Athleticism

Recently I my mind has been stirred up to thinking about the definition of a sport.  If you check the worlds most useful and accessible encyclopedia it says that "Sport is all forms of competitive physical activity which, through casual or organized participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants."  The dictionary defines it as, "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature"

That blond kid is so gonna kick that ball...

Both of these definitions (and most thoughts of 'sports') call to mind physical activity, sweaty men, and exercise (oh yeah, and a mass of kids mindlessly following a ball around a field).  Yet there are many sports that do not fit this 'athletic' definition, the General Association of International Sport Federations (GAISF) recognizes five different 'mind-sports' such as chess, go, bridge, and even checkers.  Of course even those 'athletic' sports do not all require the same amount of strength, stamina, dexterity, or even fitness.  A 'futballer' is clearly in better shape than a 'caster' (fisherman), and sumo wrestler could hardly hope to perform like a gymnast (and viceversa).

They're similar... but yet different.

Over the course of history what society considers 'sport' has taken various forms.  From the purely track and field events of the first olympics to this years first ever European Winter X-Games, the events that we crowd around a TV to watch are changing as the technology around them.  Lately I have been glued to my computer screen as I watch live streams of some of my favorite video games being played in tournaments around the world.  E-gaming seems to be the newest wave in development of sports.  If you think back 30 years, people then didn't really consider skateboarding to be a 'professional sport' but it sure is now.


I think many people are reluctant to call gamers 'athletes,' because they're not really athletic, and that's fair, but not being an athlete doesn't mean what you do isn't a sport.  Consider things like shooting,  racing (NASCAR) or, equestrian events, those are sports, but it's hard to call those who do them athletes.  Some of you may argue saying that jockeys are athletes, and certainly some people believe that race car drivers are athletes.  I assure you, it may take great skill, but not athletic conditioning.

Although, it can't take that much skill to hit a target with fancy
targeting scanners attached to your head and gun.

People seem to equate being athletic with things outdoors, even things like jet ski racing seem more athletic due to it's outdoor nature, but really what more athletic conditioning does a jet ski racer need over a NASCAR driver?  If a man were to run several miles every day on his indoor treadmill, we might think him to be less athletic than the man who walks for just one mile outside.  Think about it.

A gamer is just as much an athlete as many of these aforementioned sport playing professionals.  He may sit down during his event, (so do many jockeys), yet the skill, dexterity, concentration, and comprehension, are (I think) much higher than most athletic events.  I believe that e-sports will continue to grow and become more and more socially acceptable.  I believe that I will live to see the day where StarCraft is broadcast on television, and not just through the internet.

This guy is just awesome, and he sure looks athletic, but
does his sport require athleticism to compete?

That's right, he's sitting down.