Sports, I think not!
Discussion
Storer said:
What other games do you think are incorrectly called "Sports"?
Golf? It certainly requires no more fitness than snooker; especially if you use a buggy to get around. I suppose things like rifle shooting fall into a similar category as well.
Some definitions even include things like Chess.
Edited by kambites on Saturday 2nd January 22:41
kambites said:
Golf? It certainly requires no more fitness than snooker; especially if you use a buggy to get around.
Ever tried hitting a golf ball 200+ yards with a snooker cue 
Tiger woods once said you have to be as fit as an athlete to play golf at the top level, and he's. Man who knows his golf
extraT said:
Tiger woods once said you have to be as fit as an athlete to play golf at the top level, and he's. Man who knows his golf
You do to play snooker too, I think top snooker players spent more time in the gym than actually practising the game these days; darts... less so. 
In fact, you need to be pretty bloody fit to be a top-flight chess player. Fitness is an enormous aid to prolonged concentration.
ETA: I actually think Golf and Snooker are very similar; I suspect anyone genuinely talented at one would be very good at the other.
Edited by kambites on Saturday 2nd January 22:46
Jim Williams is married to a girl I work with. He was the first game on tv today. An athlete he is not!
I think it's only classed as a sport because it's competitive. There is absolutely no fitness involved with playing darts!
It's also one of the few "sports" where the men have no upper hand. It's only chucking a small arrow a few feet!
I think it's only classed as a sport because it's competitive. There is absolutely no fitness involved with playing darts!
It's also one of the few "sports" where the men have no upper hand. It's only chucking a small arrow a few feet!
AdamIndy said:
I think it's only classed as a sport because it's competitive.
It's very difficult to state a rule for what is and isn't a sport, we might have to accept it like defining what is a classic car.Scrabble and chess are competitive but aren't sports.
Probably?? bowls is a sport.
Fishing? They have competitions!
john2443 said:
It's very difficult to state a rule for what is and isn't a sport, we might have to accept it like defining what is a classic car.
Scrabble and chess are competitive but aren't sports.
Probably?? bowls is a sport.
Fishing? They have competitions!
I disagree.Scrabble and chess are competitive but aren't sports.
Probably?? bowls is a sport.
Fishing? They have competitions!
A sport is an activity which involves some degree of strenuous physical exertion.
Therefore - golf is a sport. Snooker, Darts, Bridge, Chess, Fishing are not.
Storer said:
When are we going to stop calling things like Darts and Snooker a 'sport'!
They are 'games' not 'sports'.
The amount of physical energy exerted in darts is minimal (as suggested by the build of the players).
What other games do you think are incorrectly called "Sports"?
Is Skiing (non competitive) a game or a sport, or simply an activity? Would you define competitive cycling or motor sport as a game? It's the same as calling darts or golf a sport, the definition of the word(s) allows the activity to be defined as either but they sit better in our mind as one or the other. They are 'games' not 'sports'.
The amount of physical energy exerted in darts is minimal (as suggested by the build of the players).
What other games do you think are incorrectly called "Sports"?
As I see it... (with dictionary assistance)
A game is a form of competitive activity or sport played according to rules, so is every sport not also a game? A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Exertion is defined as physical or mental effort. Effort is defined as a vigorous or determined attempt. As such pretty much anything defined as a game could be argued to be a sport dependant on the point at which we decide that competitive activity becomes physical exertion. That's why it's so easy to argue; games such as darts require significant skill but nothing like the amount of physical exertion other sports require, but as there is no defined level at which physical exertion is guaranteed to deliver a 'sports' label it's all open for debate.
Cards and board games are just that, games. But anything requiring stamina or physical exertion (at pretty much any level) can fairly be defined as a sport.
Skiing non competitively is an activity just as walking is. It becomes a sport when it becomes competitive. They both involve considerable exertion so in my mind they are a sport.
Chess requires logical mental processes and a high degree of concentration, but so does doing the crossword. As neither require any physical exertion I consider them to be a game.
Golf and Game Shooting are a little more difficult to define. You do spend a good deal of time walking in both, but usually at a leisurely pace. They both require a level of skill to perform well. Calling Game Shooting a Field Sport adds to the confusion. Both should be classified as activities.
Being fit does help in all activities (lower heart rate, controlled breathing, etc.) so being fit to play golf at the top level makes perfect sense.
With vehicle racing it probably does qualify as a Sport. It is competitive, it requires mental stamina and concentration and a high level of fitness to withstand the forces on the body and usually the heat. You only have to look at these very fit people when the get out of a car to see they have exerted considerable energy.
A dictionary often blurs the meaning of a word as the use of a word can change with time and culture. A great recent example is the word 'Sick'.
Chess requires logical mental processes and a high degree of concentration, but so does doing the crossword. As neither require any physical exertion I consider them to be a game.
Golf and Game Shooting are a little more difficult to define. You do spend a good deal of time walking in both, but usually at a leisurely pace. They both require a level of skill to perform well. Calling Game Shooting a Field Sport adds to the confusion. Both should be classified as activities.
Being fit does help in all activities (lower heart rate, controlled breathing, etc.) so being fit to play golf at the top level makes perfect sense.
With vehicle racing it probably does qualify as a Sport. It is competitive, it requires mental stamina and concentration and a high level of fitness to withstand the forces on the body and usually the heat. You only have to look at these very fit people when the get out of a car to see they have exerted considerable energy.
A dictionary often blurs the meaning of a word as the use of a word can change with time and culture. A great recent example is the word 'Sick'.
You can win an Olympic gold medal for "Prone Rifle Shooting", which requires considerably less physical exertion than darts or snooker or, in fact, any parlour game you care to think of.
Putting physical exertion to one side, where in the world of sports do you put the, apparently competetive, events where winners are decided by the opinions of judges?
Putting physical exertion to one side, where in the world of sports do you put the, apparently competetive, events where winners are decided by the opinions of judges?
The best definition of the difference between a game and a sport I have heard is ...
If someone tells you what to do and you can do it just as well as they can, then it's a game.
I.e. Play the 4 of hearts or the white queen to knight 3 etc. Throw a double 12 or sink a 12 foot put....its a sport.
If someone tells you what to do and you can do it just as well as they can, then it's a game.
I.e. Play the 4 of hearts or the white queen to knight 3 etc. Throw a double 12 or sink a 12 foot put....its a sport.
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