Yes, the 2010 Olympics are on! I do love sports, but I was just sitting here thinking what makes something a sport? I have consulted the search engine gods, but they were less than helpful on this topic. By “less than helpful” I mean I got a lot of opinions on the topic, but no real answers.
Some folks say it has to involve “physical prowess” and that the athlete has to posess some sort of physical skill set that they practice. Ok… so explain why flipping on ESPN results in a Poker game? And isn’t Chess considered a sport? I really have no idea.
Others say it revolves around having an organized group. If there is an official association for a particular interest, then it can be classified as a sport. Hmmm… feminists have their own organization? Does that make a feminist an athlete?
What constitutes a “sport”? Should sewing and baking be considered sports? They require skill and practice to master. And what makes one sport “Olympic” material and another one not? Why not have Chess and Poker at the next Olympics?
What do you think?
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3 comments
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Alina
Wow, good food for thought here…speaking of which, how about those cake building competitions, or chocolate competitions? I guarantee they require physical prowess, specialized skill, stamina, PLUS a degree of artistic interpretation. So are those sports?
No answers for you, but I wanted to say you have a fabulous site, and I appreciate the positive messages you’re putting out for females. Rock on, Sister!
Alina
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Scraps
Perhaps it has to do with objective qualifiers?
In the example of baking, taste is highly subjective and difficult to quantify. Meaning that while a loaf of bread may have the correct cell structure and present the desired texture inside and out, it may not please the individual palates of the judges.
Granted, you could just as easily bring up Figure Skating, which relies on both technical and artistic marks, but I still think artistic evaluation of a skating program is a more reliable measure than the taste buds of various cultures.