I tend to think of “sports” as being things that require not just mental apititude, but strength, endurance, and the like, but competitive shooting is an Olympic sport and has been for as long as the modern games have been around, so…shrugs
I mean, is curling a sport? Bowling? I think that most would call those sports, but they don’t really rely on exceptional strength or endurance.
I do think that there’s an argument for having some kind of word that encompasses all sorts of competitive activities, but also an argument for having a term for the smaller set that requires excellent physical conditioning. You might want to refer to either set. Maybe just have two different terms, regardless of where “sports” winds up.
Yeah there’s some I think are iffy. I think a certain amount of physical effort needs to be expended before I respect something as a sport. It’s hard for me to describe why. Like bowling? Yes. Pool? No. Curling? Yes. Darts? I’m not actually sure with that one. Because I’d consider archery a sport, but maybe not darts? Even though it’s roughly the same idea? Not sure why I draw the line there. But I do.
I tend to think of “sports” as being things that require not just mental apititude, but strength, endurance, and the like, but competitive shooting is an Olympic sport and has been for as long as the modern games have been around, so…shrugs
I mean, is curling a sport? Bowling? I think that most would call those sports, but they don’t really rely on exceptional strength or endurance.
I do think that there’s an argument for having some kind of word that encompasses all sorts of competitive activities, but also an argument for having a term for the smaller set that requires excellent physical conditioning. You might want to refer to either set. Maybe just have two different terms, regardless of where “sports” winds up.
I have spent a lot of time trying to define what is a sport, to me.
In general I’ve come to define a “sport” as something physical that has an opponent that actively works against you.
Something physical that DOESN’T have an opponent acting against you, I prefer to think of as a competition.
E-sports is not what I’d consider sports, but the term works fine. E-competition doesn’t have the same ring to it.
So, team sports like baseball, soccer, boxing, etc I consider sports.
Bowling, track+field, golf, I do NOT consider sports, I consider them a competition.
Chess is not a sport, it’s a competitive game. Fight me it’s not a freaking sport, it’s chess.
Yeah there’s some I think are iffy. I think a certain amount of physical effort needs to be expended before I respect something as a sport. It’s hard for me to describe why. Like bowling? Yes. Pool? No. Curling? Yes. Darts? I’m not actually sure with that one. Because I’d consider archery a sport, but maybe not darts? Even though it’s roughly the same idea? Not sure why I draw the line there. But I do.