What defines a sport and what is considered a sport? Sports are considered to be for recreation or competitiveness, which can be looked at as a good starting point to figure a sport from an activity. There seems to be many ways that one can determine a sport, but it mainly comes down to whether a sport has physical exertion, personal skill, and competitiveness between individuals or teams which defines the line between what a true sport and an activity. Therefore, many sports that are considered a sport really is not because of the lack of the three attributes required to call a sport a sport. Such as, Nascar, poker, and hunting should be considered an activity instead of a sport for they don’t meet all three criteria. 

"Sport permeates any number of levels of contemporary society, and it touches upon and deeply influences such disparate elements as status, race relations, business life, automotive design, clothing styles, the concept of hero, language, and ethical values. For better or worse it gives form and substance to much in American life” (Loy 24). The sporting industry has become a social institution because of the dramatic rise in the popularity of sport. It isn’t necessarily easy to put a definition on sport but can be brought down to a narrow definition by looking in to many philosophical works and people’s opinions. 

     Loy argues that the main way everyone should determine the difference between a sport and an activity or hobby is that a sport demands “the demonstration of physical prowess” (Loy 20). Many people that have considered an activity a sport have tried to push new products, become heroes to younger generations, new ethical values are taught and business life has increased in areas of an activity that is not considered a sport but has impacted society.  If an athlete does not show exceptional physical ability and skill, then that is a sign that it should not be a sport. Some sports that tie into Loys quote include Billiards, NASCAR, dirt bike racing, archery, fishing, snowmobiling, and sailing. The main thing all these sports have in common is that they all use an outside source of power, such as dirt bike racing and Nascar are powered by a motorized instrument to do all the work while playing the game. Also, fishing and archery both uses instruments required to properly play the sport. Although these sports require an extreme amount of skill, to play they do not fully meet the main three criteria that all sports need to be considered sports: physical exertion, personal skill, and competition between individuals or teams.  If they are missing any of these criteria, then they should not be considered a sport.

   People who are involved in a sport that is an activity will provide a good argument as to why their activity is considered a sport. As for billiard’s one could easily say that it meets all three criteria, but the majority would rule that billiards is not physically straining enough to count. Poker and online gaming could be thrown in the same boat; they both are mentally straining by having to sit and be completely focused on the task at hand for hours on end. It takes a lot of skill to be a decent player and it obviously meets the requirements of the competition aspect but, I still would not consider it a sport.

     NASCAR and Dirt Bike Racing can be very physically demanding, but which is a sport, and which is not? Is it enough to be considered a sport? NASCAR drivers are hit with 3.2 G’s of force around each turn and must do this for three hours straight which can be very physically demanding (Leone). Nascar is not the average speed of 55 miles per hour like most people are used to, the average speed of a NASCAR driver ranges from 90 miles per hour to 200 miles per hour. At this rate of speed, it takes a lot of skill and hand eye coordination to be able to control a car. Dirt bike racing on the other hand, you must be in great shape to control the constant and random whips of the bike which comes from lots of physical and mental training. They also are able to display unbelievable balance on long jumps, small fast jumps, and sharp turns. I do not consider this a sport because it lacks physical exertion and also requires the use of an outside power source in order to perform the activity.

     There are many types of sports in America that have come along thanks to the advancement of technology. Before this advancement sports were a lot simpler.  The main thing about sports was people use to go outside and enjoying nature with friends in the neighborhood especially when there was no television, no internet, video games, or phones. People could enjoy free time in a much more productive way rather than sitting on the couch wasting hours upon hours with the new technology that we have today. As technology has advanced through time, many sports have gone away from the main thing that a sport should include, this being where the participant of the sport uses physical exertion to a point where it causes a small amount of physical strain on the body. By saying this it refers to sports where the player uses his mind as the main power source to play the game or in a case where an outside source does more work than one’s body (Leone).

     Over time people have learned more and more about their bodies and how they can increase the way they train to better themselves during sports. From the early 1900’s onward to about 1950 athletes and the sports world all thought one body type was ideal for all sports. With many studies shown looking back at sports like long distance running there is a significant difference in time between in the 1950’s and the times that are recorded today. Many examples of changes through time can be found looking in to basketball, shotput, running, swimming, and high jump. High jump and shotput participants were roughly the same height and weight back in the 1920’s. Today the average shotput to high jump player would be 2 and a half inches taller and 130 pounds heavier than the high jumper. Then on the other hand swimmers compared to runners have the same length legs but the runners average to be 7 inches shorter than swimmers (Epstein). As we have learned more about ways to play the game and better ways to train many sports have grown in players skill level and make it more enjoyable to watch top athletes. 

     The history of sports is dated as far back as the prehistoric days where military training could have been used as a competition as a means to determine who would be useful and fit for service. These sports competitions were used to train and see who was capable of fighting for military purposes.   It was also a way to help individuals develop basic human skills and learn to work together as a team. During the prehistoric times, sports was a part of their life.  There are cave paintings, that shows wrestling and sprinting as their sport.  These paintings also show crowds standing around as these wrestling match take place.  Swimming and archery evidence has also been found in cave paintings that depicts these sports being performed.  During the ancient times, we see erected monuments of Egyptians and Grecians with sports objects in their hands depicting the participation of a sport.   Records show that all kind of sporting games were taking place during this time: Long jumping, rowing, shooting, fishing, javelin throwing, cuju (which is similar to football as we know it), and even weightlifting. The ancient Greeks are well known for the first Olympic Games which were held to honor the Gods.  These games were held every four years. In the Middle Ages competition of sporting events were rough and sometimes violent toward one another.  Jousting and fencing were very popular but could lead to someone being wounded or even killed (History of Sports and Games).  

     The development of the different sports that people know of today increased during the Industrial Revolution and mass production time.  It was a time of increased leisure that would allow individuals more time to take part in playing sports that were being introduced or by gambling on spectator sports.  With the global communication and mass media opening up to the whole world, the furtherance of sports popularity increased.  As sports increased there was more values being placed on the professional playing the sport.  The desire to cheat increased because of the values placed on them to win.  The use of performance enhancing drugs such, as steroids, was used to enhance the physical ability of a player so that they could win. Using this as a means to win has always been frowned upon. But through professional monitoring of athletes, through regularly drug testing, agencies have ensured fair play for almost all sports today.

     Women were not as privileged as men were when it came to playing sports.  Sports for women existed but only in the form of a recreational activity rather than competitiveness.  Their sport didn’t require rules, or emphasis on physical activity; instead it was considered play activity.  Women were encouraged not to over exert themselves because it could be hazardous to their health.  In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s women began forming clubs that were athletic in nature.  As women became more involved in sport activities they were often limited to what they could do or be involved in when it came to physical competitive sports.  In America, it wasn’t until the Federal Legislation, often referred to as Title IX, became law (Bell, 2008), that women were to be recognized by society in America to be able to participate in a sport that was on an equal playing level as that of men (History of Sports and Games).

     Most modern-day sports were formed around the 19th and 20th century.  Many of them take their origins from ancient times or primitive sports.  In America there are many different sports to play and they all have very different characteristics to each one of them. New sports are always being thought of as time goes on and we gain more knowledge and try new things. But, in some cases these sports can be argued that they don’t meet certain requirements that a normal sport would tend to have. Even though new sports have been added throughout history if they don’t have the criteria of physical exertion, personal skill, and individual or team competitiveness then they can’t truly be considered a sport. 

     Looking further into the definition of sport a very developed philosopher by the name of Bernard Suits, he has written much on the topic of sport and breaks down all aspects of it. In his writing ‘The Elements of Sport’ he touches upon his belief to the four things a sport need to have in order to be considered a sport. The first rule is called the pre lusory goal; “to attempt to achieve a specific state of affairs”. Second is the lusory means; “using only means permitted by the rules”. Thirdly, are the constitutive rules; “where the rules prohibit use of more efficient in favor of less efficient means”. The final rule of Suits he calls it lusory attitude which means; “where the rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity”. He comes up with this set of common characteristics of all games by much observation into a variety of game playing showing that all sports have common ground through these rules. Frank McBride comments his remarks on Suits three main writings touching on the sports aspect of things, saying that it is very hard to have a definition for something that can be so broad but admires Suits for doing such a wonderful job with these rules. Expressing that after reading Suits writings that he now believes that both concepts of games and game playing are much less general than he thought and that these rules define a very large part of the sports community (McBride).

     In some sports such as Nascar, dirt bike racing, sailing, archery or shooting, snowmobiling and fishing all require the use of some sort or outside power source is required to perform the work therefore these so-called sports cannot be considered a sport for they all lack the means of physical exertion. In Nascar and dirt bike racing a machine such as a car and a bike is controlled by an engine and is used to perform the physical work of the so-called sport. A driver is used only to control where the machine goes. By this we know that these sorts of sports should be put in the games category for they do not require human physical skill or exertion. Along with Nascar and dirt bike racing, sailing, fishing, archery and snowmobiling all as well have the common theme of a machine or outside power that is required perform the physical work required to play the game. Archery and sailing requires the athlete to be physically fit and an extreme amount of skill to perform at a high level. Even though these two so called sports meet all three standards of a normal sport, it is not considered a sport because the outside power source is used in order to play the game. Fishing and snowmobiling unlike the rest are considered to be more of a recreational activity and requires little skill, these sports are not considered to be competitive nor does it require very little physical exertion. 

We now know that sport is considered to be an activity that involves physical exertion, personal skill, and in which a person or team competes against one another. If it were to be considered to be a game then it may not contain all three of these aspects. Billiards for starters, requires not enough physical exertion but is more of a strategic game that is played as a hobby or addiction rather than a sport. Poker as well as billiards is not considered a sport, billiards along with poker is more of a mind game that has the competition levels and personal skill to be a sport but lacks in the physical exertion part. 

Although, there are many different opinions on what an activity needs to require to be considered a sport. The main three things that every sport must have is physical exertion, personal skill, and competition between individuals or teams.  If they are missing any of these then it shouldn’t be a sport plain and simple. The advancement of technology, in many sports today, has caused athletes of not being physically exceptional for the sport they may be performing. Technology has allowed players to use less of their physical exertion and brain power because of outside sources of power that can control the persons actions during play, therefore taking away the main three concepts of what determine a sport. When looking at a sport in today’s world you will find many different types of games/sports that are played. Some are considered to be sports, football, baseball, soccer, to name a few, and some are not considered to be a sport, fishing, swimming, sailing, to name a few, even though they all have physical exertion and skill, and can have a competitive nature, they still may not meet the three qualities to define them as a sport but instead would then be defined as a hobby or for recreational purposes.
