What is a sport and what isn't

[Guest Youth N Asia]

OK...there is no doubt that the following are bonified SPORTS:

 

Hockey

Tennis

Basketball

Baseball

Boxing

Amature Wrestling

and so many more

 

AND FOR SOME REASON...some people refer to these as sports:

 

NASCAR

Golf

THe Dog Show

 

What the hell? To me a SPORT is an athletic competition...not how fast you can drive a car...swing a club, and then WALK to your ball...or how gay you can look walking a dog.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Anything that is judged isn't a sport. Figure Skating, Gymnastics. It's athletic but it isn't a sport.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Golf is a sport, a boring one, but still a sport.  Same with curling

 

NASCAR may or may not be a sport, depending on the definition.

 

Dog Shows are in no way sporting events.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I cannot call golf a sport...the golfers are not athletes and the game doesn't resemble a sport in any way.

 

IMO golf is nothing more then a game or an activity.

[Guest Stupendous Man]

Golf is a sport.  Racecar driving, is not.  Chess, despite what the IOC would have you believe, is not a sport.  The same can be said for equestrian events, unless of course they start giving the horses their medals.  Polo's kind of a grey area, the jorse does the running, but you still have to do some work.  Numerous cheerleaders have bitched at me for saying cheerleading is not a sport, I'm sure that will continue to happen.  I'm sure it's hard and all, but winning and losing is usually a very subjective thing, therefore, I see judged "sports" more as strictly a competition, rather than a true sport.

[Guest Army Eye]

Can you explain why golf IS a sport but NASCAR isn't?  NASCAR requires a lot more physical exertion.

[Guest Bismuth83]

Events that are not sports:

Auto racing of any kind

Poker (It was on ESPN)

Spelling Bee (Also on ESPN)

Bowling

Billiards

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

Beer pong is a sport.

[Guest Stupendous Man]

Just because you expend more energy in racecar driving than in golf doesn't mean it is also a sport.  Racecar driving is not a sport for the same reason I don't consider horseback riding a sport, it's simply a vehicle change.  When you go to a g okart track and race your friends, do you consider yourselves sportsmen?  I think not.

[Guest Choken One]

Nascar atheletes are far more atheltic then 97% of "GOLFERS". It's a sport in the true meaning of the word, "Athletic Comptition". While golf is a sport, Nascar is more physical and It's the sport that requires the most amount of Hand-eyes corridation, period. Drag Racing is not a sport because you're body plays no factor.

 

 Look at the Pit Crew, the tires weigh over 40 pounds and the jack is 150 pounds and requires mass strentgh to jack a 2500 ton car in one second (Trust me, you'll kill yourself trying to do unless you've had years of practice). When Injuires are more common and death, sadly is a key part of the sport, indicates there is more up for grabs then the 1.2 million dollars and a Trophy.

 

I'm not knocking Golfers in any way, They put enormous amount of stress on their backs and that requires strength but you can't deny Nascar of being a Sport when it's not only one of the most phyiscal demanding games and Mentally challenging sport around.

 

It's not a sport if it's Judged (Figure Staking, Dog Show, Snowboard).

 

On a personal note, Stupendous Man, have you ever driven at Daytona at Race speed of 175-185? I seriously doubt it, I have and I've licked that wall in Turn 4 before and I know the pain it brings, Even with the Hans Device, you're still pummeled, bruised, scarred and you're left screaming for help.

 

Racing around your buddies is not only not a Compotition but not even 1/8th representive of the real sport.

[Guest Stupendous Man]

OK, working the Pit Crew is hard work, but that does not validate NASCAR as a sport.  Coal mining is hard work, possibly deadly, but they doesn't validate coal mining as a sport, does it?  All I'm saying is this, just because it's hard and strenuous, and happens to be competitive in nature doesn't mean it's a sport.

 

As for the personal note, no I have not driven a track at race speed, nor do I aspire to.  But, once again, acute danger does not a sport make.  Sweating a lot in a competition does not mean you're engaging in a sports activity, people sweat participating in arcade games for fuck's sake, we certainly aren't about to call Street Fighter a sport now, are we?  I'm not saying the two are comparable in anyway in terms of skill and danger, but just because you sweat in a competition, it does not mean said competition is a sport.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

If the racecar driver had to get out of his car, change his own tires, and pump his own gas I would be more inclined to call that a sport...not bloody likely though

[Guest KingOfMen]

Any racing where the person is not the actual means of mobility ( i.e. race car driving and horse racing) is not a sport.  Anything that is subjecively judged ( i.e. figure skating and gymnastics) is not a sport.  Anything that is competition, but not physical (i.e. billiards and chess) is not a sport.  Anything that is determined by the size of the animal you kill or catch ( i.e. fishing and hunting) is not a sport.  A sport is a physical competion between human participants. Period.

[Guest DrEvil]

Sport is defined as any competition where a victor can be determined by some predetermined judging method (not the actual dictionary def. but close to it).  Therefore, by that definition, anything can be considered sport - wrestling, hockey, timed solitare, beer drinking, nose picking, spitting.

 

So it's all about personal opinion.  Do you want to go by the definition and accept absolutely anything as sport, or do you want to create your own definition and draw the line somewhere.

 

Personally if there's no chance of blood loss and/or broken bones then you're not playing a sport, it's just an activity.  I consider a sport to be something that requires a certain degree of physical exertion (sp) and skill in the activity.  So by my opinion, you could say that I think golf is a sport, but I'm sorry, any activity where it is considered physically straining to walk is not a sport.

[Guest DrTom]

"Sport is defined as any competition where a victor can be determined by some predetermined judging method..."

 

Defined by whom?  If it's not the dictionary definition, whose is it?

 

This is my definition of a sport: an athletic competition between human participants, played under a set of rules and for the purpose of determining a winner.  I would allow simple athletic tools (baseball bat, hockey stick, football pads, etc) to be included in that, but no vehicle of any kind, steel or equine, that isn't powered by the person.

 

Not sports: anything judged, horse racing, auto racing, equestrian events, dog shows, billiards.

 

Yes, I would consider golf and bowling sports.  While people do them recreationally, they fit my definition of what a sport is.

[Guest DrEvil]

From: http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=sport

 

sport   Pronunciation Key  (spôrt, sprt)

n.

 

-Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

-A particular form of this activity.

-An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

-An active pastime; recreation.

 

 

From:  http://www.coach.ca/programs/3MNCCP/definition_e.htm

 

Definition of Sport

 

"Sport" is an activity with a significant physical component in which two or more participants engage for the purpose of competitively evaluating their personal performance. While the focus is primarily on competitive sport - i.e. sport activity in which a winner is declared - the lead-up activity, wherein the non-competitive exercise and learning of basic skills (which will ultimately be used in competition) occurs, is considered to be part of the sport continuum.

 

A "sport" is defined as an activity that has the following characteristics:

 

It involves formal rules and procedures.

It requires tactics and strategies.

It requires specialized neuromuscular skills that can be taught and learned.

It requires, for either training or competition, a significant involvement of large muscle groups.

It involves, where repetition of standardized movements or forms are included in competition, a high degree of difficulty, risk or effort in such reproduction.

Its competitive mode implies the development of coaching personnel trained in both general subjects such as biomechanics, sport psychology, nutrition, group dynamics, physiology, etc., as well as the specific skills of the activity.

It may involve a degree of physical or emotional risk.

Its primary activity involves physical interaction of the participants and the environment: air, water, ground, floor or special apparatus; and, therefore, no activity in which the performance of a motorized vehicle is the primary determinant of the outcome of the competition is eligible (for example: racing of automobiles, power boats, aircraft, snow machines, etc.). Where mechanized vehicles or conveyances are used, the activity must entail significant physical effort in propelling the vehicle or conveyance.

[Guest Blackston]

I think that everybody would consider boxing to be a sport, but according to the guidelines that you all have put up, it is not.  You say that any sport that is judged is not a sport, but boxing is definately a judged sport.  I think that I would consider NASCAR and golf to be sports.  I look at any competition that requires skill (of any kind) to be a sport.

[Guest Stupendous Man]

I look at any competition that requires skill (of any kind) to be a sport.

 

That's completely ludicrous.  Based on that definition Tiddlywinks, checkers, chess, Street Fighter, and spitting for distance are all sports, and that is a heaping pile of bullshit if ever there was one.