Thursday, December 21, 2017

What is a Sport?

A recent Facebook post has reminded me of one of the most debated ongoing conversations I've ever had:

What is the definition of a sport?

This recent dialogue in particular began with a discussion about marching band, color guard, and cheer leading.

The Oxford Dictionaries define "sport" as:
    -An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Over the years, as I have pondered the various athletic endeavors that individuals participate in, I put together the following definition (with help from Oxford) and list of criteria that I think help define what I would refer to as "sports" and what I would not.

Sport = An activity involving physical exertion and skill that meet the following criteria: 

1 -  Created inherently as a competition.

At the heart of determining whether something is a sport lies the idea of competition. One side faces off against another side to determine who is better at said activity. Traditional team sports like baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, etc all contain within their initial rules, as these activities were being created, the idea of one team competing against another to determine a winner. I understand that cheer leading and marching band have competitions now, but they were not created as such. Their initial purpose was to supplement the entertainment aspect of the event going on at the time, most often football games.

Falling into the same category though, admittedly with fair rebuffing are swimming and running. I do not possess a history of who first decided to swim, or how the movement of running has progressed over the years, but I am under the impression that they were both athletic movements entered into out of necessity to hunt and fight and, generally, to survive. Turning it into a competition of who possesses the ability to do them better/faster seems like a natural progression.

2 - Opponents directly impact each others' performance.

Also known as the ability to play defense. Directly impacting the performance of the other side means the physical actions you take are a reaction or anticipation of a physical action towards you. The physical team sports mentioned previously all have actions and outcomes determined by the physical interaction with the opposing side. A batter faces a pitcher, and a batted ball is fielded by the players in the field. Linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs are all trying to prevent the football from matriculating down the field and entering the end zone. Blockers leap with their hands above the net to prevent centers and hitters from spiking the volleyball onto their side of the court. Goalies and goalkeepers stand guard in front of their net to prevent pucks and soccer balls from entering. Tennis players try to hit winners down the line or drop shots that fall out of reach in order to score points against their opponents. Every one of these actions is planned, strategized, and prepared for in anticipation of how the opponent is going to react. In most racing events (running, swimming, biking), a large portion, if not all, of the event has no interaction between competitors. Runners and swimmers often stay in their individual lanes. Longer races see large expanses of space between the athletes. There is such a reduction of interaction that the competition of it is drastically limited.

This is where my heart is torn with golf, because that is an individual endeavor. The mental game is integral, due to the fact that you are competing against every other player at once, making decisions based on the scores they are posting around you. In essence, yes, you are competing against all these other players, but that is an INDIRECT impact on you. There is no physicality shared between competitors. So while golf is a competition of supreme athletic skill and talent, I cannot consider it a sport.

3 - Objective scoring system.

When a sporting event ends, I should be able to definitively say who won. There should be no confusion, no matter of opinion one way or the other. We could argue who played better or who deserved to win, but a clear score tells us who gets the win or the loss (or the draw... gag). If a victory is determined by a system of scoring that is calculated by judges, this becomes a matter of opinion, perspective, preference, or any other non-definitive spectrum of analysis you want to refer to. If we can watch the exact same competition play out, and I can say that Team/Player A won, but you can say that Team/Player B won, we have a significant problem. Inherent scoring systems exist for a reason. I know I am watching something I can consider a sport when I can definitively, objectively, declare a winner.

In Conclusion:

Below is an incomplete list of activities that generally enter the "sport/not-a-sport" discussion. I have organized them based on my criteria and attempted to label them in the clearest, most respectful way possible.

It is IMPERATIVE that we understand that this is merely a system of classification that has no actual bearing on the competitions themselves. Just because I do not classify certain activities as "sports" does not mean I hold them in any less of a regard. Most of the activities named below require a level of athleticism and skill that is to be acknowledged and admired by all. I will admit that I do not consider "pastimes" to be feats of high athletic achievement. But the other distinctions bring with them a very high respect as I personally know individuals who have competed in all of these activities at a high level and have witnessed almost all of them in person.

Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball, Tennis, Rugby, Cricket, Ultimate, Water Polo, Lacrosse, Table Tennis, Badminton, Wrestling

Athletics via Competitions: Golf, Boxing, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Track and Field, Swimming, Surfing

Athletics via Artistry: Cheerleading, Color Guard, Marching Band, Dancing

Pastimes: Bowling, Darts, Croquet, Cornhole, Billiards