The problem with this question is that there are many different definitions of sport. Older definitions consider a sport to be a "game involving physical excercise". Others define it as a "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively". Neither of these definitions support robotics, due to its lack of physical activity. Yes, it has SOME physical exertion, lifting a robot, using the shear, etc., but in no way is this elongated and physically challenging in a way that it can't be accomplished successfully by most people. In addition to this, there is no human physical exertion whatsoever DURING the match (maybe minus the human player). Thus, by these definitions, robotics is not a sport.
However, there are looser definitons, ones that basically state a sport is some kind of leisure activity. Obviously, robotics would fit into this. However, many other "sports" would then fit in to this which wouldn't be considered sports. Examples would include sewing competitions, poker, and sure, for kicks, we'll throw in underwater basket weaving . Through this, we can see that this is too loose of a definition, and thus, robotics should still not be considered a sport.
Third, my reference is Sports Law, a course at Cornell University. In their class overview, it states, "The concept of amateur sports includes a range of activities from an individual casual weekend athlete to high school athletics to
extensively organized intercollegiate or international competitions. Athletic activities are often organized and managed by individual groups that establish rules for eligibility and competition, and courts are often unwilling to interfere with the actions of these groups as long as their rules are reasonably applied". The international competition part could be used to support FIRST and robotics, however, while not specifically stated, it still seems to be implying physical exertion, due to the previous clauses mentioning athletes.
Finally, while Wikipedia isnt the MOST trustworthy, their opening paragraph puts it nicely:
"A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree of skill, especially at higher levels. Hundreds of sports exist, including those for a single participant, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. Some non-physical activities, such as board games and card games are sometimes referred to as sports, but a sport is generally recognised as being based in physical athleticism."
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To conclude, essentially all definitons of sport imply some kind of physical exertion, and i've shown that robotics does not have physical exertion DURING the competition. I suppose one could argue the 6 weeks is part of the competition; however, physical exertion is not consistent, repetitive, and/or uniform throughout the build team. Even the definitions that don't include physical exertion are simply too broad and would consider too many activitites that we dont consider to be a sport, a sport.
As much as i love robotics, and sports, robotics is NOT a sport.
-Duke
P.S. To Adam's question, i don't care too much. But, debates are fun, the OP wants to know, and im bored.
