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Sports skills can be classified according to how much they are affected by the sporting environment.

Examples of environmental stimuli are:

• other people – for example, a netballer reacting to their own and the other team's players
• terrain/surface – for example, a cross-country runner running on muddy and dry ground
• weather – for example, a golfer playing on a windy day
• situation – for example, the venue and crowd

Performers need to have a good perception of these stimuli to adapt their skills to best suit the environment.

The two different characteristics of the environmental continuum are 'closed' and 'open'.

Closed skills are skills that are not affected by the environment. They are usually self-paced and occur in fixed or predictable situations. The performer uses exactly the same technique every time and is in control of what happens next. An example would be a gymnast performing a floor routine.

Open skills are skills affected by the environment. They are mainly perceptual and usually externally paced. They occur when performers have to make decisions and adapt their skills to a changing or unpredictable environment. The performer is not in control of what will happen next. An example would be making a pass in Ultimate Frisbee.

There are two types of practice that support the development of closed and open skills.

Fixed practice (drills) involves repeating the practice and doing the same movement over and over. This practice is best with closed skills, for example, diving.

Varied practice involves repeating the skill in a variety of situations, which best suits the development of open skills, for example, catching the ball when playing against an opposition (such as invasion games like rugby union or netball), pressurising in different situations and positions on the court or field.

Most skills are not totally closed or open but range between the two. They are somewhere on the environmental continuum between open and closed.