Page 1 of Is Computer gaming a sport

The Beebs been banging on about this all day you can vote, if you're bothered, here.
For me, definitely not. OED definition of sport.

That's not to say it's not highly skilled, hugely popular and demands a high degree of application but I fail to understand the desire to hang 'Sport' on it as a label. Unless there's some financial reason. Not being a sport shouldn't even preclude it from being an Olympic event. Earlier this century there were Olympic medals for literature and sculpture.


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I used to be with it, but then they changed what `it` was.
Now, what I`m with isn`t it, and what`s `it` seems weird and scary

This item was edited on Thursday, 15th January 2015, 16:42

nope, neither is darts 

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I would have thought the pros would rather it's not a sport, as at least in USA, they'd get taxed more as sportsmen/women!

WWE decided not to be a sport , but to be "entertainment" so that participants and events were in a lower tax bracket.

Chess is a sport, so computer games could be, is the "argument" often used

See, my first thought is 'No, it's not.' but I'll be honest and say that there are many things that I could hear and be easily persuaded wither way more strongly.  The simple chess example helped me think well it could be...

Ste

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We will pay the price but we will not count the cost..

It's closed and the overwhelming verdict is No, and I'd tend to agree with them...

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Quote:
admars says...
"WWE decided not to be a sport , but to be "entertainment" so that participants and events were in a lower tax bracket"
I don't think a sport can be fixed. ;) Well it can, but it's not supposed to be.


Quote:
admars says...
"Chess is a sport, so computer games could be, is the "argument" often used"
I'm shocked to find out that chess is a sport! Mind you it isn't in the Olympics yet.

I think a sport must be a physical activity, which rules out Chess and video games. I'd agree that darts isn't a sport either, but I'd also go so far as to remove performance disciplines as a sport, or those that rely on an animal.

Thinking here of some forms of figure skating and prancing about on a horse. If you look at diving, each dive is a fixed predefined thing, and judges to decide how close to the ideal dive you got. But whenever in figure skating when they get points for composition, or anything artistic, that to me is not how sport should be scored, and if it can be then it isn't a sport.

Likewise, whenever another animal other than the human that is competing, is doing any of the work, then that's again something I don't think is a sport. But then I guess that also includes horse racing, which inconsistently I admit feels more of a sport.

Should One Man And His Dog be a sport? :)

I have to say that watching people compete in video games is really boring!

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Quote:
Rob Shepherd says...
"I have to say that watching people compete in video games is really boring!"
Aye, all I can think about is playing games myself rather than watching other people...


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what about motor racing? I have no interest in motor racing, but the drivers have to be fit, and although there's always the element of the car being the star, I'm pretty sure if you put me in the best F1 car against they guy with the worst f1 car, he'd win ;)

you could say the same about horses, not all horses are equal, but there's skill in controlling them, and I think you have to be fairly fit to ride a horse professionally.

if darts isn't a sport, does that mean neither are pool, billiards, or snooker? they don't involve much running usually, but there's a lot of mental and physical strength and skill involved. I remember a pro darts plsyer saying, what people don't realise is it's not liek the famous Smith and Jones sketch, but when you've been playing a long game, it takes a lot of effort to stop your arm shaking, from the effects of lactic acid is it? trying to remember back to GCSE biology:)

I was starting to think the amount of luck involved should decide what's a sport, and what isn't, but luck is difficult to measure.

I'm not sure I'd class it as a sport, and apart from being sat in a room with a few mates, waiting my turn for Tekken, Total NBA, I've never seen the appeal in watching other ppl play video games, but a lot of ppl do, there's a guy at work, who every lunch time watches games, I don't mean a review show, or tips, or even a FIFA, Street FIghter match, he'll just sit there watching video of some-one playing Minecraft, or GTA for an hour! He is a bit wierd ;)

Saying that, there's not many sports I enjoy watching.


also, it must be a sport, 'cos my wrist has been known to hurt after a long night of Tekken, bust a move etc ;)

This item was edited on Thursday, 15th January 2015, 21:58

that guy is watching some-one play a puzzle game this lunchtime, that's v odd!

I was once back in the early 90's on a highly paid contract job of technical (yawn) author making technical (yawn) manuals, but there was only enough work for four hours, but we had to clock in and out, so four of us in the same job was stuck with nothing to do for four hours each day.

Solution was....ta ra...... Video gaming sport  

We had a game called 'the lost vikings' with infinity (or what seemed infinity) levels, and each day we competed for four hours on our computers to see who got through a level the quickest, and the slowest would have to buy a round of drinks on Friday lunch time.

If a boss came in we toggled keyboards and up came out technical author work, he he. Anyway it past the time.

Lost vikings 1992....