After watching the olympics coming to a close, I was left pondering who are athletes and who aren't. Many people don't think of climbers as athletes until you meet someone who has climbed K2 or Everest! So the question stands what sports don't you consider it's particant an athletes?


My answer: Curling and Golf

There's a lot of activities that are called sports that shouldn't be, but those sports participants are definitely athletes.
Like snowboarding.

Why is snowboarding not a sport?

If it requires music, costumes, and uses subjective judging, it is not a sport. They may be athletes but it isn't a sport.

So ice dancing is the lowest of the low. I rate curling higher than ice dancing. I'd rate a curler's athleticism comparable to a billiard player.

Snowboarders may be stupid (ala Jacobellis), but they have to have strength, balance, and strategy - definitely athletes.

My definition of a sport is this:

if it is something that is JUDGED then it is NOT a sport.

However, i do think snowboard halfpipe is a sport because i snowboard and i am biased.

but other than that, if you are competing for someones OPINION then it is a game and not a sport.

golf, auto racing, speed walking.

bowling, poker

One must make a distinction between a competition and a sport. Poker is a competition. Track is a sport.

im gonna have to say golf is deff. a sport...... if u have played a 5 hour round in August in TX.... u know it is physically tiring and they play 4 consecutive days in that weather....it is deff. a sport

now something like fishing or hunting...is not a sport, anyone can sit in a deer stand and be quite and wait for a deer to come to them....

by that logic is golf not a sport when its perfect temp outside?

and what about a four day fishing contest in hot august heat...they have to stand and repeatedly cast for long periods of time...that is physically draining...

I purpose a new category of "fringe sport" for those iffy situations:golf, fishing, hunting, horseracing, auto racing (although i believe there are those who would not allow auto racing to be called a fringe sport)

[This message has been edited by AG@RICE (edited 2/28/2006 1:29p).]

I don't particulary see the need to limit the definition. It's like arguing if Pluto is really a planet or not.

If it involves competition, skill and even a little physical prowess I'll call it a sport and move one.

Ice dancig: hate it, but I can't even skate much less jump on ice.

Curling: Boring, but you have to admit there is at least some skill involved and those rocks look heavish.

Golf: I hate it...but so do have the people I've played with. Swinging that club with any kind of consistency is way hard.

Football: Even football is "judged", referees can change the course of entire games by their calls.

golf, not a sport...can be tiring, but still not a sport. trust me, its probably one of the difficult games, but if golfing's a sport, bowling, and race car driving are up there as well.

This might help because I have always thought there to be a fine line between an athlete and a player or what have you http://www.thefreedictionary.com/athlete

Is it really a sport if:
A) You can smoke and drink while competing-and win.
B) There is no element of injury or death.

you have to die for it to be a sport? i'm sure people have had heat strokes and heart attacks on the golf course, so it's a sport. btw, tiger can out bench press most people on this board (well over 300 lbs.), so i'd say he's an athlete. if physical ability helps you it's a sport (strength, endurance, flexibiltiy for golf). i'd also say a sport should include a ball of some sort (except running or swimming i guess), so imo, that takes out dancing, ice skating, etc. i'm sure there are several exceptions to that one though.

there are alot of male ice dancers that can out bench press tiger woods...does that make them athletes?

the winner is sports is determined by points scored or times. golf, curling are both sports. stuff like figure skating and even gymnastics are not. a gymnast is by far more athletic than a golfer, but in my opinion if there is subjective scoring it is a competition, not a sport.

also, stuff like billiards and poker are not sports simply because they require no physical exertion.

the truest sports are stuff like track, where the only factor is the competitors and the clock. the most fun sports to watch though are the ones that add in more rules and referees like football, baseball, basketball, hockey, ect.

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there are alot of male ice dancers that can out bench press tiger woods...does that make them athletes?

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Yes (though I doubt the accuracy of you statement).

I would love to have their balance, strength, stamina, and agility, without the homosexuality. Same with male gymnasts (though I wouldn't like to be 5'2" like a lot of them either).

Though I can't stand sports that rely on someone to judge your score (diving, gymnastics, figure skating, bull riding, etc.), you have to respect the athletic ability involved.

boxing is judged. Would any of you not consider it a sport.

I've always defined a sport as a game or competition where there is a defense actively involved.

Baseball, Soccer, Football, Hockey, etc.

Not Golf, Not Poker, Not Curling, Not Ice-Skating, Not Snowboarding or skiing...

track?

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I've always defined a sport as a game or competition where there is a defense actively involved.

Baseball, Soccer, Football, Hockey, etc.

Not Golf, Not Poker, Not Curling, Not Ice-Skating, Not Snowboarding or skiing...

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So I guess last year's Aggie Football team didn't play a sport either...jokes!!!

In all seriousness, what would you call Skiing, snowboarding, track & field and swimming?

Golf is definitely a sport. It requires athleticism to play it at its highest level. I think people misjudge it when they see people from all walks of life playing it. Some who are not great athletes can play the game well, but to play it at the highest levels (PGA TOUR, high amateur play), it helps to be athletically gifted.

Strange to be that people don't make the same connection when they see overweight people playing basketball, tennis or softball, yet everyone considers those to be sports. I can point out any number of overweight, non-athletic looking players in basketball, football and especially baseball.

It's my experience that those who claim golf is not a sport are usually not good players. But they think of themselves as good athletes and it frustrates them that they can't play better. They surmise that "since I'm a good athlete, and I'm not very good at this game, then it must not be an athletic game." Kind of an ego thing.

Most of the great golfers of our time were exceptional athletes. Jack Nicklaus (deemed athlete oif the decade by The AP in the 1970s) was a multi-sport start in high school and was all-state in basketball. No one would claim Tiger Woods is not a great athlete.

And don't use the chubby golfers like John Daly and Craig Stadler as examples of non-athlete golfers. Those guys have exceptional hand-eye coordination and flexibility, much like the "chubby" pro baseball players you may see. Just because someone is not sleek and trim doesn't mean they are not athletic. Anyone who can hit a golf ball 300-350 yards is a really good athlete by any measure.

I'm not saying golfers are the best athletes in the world. I am saying that those who play the game at its highest level have to be good athletes or they wouldn't get to that level.

I once played with a world class track athlete who had recently competed in the Olympics. We walked Pebble Creek in the heat of the summer. He was in far greater shape than me, but he had to stop and sit down on the 15th hole because he was so worn out. I was fine and kept playing. It's just a different kind of "shape" I guess.

I would also argue that anyone who says race car drivers are not athletes don't understand that sport either. It requires a different kind of athleticism than football or basketball, but you still need to be athletic. The stamina and reflexes required are mind-boggling. Just try to sit in a hot, cramped space for a 500-mile race, going 200+ miles per hour around tight curves where the slightest mistake will slam you into the wall and possible cost you your life.