Sport or not?

[acdcfan259]

Originally Posted by Kyle Love

FIRST is NOT a sport. The most physically unfit person in the world could be awesome with FIRST.

Racing in most cases, can be considered a sport due to the extreme G forces placed on the body and the fitness required to be able to do what they have to do. Mainly, open wheeled cars require the driver to be fairly fit. NASCAR, not so much.

NASCAR is not and never will be a sport. The best argument I've heard is that it's hot and really long. So are marathons but they're running the entire time instead of sitting there.

I agree with what Kyle said. FRC in it's current format isn't a sport because of the lack of physical exertion.

[thehurd03]

I'm going to try and make a Venn diagram in text, with instead of similarities in the middle the middle is first.

Chess is considered a Game and not a Sport, it is because,
1. It involves no more physical exertion than lifting a finger.
2. It is a competition for the mind.
3. You can have John Doe walk off the street, and learn Chess and all the good techniques in one hour

Baseball is considered a sport, this is because,
1.It involves a lot of physical exertion, when your not busy being a bench-warmer.
2. Joe Shmoe can't walk off the street and be good at it.
3. It is a game of entertainment.


First takes from the aspects of a game and a sport in a couple of ways,
1. You don't have to be super fit to be in first, but you can't be all flab either, sometimes depending on the machine your using you can "feel the burn".
2. First robotics competitions can be entertaining, but I know many people that come to learn more about robotics.
3. It draws from Chess in that it is a game for the mind.
4. It draws from baseball in that it takes a lot of training.

Now this might be a silly conclusion but it's a conclusion none-the-less.

I propose a hybrid. Since it is neither sport nor game but draws from both types of competition.

It's a Gorte

Or a half sport

[smurfgirl]

Originally Posted by thehurd03

I propose a hybrid. Since it is neither sport nor game but draws from both types of competition.

It's a Gorte

Or a half sport

That's another really good point. Obviously it doesn't match perfectly to either category, which is why we are debating it. Why force it into an existing category when it doesn't really fit in either. Let's make it its own classification, one that really fits. It's part game, part sport, but not really either.

[ComradeNikolai]

Originally Posted by thehurd03

3. You can have John Doe walk off the street, and learn Chess and all the good techniques in one hour

Wait, what?

You can teach me ALL the good techniques of chess in one hour? Really?

Chess takes YEARS of training to even get close to good. Most current masters (not even the grandmaster level; as low as 2200 USCF rating) have been playing since their early childhood and studying with grandmasters to get to a good level, and most people rated 1800 or above play for at least a couple of hours a day.

But I agree with the general idea here; chess is mental, not physical, and so is FIRST; not a sport.

[Andy Baker]

I'll vote for "not a sport".

Sport involves great things, and it also involves ugly things.

Both FIRST and organized sports teach lessons, provide opportunities, and are very enjoyable for participants. Each have benefits. I've learned many life lessons while being active in both. However, I choose now to be involved in FIRST instead of heavily involved in a sport because the impact of life changing lessons and development is significantly higher in FIRST (from my experience*).

I wish that FIRST did not try to market the robotics competitions as a sport. There are other ways to promote this wonderful program.

Andy B.

* - in my younger years, this includes many levels of competition, including college and semi-pro football

[R.C.]

It is a sport but for smart people. lol. The sport thing can go both ways.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by rc_cola1323

It is a sport but for smart people. lol. The sport thing can go both ways.

So are regular sports for dumb people?

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by Cory

So are regular sports for dumb people?

Funny Cory, no that's just the overall feel I get from people. "Dude are you in robotics. Yeah. Man your smart"

But no, robotics just celebrates science and technology a tad bit more than regular sports

[lingomaniac88]

Robotics itself is not a sport. However, a robotics competition, depending on your definition, can be a sport.

Some people in this thread believe that classifying the FRC as a sport degrades it, possibly because it gives the impression that winning is the ultimate goal. We all know that this is not the case. If you want to be more precise, you should say that the FRC is a very unique sport. I do believe that the FRC is a (very unique) sport, but I will agree that it's not a sport in the "traditional" sense of the word, and it's probably not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of a sport.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by lingomaniac88

Some people in this thread believe that classifying the FRC as a sport degrades it, possibly because it gives the impression that winning is the ultimate goal. We all know that this is not the case.

I don't know that everyone knows 'this is not the case' and I would never want to assume this. If FIRST is promoted/marketed as a sports competition based on what that means in today's society, then you are looking at winning as the ultimate goal. There is no way around it. If not handled carefully, the goals/mission statement/original purpose of FIRST could get lost.

Sean Lavery started a thread this past May that discussed some of this. His posts, in particular, provide some excellent food for thought.

[Michael Hill]

These types of threads ALWAYS go the same way.

Poll: Is [insert activity here] a sport?

People: It's on ESPN, it's a sport.
others: So what about poker and auto racing?
rebuttle: we train just as hard or long as a football player or baseball player
counter-rebuttle: Are you really in that much physical shape?
reply: *brings in dictionary* "A 'sport' is defined as...[insert vague definition that you can twist any activity into a sport]"
*Topic eventually dies and never gets resolved*

Using this method, I could probably define typing on a keyboard as a sport.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

Using this method, I could probably define typing on a keyboard as a sport.

You know they have texting competitions right? So it COULD be a sport.

Joking aside, does classifying FIRST as a sport mean anything to any of us? To me I don't care if it is a sport or not. I enjoy it. And as long as we all enjoy it does it matter what people who aren't involved think?

[ATannahill]

Originally Posted by Damien1247

You know they have texting competitions right? So it COULD be a sport.

Joking aside, does classifying FIRST as a sport mean anything to any of us? To me I don't care if it is a sport or not. I enjoy it. And as long as we all enjoy it does it matter what people who aren't involved think?

no, and i truthfully surprised that people within first do not consider it a sport but i have no opinion either way

[m3ch4num470r]

Wiktionary:
sport (countable and uncountable; plural sports)

1. (countable) Any athletic activity that uses physical skills, often competitive.

Oxford English Dictionary Online:
sport

• noun 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others

Sorry, but by definition, not a sport. That's okay. We capture the best of sports and leave out the parts that aren't as good/useful/important.

Originally Posted by thehurd03

Chess is considered a Game and not a Sport, it is because,
1. It involves no more physical exertion than lifting a finger.
2. It is a competition for the mind.
3. You can have John Doe walk off the street, and learn Chess and all the good techniques in one hour

If you could teach all of chess in one hour, how come the best computers can be beaten by people with a lifetime of training? The truth is, Chess requires almost as much training as baseball.

A little off topic, but I couldn't let that go unchallenged.

[tennispro9911]

Some chess players train more than almost any athlete