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There are three main criteria that an activity has to meet to be a sport. It has to be competitive, it has to be physically exerting, and it has to be scored in a way that doesn't involve judges because the score they give is arbitrary. This means that swimming, track, and ultimate frizbee are sports. However, NASCAR, cheerleading, golf, and dancing are not. amirite?
Ultimate Frisbee is the best. Period.
Hell. Yes.
Golf is a sport, in my opinion, just as much as anything else that you mentioned. It's hard as hell. It's not physically "exausting" but it's so physically and mentally frustrating that it might as well be.
I agree, it's not really physically exhausting in the way that other sports are, but it is a mainly physical skill.
I agree. I believe golf is a sport. The others, not so much.
I VANT TO BE A SCHKATEBOARDER, IST DAT A SCHPORT!??!?!?!?!
lolwut?
EINEN SCHAKETBOARDER!!! NEIN NEIN NEIN!!!!!!!
Finally...I've been trying to convince my prissy sister that dance and cheerleading aren't sports...
Gymnastics isn't a sport?
Unless there are competitive gymnastics that can be quantified into a score (not by judges) then no it's not imo.
ah. Just wondering.
gymnastics and dance arent sports, theyre more like art forms.
then why is gymnastics in the olympics?
Somebody already pointed out that they are the Olympic Games not the Olympic sports
sorry I hadn't read that far down.
I agree with this definition, but would mean that many Olympic 'sports' aren't actually sports.
But in the Olympics they'd be judged and scored, right? So they would be sports according to this...
I think the above definition does not include things like gymnastics or diving as the scores they give are at least partially subjective.
I always think it's funny how people think sports are only physically-demanding. A good athlete better be mentally engaged too or else s/he's not going to play very well.
That's true; but you have to be mentally engaged to be good at any activity whether or not it's a sport so I didn't put that as a requirement.
Alot of things in the olympics are not sports. Nor are cheerleading or dancing. The olympics are also referee to as the olympic GAMES, not Olympic sports. Thus technically checkers could be in the olympics, because like cheerleading it can be competitive. Cheerleading on the other hand can not be scored like golf and NASCAR, there is no clear cut winner, it is all opinion. Wow. Never thought I'd find myself defending NASCAR... My IQ may have just dropped into the twenties
You are amazing BreakfastFan. I totally agree with you!
so trolling is not a sport?
i kind of agree. i mean i know gymnastics and dance are really difficult physical activities, but theyre not like sports...there should be a seperate word for activities like that that are physically exhausting but not a sport per se.
I agree. "Game" or "Performance" doesn't do them justice, but "Sport" isn't the right word.
I like the word "Competition"
Well, you could easily make a word for it, the problem is getting people to actually use that word.
I totally agree with you. Especially on NASCAR. I find it really hard to believe that people think that it's a sport.
golf technically fits into those criteria
Physically exerting. You're not constantly moving in Golf.
you're not constantly moving in baseball or football either. if you can hit a ball as far as john daly or tiger without "physically exerting" yourself, my hat's off to you.
Golf players aren't out of breath all the time. Yes it takes skill and muscle to hit a golf ball that far, but it's just a swing, then wait a few minutes, then swing, then wait. Way too slowly paced.
The distance you can hit a ball depends more on your form and technique than on pure arm strength. Baseball and football involve some type of conditioning as part of the training whereas golf does not.
im not sure if some of those 300lb linemen ever heard of conditioning lol
you misunderstand my point. no, you're not always moving in football. they run a play, then stand around, then run a play, then stand around....games last an hour. telecasts last what, at least three? in baseball you're not gonna run anywhere unless the guy hits it. i played baseball for years, and i'm still a big fan, so don't accuse me of not knowing what i'm talking about.
i play golf, i think it is a sport with the exact wording breakfastfan specified. he has a point with cheer and dance, but golf is a sport. golfers practice A LOT, give them some credit.
hm, golf is actually physically exerting. That's like saying track isnt, becaues they run, then stop for like 11 or so seconds. Theres a difference between physically exerting and physically challenging.
Then maybe physically challenging would be a better choice of words.
tru, but i get what your saying. I love your posts and love your arguing skills, no sarcasm or lie :) keep em up bro!
if you walk the course... then you walk at least a mile while carrying a 15 pound bag of clubs.
So? All the kids in my school carry around backpacks that are at least that heavy for 5 days a week. How is that relevant?
i'm just saying that it technically is physically exerting. Maybe not for teenagers but it's definitely tiresome for old men.
most athletes that play the things you consider sport would not be able to go through the work out of a competitive dancer.
That's true. I completley agree that competitive dancing is a legitemate thing that reqires lots of practice and skill, but you can't score it so I don't beleive it's a sport.
Actually, it can be scored. And it IS scored, sometimes.
Please enlighten us. How is dancing scored in a way that is not based on the subjective judgement of others?
It's every bit as based on the judgement of others as another sport, like gymnastics
I don't consider horse racing a sport. Sure it takes a certain amount of skill to stand on a moving horse but that is all they do beside hitting the horse.
have you ever ridden a horse? It's more difficult than it seems.
No I've never been on a horse. I'm sure it takes skill and practice so that you don't loose your balance but the jockey isn't doing any physical exercise.
it takes a lot more than skill and balance.
I'm not saying that it's easy because I've never tried it. I'm just saying that the jockey doesn't do any hardcore physical activity.
I've ridden a horse before. Do NOT try to complain about riding horses. Easiest thing I've ever done.
uhmm, okay then. I'm not sure where you were riding horse, but apparently every one of em was dead. Try loping or running a horse that don't wanna stop and then talk to me. Oh and I'm assuming that you weren't sore after riding which means you probably didn't do it right.
I know you're entitled to your own opinion but I have to disagree. The real definition of sport: an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.
It doesn't matter how you are scored, as long as you physically exert yourself in a competition then it's a sport.
"Sport- an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis,golf bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc."
By this definition, all a sport needs is to be physically exerting.
aaand golf is an activity requiring skill soo..
WOOO TRACK!
People think racewalk isn't a sport, but it is. Yet, those same people think curling IS a sport.
You obviously have never curled before. You try sweeping up and down the T-line as hard as you can while two people are screaming at you.
What does that put Snowboarding at, such-as half pipe. What would you consider it? Passtime? Competition?
As long as you are competing with other athletes and trying to set some sort of quantifiable record (fastest time or longest air time or something), then I'd say that it is a sport.
You're scored by judges in pipe though, and how is it not a sport?
then no, unless the scoring is done by how many flips, airtime rotations and what not. you know, like a scoring formula.
Trying to define what is and isn't a sport is kind of a waste of time, anyway. Just sayin'.
Dancing definatly is a sport. I dance for my school team and we have practice 4 days a week and we run 3 miles everyday. And when we dance we're basically sprinting for the whole 2 and a half minutes were up there and we practice that dance about a million times. Scoring may be different but it is still considered a sport, regardless.
Are you trying to tell me that running 3 miles is hard?
Well running 3 miles everyday is. I would like to see you do that for 3 seasons straight.
Marching band is a sport, and it involves judges.
I would say golf is a sport.
If you play it like my Dad does, it's physically exerting.
Wait how is swimming not a sport. That doesn't even make sense! It fits with the rules! I mean if you're swimming for fun then I understand, but If you swam on a year round team!
It says right in the post that swimming is a sport....
Couldn't all sports be considered to have some sort of "judge"? Like in football the refs seem to act as judges...
It's true that refs do occasionally decide a game, but judging whether or not a receiver's feet are in bounds is a lot different then awarding a score from one to ten based on your opinion of how well someone did. Ref calls are supposed to be based on the facts shown by cameras, not on opinion.
baseball has umpires to "judge" or make a call, too. Guess it's not a sport then
You should probably stop bringing up things that have already been settled: http://www.amirite.net/404516#comment706219
I didn't read through all the comments. There's a lot. Sorry to restate someone else's point
But they don't determine who wins, if team A has a higher score than team B then they win
Why can't it be scored by judges and be considered a sport? I just think that's stupid. :/
So gymnastics is not a sport then?
No. gymnastics takes a lot of strength and training yes. But when I watch it, the discipline of it makes it more like watching an art form. To me at least anyway. Its the same with dance.
Freestyle skiing? Definitely a sport.
So bull and bronc riding are not sports?
Agree with everything except golf, but that's 'cause I'm on the fence on that. Admittedly, Dance is extremely difficult, but not a sport. =/ Things like that need a special category due to the scoring method.
One can argue Referees and judges serve the same purpose
Um.. I just like.. kinda said that.
Who made you the sports police?
The fact that he's BreakfastFan
Dance is a sport. You have to be flexible, strong, and have rhythm. It's competitive also. And a sport doesn't have to not have judges!
If there is no definitive way to quantify a score (scoring points, fastest time, etc.) then what separates it from a simple game? Is tag a sport? Is red rover a sport? What about hide and go seek? My labtops out of battery and it's 2am so I'm leaving, but think about it.
I think that given the choice between Dancing and Frisbee, I would say that dancing is a sport.
There are judges in swimming (best jump, form, etc.)
Thats not swimming that's diving
According to this person's definition, a game of Tag would be considered a sport, its competitive, physically demanding as you are running constantly, and it is not scored by judges. The whole thing about defining sports is ridiculous and this one is flawed like the others.
Watching a professional game of tag at the Olympics would actually be pretty epic.
dancing and cheering are most definitely sports
You can't quantify them into a score, so no they're not. If you don't do something to score points or set the best time or something like that, then it's not a sport. Of course dancing and cheerleading require skill and I do not mean to take away from their legitemacy, but the word "sport" is not right for them.
Cheerleading is a sport when you accually do oll the flips, cartwheels, and stuff. Not when you just jump up and down shouting GO TEAM!!
Its still not a sport. That part of cheerleading is just gymnastics, which is more of an art not a sport.
gymnastics is a sport, it's in the olympics...
To be exact "Olympic GAMES"
Yes, but it is composed of sports
I'd have to disagree with this post simply because you said NASCAR isn't a sport. It meets all of your criteria. It's competitive, for obvious reasons. It's physically and mentally demanding, the drivers are in ridiculous shape and put up with strenuous conditions in the car. It also does have a score system. Aside from the obvious places a driver can come in when the race is finished, there is in fact a point system.
Omg nascar is not a sport. Its a redneck pastime
not everyone who likes NASCAR is a redneck. And it is a sport. You try driving at those speeds while trying not to wreck with every other car in there.
Well Im sorry that I dont consider driving in a big oval a sport.
Baseball's not a sport, it's an American passtime. Soccer's not a sport, it's an English passtime. Tennis isn't a sport, it's a UK passtime. By the way, passtimes can also be sports. It's also not spelled "pastime", it's spelled "passtime". You're just ignorant all around, aren't you?
Actually, it is spelled "pastime". Make sure you have it right before you try to correct somebody else on it.
Huh. Well, the object of a pastime is to pass time, isn't it? I hate the English language.
Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe it's more like something they've always done in the past? Haha, I dunno, I'm just guessing here.
Those are all sports by pretty much everyone's standards. And it is spelled pastime you dick.
yea you hold a bunch of people up in a pyramid and see just how not physically exerting it is. and cheering is also competitive, and the whole thing about judges is just stupid. nascar is also extremely demanding, very competitive, and its not even judged by judges. how is that not a sport according to your requirements?
Of course competitive cheering requires physical exertion, the only reason that it isn't a sport is because it can't be scored. And NASCAR doesn't match up because you are not moving, a machine is moving for you. Yes I know that it is hot and that it takes focus, but sitting in a sauna doesn't count as exercise either.
okay well as soon as you have actually raced a stockcar, i might listen to you. ps. according to these rules, mma is not a sport. now thats just stupid, amirite?
The car is MOVING FOR YOU. How in the hell is that a sport? And Martial arts could be counted as a sport if you were doing a tournament type thing where the winner of each fight advances, because winning a fight is a definitive way of scoring it and it is obviously physically exerting and competitive.
okay you drive a race car and then say that.
If you've ever been inside a racecar during a race, it's actually very physically exhausting.
Yes, but that isn't because you're exercising, it's because it is extremely hot, you've been sitting in a vibrating seat and you've been focusing for hours on end. Taking the SATs in a sauna on a vibrating bench wouldn't be called a sport.
Point well taken. But allow me to bring forth another perspective: Even if the driving part is not considered a sport, NASCAR races involve teams. Of these teams, the driver is only one part. So what about the pit crew? Aouldn't what they do be considered a sport? If so, wouldn't NASCAR be considered a sport even if racing by itself is not?
No, I'm pretty sure nobody has ever heard of the sport "Pit-Crewing," seeing as we've already established that NASCAR isn't a sport...
Actually, in NASCAR they have a specific event called the Pit Crew challenge. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't make it any less real.
Anyways, I was just saying it meets the criteria.
No it doesn't, NASCAR is stupid. You sit in a car and drive. My dad apparently plays a sport every day then when he drives to work, then he engages in a second sport when he goes to get his tires changed. Exciting!
I'm not really a fan of NASCAR, but your close-mindedness is astounding. It meets the criteria because it is competitive, requires physical exertion and is scored based on time. I wasn't saying driving is a sport since we've established that it clearly does not meet the criteria. I was saying that NASCAR consists of more than just racing and those other components could be considered sport. In case you were not aware, NASCAR is just the name of the association which organizes the events (similar to the NHL organizing professional hockey). Therefore it's not accurate to say that NASCAR is or is not a sport, since it consists of more than just driving.
Isnt mma included in self-defence and other such things? In that case it isnt a sport.
no i mean like ufc. thats totally a sport.
I dont get how cheerleading isnt a sport...we compete, we practice 3 hours a night 4 days a week...
The scoring part.
What about ice skating? That's obviously a sport.
except for the fact that the scores are determined by judges, not a set scoring... thing. You get my point.
Actually, ice skating does have a set score, the judges just determine the deductions, and their the only unbiased people that know the rules and the scoring.
Keep up with news. The supreme court actually ruled that cheerleading is NOT a sport.
Nascar requires strength in your body while holding the tseering wheel right and pressing the gas pedal. Therefore it is physical excertion. Also dancing has a damce off and the winner could advance to a further round. Danxe and cheerleading are scored based on accuracy of moves, not just one opinion.
dancing all the way!
Actually cheerleading and dancing are sports.
I really don't understand why they're not considered sports.