What is a Sport?

... or more precisely "what activities qualify as a sport?" It seems like a pretty simple question but I've had many conversations with people who were discussing exactly that. First I'll make a short and incomplete list of sports and non-sports as I see them. Then once some of you are sufficiently aggravated I'll give my reasoning.

Sports: Football, Futbol/Soccer, Hockey, Baseball/Softball, Tennis, Basketball, Boxing, Table Tennis, Water Polo, Auto Racing (begrudgingly), Volleyball, Cycling (non-time trials)


Not Sports: Figure Skating, Track and Field events (except running events where runners are allowed to leave their lanes), Swimming, Diving, Darts, Skydiving, Water Skiing, Gymnastics, Snow Skiing, Surfing, Bungee Jumping, Cycling (time trials) AND... Golf!

So there you have it, an incomplete list of both sports and non-sports. Reasoning time!

I use two simple guidelines in determining a sport. Guideline 1: If judging is the only component to determining a winner, then it's not a sport. Guideline 2: If someone isn't trying to impede whatever you're trying to achieve, it's not a sport. Or put another way, no defense, no sport.

I'd like to make an important distinction here. Just because I don't believe a particular activity is a sport, does NOT mean I think the participants are not athletes. In fact, running fast, jumping high and far, swimming fast, hand eye coordination, foot eye coordination and body control are practically definitions of athleticism in my book. But if you are restricting the athleticism to a comparative event, then you're basically engaging in a "skills challenge"; let's see who does a technically better dive, let's see who runs faster, let's see who can jump further, etc. These might compare and measure athleticism but they are not sports. Gymnastics is a great example of athletes in a non-sport. Is anyone more athletic than a gymnast? Athletically they have it all: speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, coordination. But what they are doing in competition is a skills challenge not a sport. They are being rated on the technique of their discipline and are actually in competition with their own selves to perform the discipline as flawlessly as possible. A panel of judges then decides who was closest to perfect. This is akin to watching batting practice, fielding practice and pitcher warm-ups for both teams before a baseball game and then deciding a winner based on the batters' swings, fielders' form and pitchers' "stuff!" Thus, gymnasts are athletes but gymnastics is not a sport.

Sport vs Skills Challenge examples: Cycling time trials (when cyclists are separately timed over a set distance) and running events that require staying in a lane involve athletes. But after both competitions, times are compared and a winner declared; not a sport. Cycling or running in a pack can involve defense in that your progress can be purposely impeded by another participant; sport. Golf is a funky type obstacle course; not a sport. Combat sports (MMA, boxing, etc.) use judges but only after an allotted time (for fighter safety) in which the fighters themselves can decide the outcome; sport.

One last example to wrap up my Sport vs Skills Challenge argument is the NFL Scouting Combine. Many college football players who are eligible for the NFL Draft are invited to this event so they can be weighed and measured in an attempt to impress an NFL team. They run the 40 yard dash to measure speed. They jump vertically from a standing position to measure vertical leap. They broad jump to measure leg power. They have several change of direction drills designed to measure quickness and body control. All of these are athletic skills. But the scouts are there to try to figure out how an individual will translate those skills onto a field in the sport of football.

There you have it, my take on Sport vs. Non-Sport. I'm expecting to hear from angry golfers but we'll see.

Just Joe


NEXT WEEK:  Story Time with Grampa Joe