Final answer:
The most powerful force for restricting sports involvement in colonial America was the church, which viewed certain activities as forms of British corruption and banned them through the First Continental Congress.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most powerful force for restricting sports involvement in the colonial period of America was the church. The First Continental Congress banned activities like horse races, cockfights, the theater, and elaborate funerals, viewing these as forms of British corruption.
They endeavored to establish themselves as virtuous and opposed to the perceived extravagance and moral corruption of the British Parliament.
As a result, the Continental Association was entrusted with enforcement of these bans, reflecting the broader political and social ethos of the time which favored temperance and religious piety over recreation and leisure common in Britain.