board77

Wilma and I were discussing sports while chatting today. We discussed aspects of ice dancing, figure skating, hockey, etc., and I asked "what makes ice dancing a sport?" I thought about this because I couldn't say whether or not it was a sport since I didn't know what to define sport as.

I came up with a starting definition that is fairly decent. Sport: a physical contest for public entertainment. As wilma pointed out to me the mental aspects of sports is extremely important as well. Olympians can fall in their figure skating runs if they lose their focus, for example.

So, my question to you all is... what makes something a sport? What are the similarities between cheerleading and baseball that allows them both to be sports? Or why is one not a sprot while the other is?

My definition is just a starter. It's by no means what webster says nor the end-all.

All three are sports. As a former member of a high school marching band (which is a sport as well dammit) I know what it's like to have to be physically and mentally ready to perform. Both are key elements in sports.

It has to be physical, mental, you have to train, and compete in order for it to be a sport.

Things can be athletically challenging without being a sport. I would put anything with the descriptor DANCING in that category. There are things which are more of a passtime or even an exhibition but are not a sport. Pro wrestling for example. Synchronized swimming for another.

Sorry The Mary. High school marching band does not cut it either. It may be taxing, and you do have to train for it, but it just is not a sport. Its a form of entertainment.

No it's a sport SF trust me, we trained harder than the football team and have more awards to show for it. You'll NEVER change my mind.....EVER.

Got to agree with Mary here. I remember being up at 6 to train for the band stuff, about an hour earlier than the football team, and we'd stay later.

Also about dancing I think it has enough eliments in it to be a sport. I know it burns a bunch of calories. What is aerobics but a new name for fast dancing. Would anyone consider aerobics not a sport?

And I learned from my daughters time as a cheerleader that it is a sport also. Kind of a mean vindictive sport, sheesh.

How about competitive horse jumping competitions? Or horse shows in general?


Sports, or not?

Going with TM's definition, ballroom dancing is a sport and anything with the word dance is, too.

horse jumping is sports for horses, same as horse racing. You have some small guy riding the horse so it knows where to go, but the horse is doing 90% of the work.

Have you seen Ballroom Dancers they are wicked on the dance floor. Just because you wear a jock strap doesn't make your sport any more demanding than those who carry and instrument or a partner when performing.

Anyone who thinks hockey isn't a spot is just nuts!! IMO it's one of the most challenging spots out there!!

Ara is 100% correct before the football team and after and in every sort of weather imaginable.

Are dog shows sports, too?

Well, without that "small guy" onboard, I guarantee you that horse would be off chewing hay in some stall, not jumping large fences in a ring.

So... not a sport?


Edit: How about car racing, then? Surely the car is doing all of the work. Sport, or no?

Mmmmm... good points everybody. Dance is a sport. It's just that most people do it as a hobby just like alot of other sports. The thing with dance though is that music and costumes are involved. Professional dancers are pretty muscular. They have to get it from somewhere. They also have to train for it. For the women imagine doing everything in high heels, backwards!!!

With all the falls occuring in figure skating this olympics I discovered how much strength is involved in figure skating. The amount of force required to get the injuries those skaters sustained is pretty serious.

Oh Anth I was joking, should have put a smilie on it. I have been around race horses most of my life and realize just how much work it takes to handle horses, whether riding or training.

And as for race car drivers, I imagine you have to be in good shape to run that fast with out having a heart attack.

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No it's a sport SF trust me, we trained harder than the football team and have more awards to show for it.

Who said training hard and getting awards makes you a sport? I sure didn't.

IMO, one aspect of what makes something a sport, is that it is objective. When you need judges to rank you to decide who won the contest, it is no longer a sport, IMO.

PS - if car racing is a sport, so is playing video games (which I've heard argued).

sf wrote:

It may be taxing, and you do have to train for it, but it just is not a sport. Its a form of entertainment.

It's not just a form of entertainment anymore. The performances at halftime really don't matter much to marching bands. They're basically practices for their own competitions...which there are many of. Marching band is somewhat the equivalent of skating, dancing or gymnastics...learning a program, training for it, performing it and trying to win first place.

I can't vote in the poll because I think they are all sports. To me a sport needs to be competitive and athletic.

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IMO, one aspect of what makes something a sport, is that it is objective. When you need judges to rank you to decide who won the contest, it is no longer a sport, IMO.

Ah-HAH! The very trap I had hoped someone would fall into.


...bwa-hah-hah-hah...

(BTW, Ara-Anna, I didn't know you were a horse girl! We could TALK, friend...)

Anyway, I bring this up because my VERY athletic brother, who could win any athletic competition he put his mind to, used to look down his aristocratic nose at my "sport" of competitive jumping.

He said I wasn't competing AGAINST anyone. No direct combat, he said. PLUS, the old "objective" qualification came out. It needs judges, he said. NOT a sport.

WRONG.

Competitive jumping is all about clearing the jumps (not knocking down any rails) and finishing the whole course in the least amount of time. This, I pointed out to him, WAS objective. Simple measurements.

Then he would bring up the "combat" thingy. So if two horses were jumping side by side, I said, THEN it would be a sport?

Yes, he said.

I thought he was full of it then, and I still think so. What do you think?

Yeah, from what I know of jumping, it sounds like a sport to me. Totally objective, to my knowledge. It's about who can clear the highest jumps, right? And of course you're competing against someone!

jumping yes
racecar driving no
marching band --- sorry - cannot top from giggling ..... the thoughts of what the entire rest of the school used to call the marching band just will not leave my mind ...... yes, they had talent, yes they put in the hours ... but a sport ... P..L..E..A..S..E...... some of those kids could not run a quarter of a mile in gym .... .... what a joke .... I could accept ice dancing sooner than band ..... I guess The Beatles should have been in the Olympics.

yovargas wrote:

Yeah, from what I know of jumping, it sounds like a sport to me. Totally objective, to my knowledge. It's about who can clear the highest jumps, right? And of course you're competing against someone!

HAH! I knew you were smarter than my brother. SF is, too. This place is packed full of people with more sense than that geek!

We did a debate on the subject of sport once. I'd argue that there are two elements -

1. Competition
2. Results based on physical strength, fitness or skill