In sport, score is a quantitative measure used in competition. It may be an abstract quantity, such as points, or a natural measure such as time or distance. Each competing competitor accrues a score according to the sport’s scoring system, and the athlete with the highest or lowest score is deemed the winner. In team sports, the winning team is usually that with the higher score.

In some team and individual sports, speed or agility is an important factor. For example, the best American football linemen and soccer or ice hockey players must be able to change direction rapidly to beat their opponent. In addition, some athletes compete in events that require high-intensity movement interrupted by active rest periods, such as the 100 metres sprint and the long jump. In these sports, the assessment of an athlete’s ability to perform the sport requires the use of a test that simulates the sport in question.

As a former physical education teacher I often had my students count how many times they could bump a balloon up in the air without it dropping, or time themselves running around the track. Similarly, I’ve seen a lot of sport science researchers count the number of steps it takes to complete a race or a series of sprints. It is imperative that such assessments are standardized to allow for comparisons between different trials and to remove potential outliers or artifacts. This is also necessary to help ensure that the data collected is reliable and valid.