Luge
Leaning is not a sport.
Leaning is not a sport.
posted by Zack at 6:56 AM
Monday, February 15, 2010
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8 Comments:
Great mid-winter topic: what is a sport?
You propose Luge is not a sport. What about Curling? Or Skeleton? Bobsled? NASCAR and the other four wheel variants are certainly to be included in the "cute, but not athletic" category...
Love this topic- We go round and round about it all the time w/family and friends.
My spouse defines a sport as "something in which defense is played". But what about gymnastics or swimming? Those are sports w/o defense, aren't they?
My favorite question- Is golf a sport or a skill? Is anyone really going to convince me that John Daly is an "athlete"?
So, then is downhill skiing also not a sport? When you think about it, it really involves nothing more than leaning and gravity.
What is not a sport is anything where when the event is over, you have to sit and wait for someone else to make a subjective decision as to how well you did. In the men's moguls/freestyle skiing last night, the last guy comes down and everybody sits with baited breath to figure out whether he will jump ahead of the Canadien to get the gold. The announcers go back and forth and can't tell. Then, we hear from the judges and the guy comes in SIXTH. That's ridiculous. I won't even go into the ridiculousness of figure skating.
All,
I do love this topic but I don't think a discussion board is the best forum to have the conversation; around a coffee table with cocktails in hand is probably a better setting - it would allow for more fluid exchanges.
However, I was trying to come up with some general rules that would help with defining a sport but I could not.
All sports are contested by athletes - false.
All athletes compete in sports - false.
To Hardball - Curling, Skeleton and Bobsled, all "no". Yes to NASCAR.
To Anonymous - I disagree with your spouse; sports can be contested against the clock; swimming is a sport. Gymnatics isn't a sport although athletes perform. Golf is a sport and I agree Daly is a poor excuse for an athlete.
To Conscience - The point of Luge is to lie perfectly still - that's the antithesis of sport. Luge is no sport; downhill skiing is most defintely a sport. My thoughts exactly on the mens' moguls. As I'm sitting there watching, I'm positive the American is going to get bounced from the podium, the only thing in doubt is what color is the medal of the Candian, the Australian and the Frenchman - until the subjective nature of the "sport" is encountered. Figure skating is not a sport, again, though it is contested by athletes.
All of this opinion is based on no "rule" and I am uncomfortable having and expressing opinions without basis.
February 15; 11:07 am
NASCAR is no sport and the drivers are in no way athletes.
Anonymous,
If you please, do you have a rule or principle that helps you conclude on NASCAR?
As I wrote, I tried to develop one but there were too many exceptions to my rules that I could not write one; I used the extremely subjective "gut-feeling" method for concluding on the activities I mentioned.
Being my own Devil's Advocate, I understand the objective in target-shooting and archery is to remain perfectly still as well. However, I'm prepared to call all shooting activities sports and I'm prepared to call the elite shooters/archers athletes.
February 16; 6:36 am
Zacklyright, glad you asked. Using the sportnonsport.com website here is a good basis for determining what is a sport and what is not.
First the definition. A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and undertaken competitively.
So according to the website, points are assigned to each sport based on 4 characteristics: physical exertion, amount of skill, Rules (how a winner is determined, and Competition.
The point scale:
75-100 It's a sport!
50-74 Recreational activity
25-49 Leisure Activity
0-24 Hobby
Auto racing comes in at 40, Swimming at 47. and Archery a lowly 27! All non spoprts and archery in fact is 3 points shy of being considered a hobby! Need you be reminded that actress Geena Davis made the US olympic team in archery after just one year of training. Sorry, my friend, it is no sport and she is no athlete.
Anonymous,
Thank you for the web site.
If you don't mind, I'm not going to blindly accept the site's assessment of any hobby/activity/sport. If I get time later tonight, I'll visit the site and see how they explain away the physical exertion expended by a 1600m swimmer and then make my own decision on the worthiness of the site.
I make a distinction between "auto racing" and NASCAR and it is NASCAR we were discussing so I'll also see how the site explains away sitting in a sauna for three hours and being as mentally and physically sharp after three hours as in the first minute in the sauna.
I agree with the definition of "sport" that you supplied; I won't try to redefine words (though I suspect the site might have).
February 16; 8:07 am
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