sport/not a sport

[Liar]

Seems you and i have a similar list of sports.

EL - It doesn't matter, really, but i was curious as to how exactly individuals define a sport. i personally wouldn't define either darts or swimming as sports, per se, but that doesn't mean the competitors don't deserve respect, either.

That's kind of interresting. You wouldn't call swimming a sport. But running (as in Track & Field) is one? Isn't it the same thing, to move as fast as you can, but in different terrain?


I'd say that most anything that you can define rules in, that have an elelment of physical skill (coordination and/or strength/stamina), then pratice to excel and compete in it in organized and re-ocurrung events, is a sport. We have two terms that we use in Swedish: Sport, and 'idrott'. 'Idrott' roughly translate to athletic dicipline, a sport which requires that you are physically superior to the average Joe Slacker in one way or the other.

Curling, bowling, shooting and car racing are sports. Track & field, swimming, tenis, soccer, ping pong and gymnastics requires something more than just technical skill and tactical intelligence. You have to be fit like heck to be a champ. it's athletic sport (our 'idrott').

To engage in 'idrott' is a good way to stay in shape. To engage in sport give no such guarantees.

 

[entitled]

How on earth can you mention darts and swimming in the same dismissive breath? Swimmers have to achieve a level of physical fitness that defies belief. Darts players.....have you seen them??? They have a skill, a co-ordination of hand and eye that the majority of us do not. But physical fitness? Never. The most exercise they get is lifting a pint glass to their lips, or walking the short distance from the Ocky to the dart board and back.

i'm assuming my tone came across wrong here. i was not dismissing either darts or swimming, simply saying that they don't fall under my personal definition of sports. Granted, swimmers do have to have a much better physique. However, they don't need the hand-eye coordination of dart players. Either one needs a certain set of skills the other doesn't. And yes, i have spent plenty of time around both swimmers and dart players. Some of the dart players have a pretty darn good look, too.

This is a question to which you are NEVER going to get or find a definitive answer. Everyone has their own idea of what is and is not a sport, and to dismiss the ones not on your personal list as non-sports, is insulting to those men and women who train long hours, sacrifice much and give up all semblance of a normal life for long periods of time in order to excel at what they do best.

i'm sorry if you see my not calling something a sport as an insult. It certainly isn't meant to be that way. i know for a fact that many of the athletes that compete in individual events do things there i cannot. i've tried and failed miserably. More so than i like to admit. i have not said that they're not athletes, or that they haven't made sacrifices, or any of those things. They have a dedication that so many people couldn't even imagine. There are quite a few that compete in what i call non-sports that i would have at one point been more than happy to fall down and worship for their abilities.

The point of this thread is to get an idea of what each individual considers to be both a competition AND a sport. It's guaranteed that each answer will differ slightly. That's what makes it interesting.

 

[entitled]

That's kind of interresting. You wouldn't call swimming a sport. But running (as in Track & Field) is one? Isn't it the same thing, to move as fast as you can, but in different terrain?


I'd say that most anything that you can define rules in, that have an elelment of physical skill (coordination and/or strength/stamina), then pratice to excel and compete in it in organized and re-ocurrung events, is a sport. We have two terms that we use in Swedish: Sport, and 'idrott'. 'Idrott' roughly translate to athletic dicipline, a sport which requires that you are physically superior to the average Joe Slacker in one way or the other.

Curling, bowling, shooting and car racing are sports. Track & field, swimming, tenis, soccer, ping pong and gymnastics requires something more than just technical skill and tactical intelligence. You have to be fit like heck to be a champ. it's athletic sport (our 'idrott').

i said similar, not exactly the same. i personally don't consider track and field events something defined as sports. Highly competitive events, but not necessarily sports.

Interesting definitions. i can see where they would make sense, too.

 

[Liar]

i said similar, not exactly the same. i personally don't consider track and field events something defined as sports. Highly competitive events, but not necessarily sports.

Ah, my bad. And the element that is missing for those to be sports are... tactics? Just trying to figure out what you mean. *scrolling back through the thread* Oh..ok. Teams vs individuals? Is that it?

How about a swimming relay then?

 

[entitled]

Ah. And the element that is missing for those to be sports are... tactics? Just trying to figure out what you mean. *scrolling back through the thread* Oh..ok. Teams vs individuals? Is that it?

How about a swimming relay then?

That's it, among other things, but pretty much... Though i don't really consider relays to be sports events, either. They fall under the category of either swimming or track (usually) which are more competitions.

 

[matriarch]

This, from Dictionary.com:

Sport
1. (a) Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

(b) A particular form of this activity.

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

3. An active pastime; recreation.

-------------

This, from Oxford English Dictionary:

sport

- an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.
- success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting.

 

[oggbashan]

Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games

The organisations that define these events differ about what they consider to be sports.

The Olympics main competition is followed by the Paralympics.

The Commonwealth Games includes their equivalent of paralympics in between the other disciplines.

There are 'sports' in the Commonwealth Games that are not in the Olympics. Both are developing new 'sports' that might or might not be full competitions in future games.

The definition of 'sport' is constantly evolving. The Games definitions seem to settle on an event that produces clear winners and losers after some form of defined physical activity governed by clear rules. The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne enforced the rules very severely.

I conclude that the definition of a sport includes accepted rules and that winning is the result of ability not chance. As an example of chance: There is skill involved in a fishing competition but if there are no fish in the vicinity no one will win, and which fisherman 'wins' can be by the chance of a larger fish being closest.

Og

 

[gauchecritic]

This, from Dictionary.com:

Sport
1. (a) Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

(b) A particular form of this activity.

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

3. An active pastime; recreation.

-------------

This, from Oxford English Dictionary:

sport

- an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.
- success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting.

Except that by the first definitions you can include such things as Ballroom dancing but not greyhound racing, working out on a jogging machine but not equestrianism.

And top darts players by the way, are just as dedicated and practice every bit as much as golfers and even more than professional footballers in terms of time and commitment. Like snooker players.

The OED def. is more robust I think.

 

[angela146]

ESPN and the Fox Sports Network both classify Poker as a sport.

In the TV listings, they are listed as, "Sports: Misc"

 

[angela146]

Welcome back to the finals of the SM pairs competition...

The Russian team of Bendova and Beeterov are on the pommel horse. It looks like Beeterov... yes, he's going to attempt a double flea-flicker...

Notice the extension on the crop and the full follow-through. And here, in slow motion, we see Bendova's reaction, nice neck and back arching with a full scream but the toes could have been pointed a little more, plus, look at the way she bent her left knee... You really want to see a full stretch on both legs.

And here are the scores: 8.2, 8.1, 9.0, 7.8, 8.3, 8.0

That's about what you would expect at this level of competion. If you want the full points, you really have to display good form, especially from the submissive...

Now, they move on to the floor exercise...

 

[entitled]

Welcome back to the finals of the SM pairs competition...

The Russian team of Bendova and Beeterov are on the pommel horse. It looks like Beeterov... yes, he's going to attempt a double flea-flicker...

Notice the extension on the crop and the full follow-through. And here, in slow motion, we see Bendova's reaction, nice neck and back arching with a full scream but the toes could have been pointed a little more, plus, look at the way she bent her left knee... You really want to see a full stretch on both legs.

And here are the scores: 8.2, 8.1, 9.0, 7.8, 8.3, 8.0

That's about what you would expect at this level of competion. If you want the full points, you really have to display good form, especially from the submissive...

Now, they move on to the floor exercise...

*gigglesnort*

Wonder who they would get as judges for that particular competition?

 

[espeteroh]

good question. I think people get too wrapped up in thinking of "sport" as being purely athletic which I don't think is true. I think it's anything that's competitive. Is chess a sport? sure, why not.