ABSTRACT
In this article, a consideration of sports contests is presented within the framework of dynamical systems. Some data on the kinematic relations within the squash dyad were reported, from which stable anti-phase and quarter-phase relations were interpreted. The idea that the spatial-temporal data that describe the interactions within the squash dyad are the result of a coupling relation between players oscillating on a common locus was extended to badminton (and tennis), including doubles-play. The suggestion that the spatial-temporal relations in doubles-play in badminton may furthermore be the consequence of layers of couplings within and between the badminton pairs provided a bridge to considering soccer (and other team sports) as subscribing to similar underlying principles of space and time. The immediate task is to begin to identify such common principles of space and time that are hypothesised to underpin the unique game rhythms that characterise sports of varying structure and complexity. This article would serve as a basis for this type of undertaking.
