[EricH]

Originally Posted by GB330033

I still challenge you to ask people if robotics/FIRST is a sport, and see what they say. I imagine most will either ask "What's FIRST?" or say "No"

95% of people will say "What's FIRST?" After you explain what FIRST is (a robotics competition), 99.9% of those will say "like Battlebots?" After you get through explaining FIRST, they will either become hooked and say it's a sport, or hate it and say it's not, or not care one way or the other (probably the majority). The other 5% (from the beginning) will either a) be on a team or b) have heard about FIRST and answer you.

Now, something to consider: Is weightlifting a sport? Yes. OK, then we lift heavy weights, whether they are tools or robots. Is track a sport? Yes. Have you never seen a team racing to get on the field and set up? How about NASCAR? It's considered a sport, right? We are more physical and use more strategy than NASCAR. So, FIRST could most certainly be a sport.