A friend of mine posted the following on Facebook last night (I suspect he may have been rather high at the time). Thought I’d see what STW reckon.

“What do you classify as a ‘sport’? What makes something a sport, when you compare it to classic examples like Football? Give me your definition.

Seems like it’s a similar deal as ‘art’. Everyone has their own definition, and little seems to be concrete. This is not (necessarily) about Ultimate, but it’s obviously a discussion that (often) arises from that as well.

Feel free to write some words that pertain to the question, and not words attacking anyone else that may have commented.”

Yawn. Week one, day one of any sport science-esque study program. It’s an interesting idea, personally for me I exclude things like snooker and darts and draw a hazy line between ‘athletics’ and ‘games’.

Anything that gets a cacophony of tuts and sighs from the missus when I turn it on!

Sports: further, faster, higher etc
Games: goals, points etc

Any exceptions to the above will just show how right I am.

p.s. nothing that can be done with a fag in your mouth, e.g. darts, golf or dressage, would be allowed in my Olympics.

Sport is something you do for which it is possible to buy specialist footwear.

And before you say ‘but what about swimming?’, I have that covered: verruca socks…

Rachel

Sport has a wider definition than most people imagine. The presumption is that its about fitness and physical endeavour, but the elements that define a sport are:

Rules that make the competition fair
A skill of some sort needs to be exercised
A points or judging system to decide who wins
Entertainment

Thats it really. So the great british bake off is sport, growing prize leeks for the village show is sport. Whereas

There are 3 sports:

Hunting
Shooting
Fishing

The rest are all games.

Offically- an activity that contains at least 3 of the 5 elements of fitness

Flexibility
Speed
Endurance
Strength
Co-ordination

🙂

Darts and pool almost make it.

allthegear – Member
Sport is something you do for which it is possible to buy specialist footwear.

And before you say ‘but what about swimming?’, I have that covered: verruca socks…

Rachel

That’s similar to my favourite definition: if you’re going to do your sport properly you change your shoes.

There are 3 sports:

Hunting
Shooting
Fishing

Only when they are performed as sport – I can catch all the fish in the river by chucking a grenade in, hunting shooting and fishing are only sporting when theres Fair Play either between the hunters or between the hunter and the quarry.

Offically- an activity that contains at least 3 of the 5 elements of fitness

According to which ‘official’ body? Theres no universal definition

Sport is something you do for which it is possible to buy specialist footwear.

When this debate comes up, I always think of an interview I saw with with Andy Fordham a few years back.. went something like this..

Interviewer ‘Andy, Is Darts really a Sport?

Fordham ‘Of course it is, I wear trainers don’t I?…… we’re on Grandstand………’

According to which ‘official’ body? Theres no universal definition

It’s in the ADAA rule book.

The association of geologists.

Actually I was told this on my uka level 1 coaching course.

It’s in the ADAA rule book.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America

or the Aberdeen and District Angling Association

or the Abu Dhabi Accountability Association

Physical or mental activity. If competition is involved it is a sport; otherwise it is a hobby or a pastime. Excludes Reality Television, obviously… 8)

If competition is involved it is a sport; otherwise it is a hobby or a pastime.

This.

Angling being a great example. It’s a pastime. Although angling competitions (e.g. match fishing) would be a sport.

Sport is something you do for which it is possible to buy specialist footwear.

You need to tighten up your definitions bit 😉

Being a Bride or Bridesmaid is now a “sport”

Sport = activty involving a) physical exertion, b) mud, and c) myriad opportunities to hurt yourself in interesting ways. 8)

The ADAA, iirc, is the American Dodgeball Associaton of America?

American Dodgeball Associaton of America?

Splitters!!!!

My definition is that you need a degree of physical fitness and a degree of skill otherwise its just a game .

A slightly quicker way to decide if it’s a sport or not
. If you can’t break your leg doing it then it isn’t a sport

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

? Ernest Hemingway

This was before mountain biking, of course.

If you can’t break your leg doing it then it isn’t a sport

I lost my front teeth in a game of monopoly – does that elevate it to a sport? 🙂

sport is where you compete to score points… isn’t it?

sport is where you compete to score points… isn’t it?

No, that’s the internet 8)

Ramsey Neil – Member
My definition is that you need a degree of physical fitness and a degree of skill otherwise its just a game .

Now, that’s just elitist… why should sport be exclusively for graduates?! 😉

Sports: further, faster, higher etc
Games: goals, points etc

This should have been the end of the thread. 😀

Having said that, I will add;

Sport = physical element. Therefore, not fishing or shooting, for example.

Anything decided by a panel of judges is a talent contest, not a sport.

Anything you don’t get out of breath doing isn’t a sport.

Anything that has to justify being a sport probably isn’t a sport.

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

? Ernest Hemingway

This was before mountain biking, of course.

A great quote…but it wasn’t Hemingway 🙂

Sport involves physical skill, a game can be played via telling someone else what to do.

E.G Chess is a game, a grand master could tell me which pieces to move and make me win… it wouldn’t be me winning it would be the person controlling me.

However, take darts for example… this is a sport, you can tell me to throw treble 20… but without the physical skill to do it I will still lose.

Physical skill = sport
Can be played through a rote dictation = game

I’d argue Fishing and Shooting are sports, just not ones that requre endurance. They still require a physical ability to do something better than the next person. If I say shoot the bulls eye, only a skilled marksman would be able to do it.

Fishing is slightly debateable.

She is one scary bride; attractive yes but she looks like a right bunny boiler.

In my weight training days a good question was if competitive body building was a sport. I think it is be the Olympic people.