Tuesday, 12 May 2009
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Is It a Sport or a Hobby?
Recently I had a discussion with some friends about what merits an activity to be a sport/sporting event and the difference between that and a hobby or athletic activity.
The argument was: to qualify as a sport, the action must have a clear, unobjectionable and unbiased winner that can be measured, i.e. the team with that scores more points or the individual that reaches the finish first or completes a distance in the fastest time.
That being stated, those activities that do not qualify as sports would be those that are judged, meaning that the winner is chosen based on a biased or objectionable rating scale. Such activities would include gymnastics, figure skating or cheerleading. That is not to say that these activities do not require athletic skill, strength, and talent. It is merely calling attention to the downfalls in the judging system, that being it is based on opinion leaving it open to bias and objectivity.
I was reviewing the criteria for scoring gymnastics. The judging areas include difficulty and execution. It is a rating scale 1-10, with points taken off for errors. I feel that the judges for these events must have a PhD in how to judge gymnastics-it's difficult to even understand the details of these two criteria areas. I feel that this system can be unfair to the talented athletes who compete in these sports. To truly call it a sport, the judging system that deems the winner needs to be evaluated and revised.
Do you consider gymnastics a sport? Are there any sports you think are just glorified hobbies?
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- From: abkerr@tripcrazed
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Comments (16)
Judging for things like gymnastics, diving and figure skating isn't always on a 1-10 scale; the current Olympic system is a good example, in which "there is theoretically no limit to the score a gymnast can achieve." (link) I consider all three of those a sport.
I would definitely consider competitive cheerleading a sport. I'm not sure how I'd classify cheerleading for, say, a high school football team, though.
Also, according to the argument you presented, activities that result in a tie couldn't be considered a sport since there is no "clear, unobjectionable and unbiased winner that can be measured".
More so, you did not present other criteria for what can be considered a sport, so you ultimately left it up to connotation. You mentioned athleticism but didn't include it in the "official" argument (the second paragraph). Chess could be considered a sport by your definition.
Perhaps you should've provided some denotative definition from an actual, reputable dictionary so that there is no possibility for loopholes or confusion.
Gymnastics is a sport... I see sports as activities which have a guideline, or i suppose a set of instructions on what can or cannot be done. It true that some sports have a clear cut winner more often than others. But the judging ability of an official in a game is just as questionable in direct score sports like basketball and football. Rarely a game goes by where there isn't some call made which could have changed the route of the game if it was differnt.
Geez... going to play semantics, are we?
Sport:1. a.
Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
b.
A particular form of this activity.
2.
An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
3.
An active pastime; recreation.
sport! most def
Sport. I think if you're competing, it's a sport.
a sport. duh.
It's definitely a sport.
When I read this article I thought of horseback riding. I horseback ride and lots of people argue that it is not a sport. Anyone that does obviously hasn't ridden a horse seriously. The amount of muscle effort that it takes to properly ride a horse is amazing. As for judging, there are lots of equestrian events. Horse racing is a "who reaches the winners line first" However equitation is all about looking pretty while getting your horse to do what it should be doing so that's similar to gymnastics, I've been screwed over many time cause a judge didn't notice a mistake of a rider and they got a higher place than me. Jumping and cross country is about having the least penalties and having the fastest time.
So I don't get why people say its not a sport.
in society, people treat it as a sport, so that's what i see it as.
but hey, i might be biased. i am a former gymnast =P
I think it is a sport, and one of my favorites.
Yeah there are some "sports" that I think are more "hobbies" or "sports activities" as you don't get enough physical activity to qualify as an actual sport, such as race car racing, ie nascar and such, golf, bowling. I don't think there is anything wrong with them but they are not what I think of as sports. I have heard ballroom dancing and bull fighting classified as sports too, don't think they are either.
Spelling Bees on ESPN. Explain that to me.
It's not a sport by that definition, but golf is. And we all know Golf is not a sport, your definition is therefor bullshit.
q.e.d.
From dictionary.com: "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."
Therefore, yes, gymnastics would be a sport.
Gymnastics is most definitely a sport. I view sports as a competitive activity that is physically tough/challenging.
For example, I personally don't consider golf, baseball, or nascar a sport. Golf because even though it takes skill and some physical ability, it feels as if it's not nearly enough to be a sport. Baseball, same thing. You run around the bases and run to catch a ball. Other than that, you sit or stand. Nascar is difficult on the arms and body preparation (along with the mind), but I don't think it's still overall physically challenging when compared to something like basketball or soccer.
Gymnastics is one of the hardest sports in my opinion. The judges are typically old gymnasts themselves so they DO have PhDs in the sports (practically). Some of the most athletic people in the world are gymnasts (in my opinion haha).
it's a sport and i'd give anything to have the flexibility of those girls =)