19 Sports mascots

A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products.

Berlino, an anthropomorphic bear, was the mascot of the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and 2018 European Athletics Championships held in Berlin, Germany, noted for his hyperactivity and celebrations with various athletes during the Championships.

The black swan is widely referenced in Australian culture, although the character of that importance historically diverges between the prosaic in the East and the symbolic in the West. The black swan is also of spiritual significance in the traditional histories of many Australian Aboriginal peoples across southern Australia. Metaphoric references to black swans have appeared in European culture since long before Europeans became aware of Cygnus atratus in Australia in the 18th century.

The boxing kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia, frequently seen in popular culture. The symbol is often displayed prominently by Australian spectators at sporting events, such as at cricket, tennis, basketball and football matches, and at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. The flag is also highly associated with its namesake national rugby league team – the Kangaroos. A distinctive flag featuring the symbol has since been considered Australia's sporting flag.

In American folklore, Champ or Champy is the name of a lake monster said to live in Lake Champlain, a 125-mile (201 km)-long body of fresh water shared by New York and Vermont, with a portion extending into Quebec, Canada. The legend of the monster is considered a draw for tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York areas.

Choruru (ちょるる) is a mascot character who was created for the 66th annual National Sports Festival of Japan and 11th annual National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities which were held in Yamaguchi prefecture in 2011. After the tournaments, he became head of the Oidemase Yamaguchi Tourism Advertising Department, before becoming the Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager in October 2012.

Clyde was the official mascot of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Clyde is an anthropomorphic thistle and is named after the River Clyde which flows through the centre of Glasgow. The mascot was designed by Beth Gilmour from Cumbernauld, who won a competition run by Glasgow 2014 for children to design the Mascot. Beth's drawing was then brought to life by digital agency Nerv, who turned it into a commercial character, created a full backstory, gave it a name – Clyde – and created a website for him. Clyde was finally revealed in a seven-minute animated film created by Nerv at a ceremony at BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow. The organiser, Glasgow 2014, said the mascot's design was chosen, because of its "Scottish symbolism and Glaswegian charm and likeability".

Since 1978, the Commonwealth Games have had a mascot in each edition.

Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, famously known as Chacha Cricket, is a famous Pakistani cricket mascot. He was born in Sialkot, Punjab on October 8, 1949.

Kangaroos, Wallabies and other Macropodidae have become emblems and symbols of Australia, as well as appearing in popular culture both internationally and within Australia itself.

Koala emblems and popular culture deals with the uses which have been made of the image of the Koala, such as coins, emblems, logos, mascots and in the naming of sports teams.

The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team is a topic of public controversy in the United States and in Canada. The documents most often cited to justify the trend for change are an advisory opinion by the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 2001 and a resolution by the American Psychological Association in 2005. Both support the views of Native American organizations and individuals that such mascots maintain harmful stereotypes that are discriminatory and cause harm by distorting the past and preventing understanding of Native American/First Nations peoples in the present. Such practices are seen as particularly harmful in schools and universities, which have the a stated purpose of promoting ethnic diversity and inclusion. This view lead to the NCAA adopting a policy to eliminate "hostile and abusive" names and mascots. However some changes began in the 1970s in response to the Native American civil rights movement, lead by the National Congress of American Indians.

Marion Barbara 'Joe' Carstairs was a wealthy British power boat racer known for her speed and her eccentric lifestyle. In the 1920s she was known as the ‘fastest woman on water’.

Pachi is the name of the mascot of the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2015 Parapan American Games. The Games were held in Toronto, Canada, in 2015. The winning mascot was designed by Michelle Ing, Paige Kunihiro, Jenny Lee and Fiona Hong from Buttonville Public School in Markham, Ontario.

The 2016 Women's Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament was held at the Groenhovenbad in Gouda, Netherlands, from 21 to 28 March 2016. The top four teams advanced to the Olympics. The mascot of the event was an orange lion in blue clothes called Swimba.

Udo the Red Panda is the costumed mascot of the University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany athletics teams. He represents an anthropomorphic version of a red panda.

Wally is the name of the official mascot of the Australian rugby union team, the Wallabies.

Mr Whoppit was the teddy bear mascot of Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder. Writing in his 2011 book, Donald Campbell: The Man Behind The Mask, journalist David Tremayne described Whoppit as Campbell's "magic talisman".