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Sport is all forms of usually competitive physical
activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain
or improve physical ability and skills while providing entertainment to participants,
and in some cases, spectators.
Definition According to GAISF
The Global Association of International Sports Federations
(GAISF) (previously SportAccord) is the umbrella organization for all
international sports federations, and has developed a definition of sport to
determine whether an applicant federation qualifies as an international sports
federation. The GAISF's definition of sport is as follows:
·
The sport proposed should include an element of
competition.
·
The sport should not rely on any element of
"luck" specifically integrated into the sport.
·
The sport should not be judged to pose an undue
risk to the health and safety of its athletes or participants.
·
The sport proposed should in no way be harmful
to any living creature.
·
The sport should not rely on equipment that is
provided by a single supplier.
The
Encyclopedia of World Sport
When collating all the world sports for the publication
'Encyclopedia of World Sport - from ancient times to the present' (Oxford
University Press, 1999), the editors based their inclusion criteria on the
following definition:
An activity can be considered a sport if it involves ...
competition between two or more individuals or teams;
rules of play that allow a winner to be determined;
a primary goal of victory;
victory determined by the relative physical ability of the
competitors, although strategy and chance may also play a role.
Other Definitions
Here are some other definitions found online:
"An activity involving physical exertion and skill in
which an individual or team competes against another or others" (Google
Search)
“a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring
physical exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organization,
is competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport.” (Australian Sports
Commission, ASC)
"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that
is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken
competitively" (Free Dictionary online)
Casper playing minigolf at the Wembley golf course Mini-Golf
is a lot of fun, but is it a sport?
Our Sport Criteria
Incorporating many of the common elements of the above
definitions, we have simplified them into these three basic criteria that a
sport must have, and have used this criteria for inclusion in our complete list
of sports.
A sport is ...
a human activity involving physical skill and exertion.
governed by a set of rules or customs.
undertaken competitively and capable of achieving a result.
What makes the list and what does not
There are many activities that are commonly debated whether
they are sports, such as fishing, dancing, cheerleading, golf, equestrian,
motorsports, pole dancing. Based on the above criteria, are these sports? Let's
look a little closer at them.
The examples of golf and cheerleading easily fit the
definition of sports when in the competitive form. Fishing and dancing for most
people is a pastime and not a sport, but there are structured competitions with
these activities which make it a sport in that form. In the case of equestrian
and motorsports, there is physical exertion by the riders, but the horse and
car are primarily doing the work. On the other hand, there is plenty of skill
involved and it ticks all the other boxes.
There will always be activities that are borderline and
debatable whether they are sports or not. In that case, maybe the final
defining point should be as per the definition by the Australian Sports
Commission — it is a sport if it is ... "generally accepted as being a
sport".
