What Makes a Sport a Sport?

Welcome back to Athletic Anthropology. In this post, I would like to talk about what a sport actually is as well as the defining characteristics of sports. Most people feel that they could easily name examples of sports or some common characteristics of sports. However, it can be difficult to conceptualize sports as a whole. I am excited to share the information I learned at a Duke University course over the summer in order to help us to understand what makes a sport a sport.

There are three characteristics that distinguish a game or activity from a sport. The first is that a sport must be competitive. In other words, a sport must have an end goal and an aspect of competition in completing that goal. Competition does not mean that an athlete has to face off head-to-head with some else. Many sports such as diving, Olympic weightlifting, and even Bowling are completed individually.

The second defining aspect of a sport is that athletes must represent a particular team and must play under the rules of a specified league. The league ensures that the rules are enforced equally on each team, ensuring that the sport is officiated the same for each athlete. This raises the question of whether professional race car drivers in F1, Nascar, and more, are competing in a sport or recreation. It can be difficult to recognize the team aspect of racing as each driver is treated as an individual. However, one could argue that the team behind the race car driver is composed of the pit crew who helps to ensure that the driver and car can complete the race. Additionally, most professional drivers compete with a sponsorship from a car company or other brand. These brands may sponsor multiple drivers, creating a team of drivers despite the fact that those drivers may minimally interact with one another.

The third aspect of sports is that they must involve some aspect of physical activity. This raises the question of whether the field of Esports is actually considered sports. While Esports meet the requirement of being competitive and team-based, it has been a widely argued subject of whether video games are considered physical activity. I would argue that video games due require some level of physical activity as they utilize hand-eye coordination, require fine motor skills, and help to develop reaction times. While video games may not be as physically taxing as sports like football, basketball, rugby, etc. they still have a level of activity.

I enjoyed exploring the three aspects of sports -- competition, organization, and physicality -- with you did as well. Feel free to leave your questions or comments under this post and I look forward to continuing on our journey through the world of sports.

Works Cited

Starn, Orin. "Understanding Play and Sports." Sports and Society, 15 Jul. 2020, Duke University, https://www.coursera.org/learn/sports-society.