Now that old DE is been dead a while, can we discuss whether race car driving is a sport? If Nascar is a sport then is drag racing, sail boat racing, lawnmower racing?
Definitely a question to be careful with - I seem to recall that racing fans get pretty worked up over that type of query.
There may be some formal classification, but it strikes me that a sport should fit a few criteria (Merriam Webster on line defined it as “physical activity engaged in for pleasure” but that doesn’t seem sufficient):
A “sport” provides a forum for competition - i.e., where individuals/teams compete based on a set of agreed-upon rules and the outcome is not known until the completion of the event(which is why your question is answered “no” for professional wrestling). Also the sport should involve testing physical prowess, but obviously can involve tools.
Within the context of that (hastily thought-out) description, car racing is clearly a sport. It’s a competition, the outcome is not known and the rules are clear. It tests physical skills (hand eye coordination, physical endurance, strength - I have heard that steering race cars can be painful). It’s tools are more all-encompassing than, say, ping pong paddles, but not all that much more than football gear(!)
Within that context though, why isn’t “charades” a sport, not a game? Maybe because the physical aspect is one of interpretation, not physical skills…
I define sport as a competitive activity with a governing body which defines a set of rules.
Of course I think chess is a sport (of the mind)
This has been done and I am sure the mods will jump on it, but I like the topic, so…
Believe it or not, my university (Queen’s University. GO GOLDEN GAELS!) actually offered a course called The History of Sport. Naturally, I took it.
The definition we used in that course always satisfied me:
A sport is a contest of physical skill with predetermined rules with objective criteria by which a winner is determined, played for its own intrinsic purpose.
So, a sport must involve a contest of any sort of physical ability, be it strength, speed, or a specialized skill. Things like chess and Monopoly are not sports; they do not involve a physical skill set. (Yeah, I know, you have to move your chess peices around. That’s not the skill of the game, though.)
A sport has predetermined rules.
A sport has objective criteria for determining a winner. The requirement for objective criteria elimates, say, art as a sport; painting and sculpture certainly involve phsyical skill, but they aren’t sports. A winner must also be determined or else it is not a “sport” in the sense we’re meaning here.
So what are and aren’t sports? IMO:
THESE ARE SPORTS:
Things like track and field events, swimming, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball, skiing, speed skating, weight lifting, fencing, boxing, etc. are obviously sports.
There are also things that I think are very obviously sports that are sometimes said to not be sports; bowling, darts, curling, billiards, shuffleboard, etc. They may not be very exertive sports, but they are definitely sports beyond any doubt or question. They are contests of physical skill.
Sports involving the racing of vehicles, such as bicycle races, automobile races, rowing, kayaking, yachting, etc. are all sports. Sure, you use devices to play these sports, but so what? You use devices to play hockey, too. There is physical skill in driving NASCAR or riding a bike.
Horse and dog racing, as well as equestrian jumping events, are clearly sports. Sure, they involve animals. So they’re sports for animals, so what?
THESE ARE NOT SPORTS:
Games that do not involve intrinsic physical skill, such as chess, checkers, Monopoly, etc.
Hunting, which is not a genuine contest of physical skill; a basic test of a sport is that all contestants know they’re involved in the sport. Hunting involves skill on the part of the hunter but there’s aren’t “predetermined rules” involved here.
I’M NOT SURE:
Contests that involve subjective evaluation, such as figure skating, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, sychronized swimming and gymnastics are sort of on the bubble. There IS objective criteria - you either get more points or you lose. But the points are handed out by subjective judging. But then, isn’t an umpire’s call in baseball subjective?
I might further subdivide this into things that involve the subjective evaluation of artistic expression, such as figure skating, sychronized swimming, and ballroom dancing, which are DEFINITELY not sports, and things that only involve the subjective evaluaton of athletic achievement, such as diving, gymnastics (but not rhythmic gymnastics) and alpine ski jumping.
I’m also not sure where video games come in.
Personally I do not consider anything that involves subjective judgement a sport…figure skating, diving, even boxing.
Here are my requirements:
~ It must take either incredible skill or incredible athletic talent to be competitive.
~ There must be no technological advantage that would not be readily available to all competitors.
~ [sub]This one is the killer[/sub] There must be one objective, standardized, way of scoring.
The problem is that last one is a bitch. It takes lots of casualties with it including gymnastics:(. IMO, you probably have to be in more physical shape for gymnastics than any other sport but if you have one routine, HOW THE HELL CAN 7 DIFFERENT JUDGES GET 7 DIFFERENT SCORES? They were all watching the same routine weren’t they? It is sad to see it go down but there needs to be a definite score/answer/time etc. :(:(:(:(
So NASCAR can hold up to #1 an #3 but gets shot down by #2. Nope, aint a sport.
Competition is an essential part. Note that bullfighting is not considered a sport because it is not a competition. As David Letterman would say: “This is only an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering”
TOO tame. where are the Nascar, figure skating, golfing … advocates?
I would have thought we could generate some hate with this? I was considering starting this as “Is Nascar a sport?” but then we would have to get into all the other things anyway.
I would like to add a definition. “It must be dependent upon human skill/performance” no horse racing, dog racing, or cock fighting.
Remove horse racing from that list, unless you want to contend that the jockey’s skill/performance is not important. Consider the horse a “device” in the same way the car is a “device” in an automobile race.
I pretty much agree with RickJay’s assesment, except I did wonder about dog racing because of the “no humans” feature.
I’m glad to see that other people also believe that subjective scoring prevents it from being a sport. BTW, “objective” scoring doesn’t mean it doesn’t hinge on an officials call, it just means that there are stated objective measurements the official is supposed to be using - a baseball umpire makes the call, but is supposed to be following stated rules as to where the strike zone is, and so on (this year they actually sort of are, too). That is very different from the clearly subjective scoring in something like figure skating.
Hmmm. I just had an odd thought - how about eating contests? There’s a test of physical ability involved, with an objective criteria for a winner …
justinh, if you are looking to “generate some hate” why did you post this in GQ?
telemark, I am not trying to generate hate, but if it happens then maybe the source of the hate will be informative. I am a big golf nut. but I would not defend it as a “Sport”. I think of it as a sporty game.
Yabob, I think the skill of the rider in horse racing is not as important as the trainers/handler’s skill. I wouldn’t consider either one of them as an athlete. Is that a part of the definition that must be considered? Must the activity be performed by an “athlete”. Is a tennis player an athlete? well then is a table tennis player also? Is tennis a sport and ping pong a game?
the idea of this link is to get thru the hate and find a workable definition that can be applied against an activty to classify that activity as a sport or game.
telemark, I am not trying to generate hate, but if it happens then maybe the source of the hate will be informative. I am a big golf nut. but I would not defend it as a “Sport”. I think of it as a sporty game.
Yabob, I think the skill of the rider in horse racing is not as important as the trainers/handler’s skill. I wouldn’t consider either one of them as an athlete. Is that a part of the definition that must be considered? Must the activity be performed by an “athlete”. Is a tennis player an athlete? well then is a table tennis player also? Is tennis a sport and ping pong a game?
the idea of this link is to get thru the hate and find a workable definition that can be applied against an activty to classify that activity as a sport or game.
telemark, I am not trying to generate hate, but if it happens then maybe the source of the hate will be informative. I am a big golf nut. but I would not defend it as a “Sport”. I think of it as a sporty game.
Yabob, I think the skill of the rider in horse racing is not as important as the trainers/handler’s skill. I wouldn’t consider either one of them as an athlete. Is that a part of the definition that must be considered? Must the activity be performed by an “athlete”. Is a tennis player an athlete? well then is a table tennis player also? Is tennis a sport and ping pong a game?
the idea of this link is to get thru the hate and find a workable definition that can be applied against an activty to classify that activity as a sport or game.
That definition may exclude CART or Indy racing, but not NASCAR. In Nascar, all competitors have access to anything the other competitors have. Everything exept the Driver, Crew-Chief, and Crew.
Jeff Gordon will have esentially the same car as anyone else driving a Chevy. The difference is in how the crew builds the car, and how well the driver handles what the crew built him.
I say CART or Indy may be excluded by that definition, because it is my understanding that in those leagues, you can put anything into the car you can afford. I may be wrong, so correct me if I am 
Gilded
I fail to see how that is substantially different from Indy or Formula 1 (the ultimate auto racing circuit) racing.
Yes, you are. All those racing circuits have specific rules as to what may or may not be put into the cars. For instance, here are the BASIC rules for Formula 1 cars. You will note that all engines must be the same size (3-litre V10) all fuel tanks the same type, all wheels the same, etc. All cars are prohibited from using things like antolock brakes. There is, in fact, MORE uniformity among F1 cars, and among Indy cars, than there is among NASCAR vehicles.
I really don’t see how this is different from any sport where devices of any sort are used. Hockey didn’t stop being a sport when Bobby Hull invented the curved stick.