Is FIRST a Sport

[pwilczynski]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

I guess it depends on your personal definition of sport. My definition is an activity that requires skill and strategy to win a competition under a specified set of rules. FIRST satisfies my definition.

I agree with Daniel that it depends on each person's personal definition. However, I also think that
A) this is a great chance to try and get to the bottom of this whole FIRST thing
and B) Just a fun little argument with a little gracious professionalism sprinkled on top

However, to counter your point about an "activity that requires skill and strategy to win a competition under a specified set of rules," I will provide the Dictionary.com definition of a 'game.'

An active interest or pursuit, especially one involving competitive engagement or adherence to rules

I think that you will agree that this places FIRST into the catagory of game/compitition. I also think that FIRST would agree itself, as it has never called itself a sport (except as a 'sport for the mind'), but has on numerous occasions called itself a competition (FIRST Robotics Competition) or a game (FIRST Game Design Comittee).

Originally Posted by looneylin

it involves the strategy of a sport and the physical exertion. so sure, why not?

I think that this statement undermines what makes FIRST different from a sport, the fact that one does not use the same type of physical exertion as sports. FIRST exertion is fatigue due to loss of sleep, of frusteration due to a broken robot, or lifting a couple of pounds of corregated aluminum. These are totally different types of exertion from the exertions required to play sports (i.e. running quickly, lifting very heavy weights (not including robots, which are normally lifter by more than one person), or jumping).

Originally Posted by Martinez

More food for thought. Would you consider those robo puppies playing soccer to be a sport? I sure do.

Perhaps a sport for the robots, as I have said FIRST is, but you couldn't argue that the people involved were using any extraordinary amount of physical activity, much like those in FIRST.


As always, my two cents