FIRST FCC: A Sport or Not?

[anna~marie]

At MHS we get varsity letters for FIRST.
That doesn't mean it's a sport. In fact our school recongizes it as an activity.
However, my choir, the debate team, the band....etc all get letters even though they aren't sports

[Cody Carey]

I believe that first is a club, it is a game, it is a competition, and it is a learning experience, but it is not a sport. Go into a sport store... Will you find and ounce of extruded aluminum, or maybe a speed controller... no, you won't. Also, I don't know about you, but I'm winded after a running a city block, my mile time was 7:40, and I can't do more that 8 pull-ups anymore. I am not an athlete, and I am not in a sport.

More than once, I have had to lift the robot, but I lift it for maybe 5 seconds at a time, and maybe once every 5 minutes (at a hectic time). Weight lifters do this for hours on end, and with far heavier weights than 120 lbs, especially since the 120 lbs is usually shared between 3 or more people. I have also had to make a "mad dash" to get to my driver station on time... but as anyone who has done this while pulling a robot through a crowd can attest to, my maximum speed was 5 miles an hour, hardly a brisk pace. Once again, I am not an athlete, and I am not in a sport.



Another thing. If my friends all of the sudden make a “fantasy walking league”, does that make walking a sport?



I have a feeling that a lot of us here in FIRST only want to consider this a sport so that we can check the little box on a survey that says “I Participate in a high-school athletics program." And pat ourselves on the back for being "just as good" as the football, or basketball players. I won't hold myself to those standards, because I don’t play in a sport, and I am not an athlete. Truth is... We, being children of FIRST, have a much better chance of succeeding in life while doing what we want to be doing than a football player does. Tell me a sport that 3 teams have to band together to win... show me a sport that the athletes are as friendly with their opponents as they are their allies.



And one last point... is this web page... It gives a brief history of sports.

http://fermi.univr.it/cla/webclass/Facchinetti/motorie/02-03/origin_of_sports.htm

I am convinced that FIRST is wholly different from a sport... Convince me otherwise.

ORIGINALLY HERE

[santosh]

The more and more I think about it, the more and more I consider FIRST a sport. This is simply by comparing it to racing (if you consider it a sport, I do). They spend time building and working on cars. they have a driver and a pit crew.
I know the driver must be pretty strong and have a lot of stamina to drive. A FIRST driver needs to last roughly 2 minutes. This is not what I consider a Le Mans 24 hour race.
Howver close it may be to NASCAR or F1 racing, I still don't fully think of it as a sport. I know this may seem like an overly stated statement. But FIRST is much more than a sport and the robot. You have to raise funds, you have a business like setup with leaders for most sub groups, you have mentoring, and outreach.
However it is still much less than a sport in that there is nowhere near the amount of physical exertion involvd. Come on, you cut, drill, mill, code, solder, make crimps, and other things like that. I don't consider that up to the physical exertion needed to smash a homerun out of the park or tackle a 230 lb. Bus, or slam dunk over someone.
So I guess this post was pretty confusing and contradicts itself a bit, but all in all, I don't fully consider FIRST Robotics a sport.

[Lil' Lavery]

Let's compare one of the least physically demanding of all sports (and yes, it's a sport, but no, football/baseball/etc. all beat it in terms of physical standards needed to play), Band. The Herndon High School Marching Band logs 108 hours of practice before school even starts, minimum (the freshmen, section leaders, and drum line each start a week earlier). Then you have during school rehersals, after-school rehersals, football games, saturday practices, and competitions on top of that. During the 1st quarter of school, the Marching Band easily logs as many hours as you do in FIRST all year (pre-season, build, competition, and post-season).
No, FIRST is NOT a sport. It's a game, yes. It's a competition, yes. Does it demand some physical ability and/or coordination, yes. But it is not on par with any real sports.

[Graham Donaldson]

OK, so I guess I needed to think the poll through a little more. So, we now have two options. I don't know how many of you guys would like the idea (I don't want to be yelled at for making threads with similar topics), but the first option is to make a thread like this, except v2., with more options. Or we can leave it like this. Suggestions? (I hate not being a mod on forums and not being able to delete threads when you don't want them, even if they're only my own.)

[JJG13]

FIRST is not a sport. For something to be a sport IMO it has to:

1. Be physically strenuous. This means that you have to work out to remain competitive in it. (Lugging batteries around does not count).
2. The most compicated tool used is a simple machine.

Originally Posted by Dictionary.com

A simple device, such as a lever, pulley, or inclined plane; a machine without moving parts

In other words no FIRST or racecars.
3. There has to be direct competition between two or more PEOPLE. In other words no horse races and no racing against the clock.
4. Scoring can't be subjective. In other words figure skating and gymnastics aren't sports while baseball, football, and soccer are.

[ChuckDickerson]

If FIRST is not a sport then why is there a J&J SPORTSMANSHIP Award?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

If FIRST is not a sport then why is there a J&J SPORTSMANSHIP Award?

Sportsmanship is not confined to sports. Chess is not usually considered a sport, but you should display sportsmanship.

[santosh]

Originally Posted by JJG13

1. Be physically strenuous. This means that you have to work out to remain competitive in it. (Lugging batteries around does not count).

There is always Golf.
What exactly are Science Olympiad and Oddesy of the Mind considered. I think FIRST would fall under that category, it is just that FIRST is 29857475^4543 times cooler.

[Elgin Clock]

Um.. What is FIRST FCC?? Care to explain what FCC stands for in that instance?

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by JJG13

In other words no FIRST or racecars.

I agree with you about sports. And even though I dread NASCAR, racing is a sport. Drivers can lose 10 pounds of sweat in a single NASCAR race. Driving at those speeds, in those stakes, with that amount of precision, for that long IS a physical activity.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by InfernoX14

Sailing is a sport. How physically demanding is that? It takes a few pulling of ropes that aren't 130 pounds.

the ropes might not weigh that much, but what ever is on the other end might.

[Akash Rastogi]

Wow thread revival....

[Elgin Clock]

No one DID ever answer my question as to what the heck FCC stood for.
I'm thinking it was a typo for FRC maybe?

(Oh, and the sad thing was I didn't realize this thread was old until I saw some old school FIRSTers' pics who had posted, & looked at the date since I know they haven't been around for a while.)
"You know you've been involved in FIRST too long when..." moment much? lol

[JesseK]

Sports involve cardiac exertion, where blood gets pumping and the mind has to focus in spite of the limbs screaming for no more. Thus, FRC isn't a sport. If anything the stress of it can take years off of our lives should we over involve ourselves. It also cannot replace a regular workout to keep one's health in check like most sports can. It's definitely something beyond a "club competition", but sport it is not.

I'd recommend anyone who's considering it to get a class ring with the FIRST logo on it. My varsity jacket from high school football has been gathering dust in my closet since my freshman year of college, yet I'm out of college 4 years now and wear my college class ring several times a week.