“What are sports?” is the age-old question that we’ve all spent years arguing with our friends over, and it’s a tough question to answer. The term “sport” is not only broad, but there are several different definitions relating to what sport actually means.
According to Dictionary.com, a sport is defined as “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.” Now, here’s where the debate begins because “skill or prowess” is incredibly vague, so what actually constitutes a sport? Well let’s look at another definition.
Oxford Dictionary defines sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment.” This definition is a bit more specific and requires a competitive aspect as well as both physical exertion and skill. The problem with this is, what qualifies as physical exertion and skill? I’m pretty worn out after I skillfully climb some stairs in my four-inch stilettos, however, navigating the world in heels isn’t considered a sport.
The point I’m getting at here is that sport is a really vague term, so there is a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to what is and isn’t a sport. Different people will have different ideas of what sports are, and that’s okay.
Of course, I have my own opinion on the matter, and in the words of Eugene Lee of the Try Guys, “I’m right, you’re wrong, shut up.” So, listen up.
First, for something to be a sport, it must be done competitively. This means that—while someone can kick a soccer ball around their backyard—it doesn’t mean they are engaging in soccer as a sport. This then means that there are activities that are sometimes sports and other times hobbies or artforms.
Second, for something to be a sport, it must be an athletic activity that causes physical exhaustion of muscles. This means you must be physically moving and engaging a wide assortment of your muscles while you play.
This then takes things like “e-sports” out of the equation for being an actual sport. While these games may require a low level of physical activity and skill, it’s a lot of mental processing, which while impressive, doesn’t result in physical exertion. While these games are competitive, they’re not true sports.
These stipulations would indicate that most games of physical activity are a sport sometimes, as it depends if the person completing the activity is doing it on a competitive level. For example, let’s focus on the sport I’m the most familiar with—equestrian.
In my 18 years of being an equestrian, people have often told me “equestrian isn’t a sport because the horse does everything.” This is wildly incorrect because if you are actively riding a horse, you use every muscle in your body, and it’s exhausting. I’ve run track and played soccer competitively and nothing has ever exhausted me more than competing in equestrian, and it also takes a ton of skill.
The problem is people often think of equestrians as that one time they went horseback riding with their family and they just sat on a horse that was trained to follow the horse in front of it for an hour. There are equestrians that horseback ride as a hobby and just want to ride around to relieve stress, and there are equestrians who are athletes who train at a competitive level. This is a dichotomy that can also be seen in dance or ultimate frisbee, both of which people have previously argued are sports in The Lamron.
What really determines whether a physical activity is a sport is the mindset with which you go into the activity because people go into sports looking to win. So really, only the person engaging in the activity can decide if it’s a sport or not for them.
Ultimately, if you feel you’re an athlete, call it a sport. That’s your decision, so who really cares what is and isn’t a sport. Just do what makes you happy.