Defining a Sport!

As a consensus, sports might be universally liked and played ( exceptions aside), yet consensus eludes in defining sports. A quick Google Search shows

“an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team  competes against another or others for entertainment.”

This definition of course is taken from the Oxford dictionary. Other definitions of sports include

                “Sport includes all forms of competitive physical activity or games which, through casual or organised participation, at least in part aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment for spectators”  -Wikipedia

                “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.”- Dictonary.com

                “physical activity engaged in for pleasure”- Mirriam Webster

A glance at the definitions point towards certain attributes essential for an activity being termed as a sport

• .       There must be an element of physical exertion and/or skill
• .       It must be competitive
• .       It must be governed by a set of rules to determine a winner (Rules need not be formal but could be governed by tradition or custom)

Yet different activities need different levels of skills, competition might differ in form and substance and rules could vary from completely formal to informal

So how do we define activities in such a scenario

We will test the following conditions

• ·         Luck inherently designed into the game –NO
• ·         Does it demand physical exertion and/or physical skill- YES
• ·         Does it demand strong physical exertion/skill- YES
• ·         If NO, is there evidence of weak physical exertion/skill- YES
• ·         IS every movement, tactics, strategy at least subconsciously revolve or necessitate physics- YES
• ·         Is it linked to demonstration of vocational skills/proficiency or occupational skills/proficiency or expertize leads to upward mobility in occupational/career ladder?- NO
• ·         Is the output (tangible or intangible) reflects an aesthetic or sense of creation or demonstration of artistic outcome?- NO
• ·         Is there a direct element of competition- YES
• ·         If no direct element of competition exists, does it necessitate physical activity aiming to conquer the challenges of the nature by seeking to be elusive club of people who have undertaken those activities - YES
• ·         Any extrinsic element unlinked to physical exertion/skill involved in the activity- NO
• ·         Where animals are involved, is the human role merely to be instructor at the side – NO
• ·         Where animals are involved, is the human role part of performing the activity along with the animal- YES

In case of weak physical skill like table/board sports, darts etc, if the moves involve the laws of physics in action, they can be termed as sports.

For non-competitive nature, it might entail being the elusive club of those who have succeeded in the activity. Climbing Mt. Everest of trekking to South Pole or round the world yacht sailing etc, it the thrill of being in the ‘elite club’ that makes people pursue the activities. It is not competing at particular frame of time but competition in timelessness dimension. It is the race to be among the few to achieve the same. Hence they could be sports

For animal sports, humans involved in the activity along with animals like equestrian or horse racing, it might be considered a sport.

This section is not considering mind sports or remote controlled or esports in the current definition. They need a different treatment.