Louisiana is the "Sportsman's Paradise" - says so on our license plates. So hunting and fishing are sports, to some at least. Opening a few dictionaries and web sites and trawling through the previous posts, it seems that an activity being a sport includes some number of the following attributes (which ones vary by individual, of course). Personally, I think that any list that does not include baseball and tennis is right out, but some people insist on full body contact. Much like PAR_WIG1350 posted four years ago (#22), I understand "sport" to be like "jazz" - I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. This list is not necessarily complete, but I tried to think of all I've read and seen:
- Competition
- Teams
- Interaction between the competitors
- Requires a combination of skill, practice, and luck
- Formal rules
- Athleticism
- Physical activity
- Extreme physical exertion
- Physical fatigue
- Contact
- Full Body Contact
- Possibility of Injury
- Dedication "above and beyond"
- Strategy
- "Game Plans"
- "Adjustments"
- "Fluid Strategies" - the possibility for new strategies to displace the tried-and-true
- Taking calculated/considered risks
- Spectators (who are not competitors or family/friends, especially if revenue is generated)
- Sportsmanship (grace in competition, victory, and defeat)
- Motivation: Pursued for pleasure or exercise
The bottom line is that unless you decide that a "sport" includes one (or more) of these attributes:
- Extreme physical exertion of a human as opposed to a "built athlete" (and in some cases this is in question, esp. with the HP)
- Contact/Full Body Contact of humans
- Spectators (paying, or at least who are not competing, nor their family and friends)
FRC qualifies. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'll bet a steak dinner that a majority of Olympic events (both winter and summer) fail at least three of these tests (first entry that disproves this only).