[Closed] It turns out Bridge is not a sport after all.

[quote=surroundedbyhills ]Not my point - you cannot "play" (compete) in those sports in any type of footwear; you must use specific types - boots/trainers/cleats etc so you can't be serious about it in your Grannie's Slippers or Wife's Wellies... but playing bridge or darts or snooker in slippers/wellies/barefoot make no difference at all.

Thanks for the clarification, so we're talking about activities where footwear can make a difference.

wheelchair basketball = pastime
kayaking = pastime

My tuppence is that if you can recreate it so you can play over the internet i.e. using a keyboard and a webcam, say, and be just as good, then it's not a sport.

This does include snooker, darts etc in the sports category, but since coming to this definition I've become a little more open minded about it.

The one little loophole there that bugs me is the professional gamers who actually train to be able to operate that mouse and keyboard better, but as they are self described gamers they count themselves out I think.

I say we should just adopt my definition and to hell with all the swimmerists, kayakers and wheelchair-basket-ballers...

With a few rule changes, wheelchair basket ball could be reclassified as light entertainment, along with Robot Wars.

Lets also ditch F1 since most of the practice they do is sitting down and on an Xbox... They could race each other virtually instead.
And they wear silly shoes too..

No real training involved, just swinging your wrists around a bit and holding your head up and proding a few buttons with yer thumbs...

Hardly a sport that.

@aracer earlier

[img] [/img]

I'm happy to bin off sumo tbh

Sumo most definitely is a sport

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/451/19334072450_37e5fd7874_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/451/19334072450_37e5fd7874_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/vsub9J ]60729088-DHP_6290[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/47933770@N07/ ]Allan[/url], on Flickr

😉

Well it clearly is there, you're wearing special shoes!

swanny853 - Member

The one little loophole there that bugs me is the professional gamers who actually train to be able to operate that mouse and keyboard better, but as they are self described gamers they count themselves out I think.

Game and sport aren't mutually exclusive, but professional gamers would say they're in e-sports I reckon. And hand/eye coordination and dexterity is the same thing whether you're clicking a million times a minute in DOTA, or ruining a walk playing golf.

I still reckon it's the physical that makes something a legit sport, but computer gaming [i]is [/i] physical, as is darts. (if darts isn't a sport then neither is javelin chucking, or curling)

For me - any game involving a ball where the ball isn't moving already when at least some of the players interact with it - is a hobby or pastime.

Ruling out golf, pool, snooker, billiards and bowls in one fell swoop...

opinions? 😉

Billy the Kid played Croquet:

[img] [/img]

you can tell him 😉

🙂

I love croquet - not sure it is a sport though.

And why is Ice Dance a sport and Ballet not?

I don't know anything about bridge, but whilst I am sure there is a lot of mental skill and technique involved, am I right in thinking that there is an element of chance too? Sports should not involve chance.

I am sure there could be a Turing test for sport, if you can programme a computer to do it (competitively at the level you are Playing) it is not sport.

I still reckon it's the physical that makes something a legit sport, but computer gaming is physical, as is darts.

Pretty much why I'd include it if I really had to choose, even if if the mean-spirited side of me can't help but feel the term e-sports is a bit of a contradiction in terms.

I never really understood why people accept javelin but not darts- darts actually involves aiming too.

Competitive "duplicate" bridge takes the chance out of the game - everyone has exactly the same cards.

Most "sports" have large elements of chance - the lucky bounce, the rub of the green etc

Not sure chance is a defining factor....

Bazz - Member
I knew someone would post that obviously that is still in the neutralised zone and hence the racing hasn't started, that and it was a hundred years ago when smoking was considered a sports supplement, loosens the lungs don't cha know!

[img] [/img]

Also, while we're here:

[img] [/img]

Probably my favourite photo in the world

[i][b]Ernest Hemingway[/b] — 'There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.[/i]
And all may be done whilst wearing trousers (but probably require special shoes)

I think Hemingway was onto something there.

Probably my favourite photo in the world

I can see a cockatoo in that photo... 😉