Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of
rules or
custom and often engaged in
competitively.
Sports commonly refer
to activities where the
physical
capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary
determinant of the outcome (
winning or
losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as
mind sports (a common name for some
card games and
board
games with little to no
element of chance)
and
motor sports where
mental acuity or equipment quality are major
factors. Sport is commonly defined as an
organized, competitive and skillful
physical activity requiring commitment and
fair play. Some view sports as
differing from games based on the fact that there are usually
higher levels of organization and
profit (not always
monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are
kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while
failures and accomplishments are widely announced in
sport news.
The term sports is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive
activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of
the level of physical activity. Both
games
of skill and
motor sport exhibit
many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill,
sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional
sponsorship associated with physical sports.
Sports that are subjectively judged are distinct from other judged
activities such as beauty pageants and bodybuilding shows, because
in the former the
activity performed is the primary focus
of evaluation, rather than the physical attributes of the
contestant as in the latter (although "presentation" or "presence"
may also be judged in both activities).
Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact
that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition.
Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are
expected to display good
sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as
being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the
winner when losing.
Etymology
"Sport" comes from the
old French
desport meaning "leisure."
History
There are
artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese
engaged in
sporting activities as early as 4000
BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in
China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a
number of sports, including swimming and fishing, were
well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in
ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing,
high jump, and wrestling.
Ancient Persian sports such as the
traditional Iranian
martial art
of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to
the warfare skills. Among other sports that originate in Persia
are polo and jousting.
A wide range of sports were already established by the time of
Ancient Greece and the military
culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one
another considerably.
Sports became such a prominent part of their
culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which in ancient
times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus
called Olympia
.
Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time
of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century.
Industrialization has brought increased leisure time to the
citizens of developed and developing countries, leading to more
time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater
participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility.
These trends continued with the advent of mass media and
global communication. Professionalism became
prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity, as
sports fans began following the exploits of professional athletes
through radio, television, and the internet—all while enjoying the
exercise and competition associated with amateur participation in
sports.
In the new millennium, new sports have been going further from the
physical aspect to the mental or psychological aspect of competing.
Electronic sports organizations
are becoming more and more popular.
Activities where the outcome is determined by judgement over
execution are considered performances, or competition.
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair
play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour
and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity
will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by
sports journalist
Grantland Rice,
that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game,"
and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder
Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important
thing . . . is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions
of this sentiment.
Violence in sports involves
crossing the line between fair competition and intentional
aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes
unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows
of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration.
Rioting or
hooliganism
are common and ongoing problems at national and international
sporting contests.
Professionalism
The entertainment aspect of sports, together with the spread of
mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism
in sports. This has resulted in some conflict, where the
paycheck can be seen as more important than
recreational aspects, or where the sports are changed simply to
make them more profitable and popular, thereby losing certain
valued traditions.
The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are
often elevated to celebrity status.
Politics
At times, sports and politics can have a large amount of influence
on each other.
When
apartheid was the official policy in
South Africa, many sports people,
particularly in
rugby union, adopted the
conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive
sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the
eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it
may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects.
The
1936 Summer Olympics held in
Berlin
was an illustration,
perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was
developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through
propaganda.
In the
history of Ireland
, Gaelic
sports were connected with cultural
nationalism. Until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned
from playing Gaelic football,
hurling, or other sports administered by the
Gaelic Athletic
Association (GAA) if she/he played or supported soccer, or other games seen to be of British
origin. Until recently the GAA continued to
ban the playing of soccer and
rugby
union at Gaelic venues.
This ban is still enforced, but has been
modified to allow football and rugby be played in Croke Park
while Lansdowne Road
is being redeveloped. Until recently, under
Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces
and members of the
RUC
from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the
Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to
the eventual removal of the ban.
Nationalism is often evident in the
pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people compete in national
teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. On
occasion, such tensions can lead to violent confrontation among
players or spectators within and beyond the sporting venue (see
Football War). These trends are seen by
many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sports being carried
on for its own sake and for the enjoyment of its
participants.
Physical art
Sports have many affinities with
art.
Ice skating and
Tai chi,
and
Dancesport for example, are sports
that come close to artistic spectacles in themselves. Similarly,
there are other activities that have elements of sport and art in
their execution, such as
artistic
gymnastics,
Bodybuilding,
Parkour,
performance
art,
Yoga,
bossaball,
dressage,
culinary arts, etc. Perhaps the best
example is
Bull-fighting, which in
Spain is reported in the arts pages of newspapers. The fact that
art is so close to sports in some situations is probably related to
the nature of sports. The definition of "sports" above put forward
the idea of an activity pursued not just for the usual purposes,
for example, running not simply to get places, but running for its
own sake, running as well as we can.
This is similar to a common view of
aesthetic value, which is seen as something over
and above the strictly functional value coming from an object's
normal use. So an aesthetically pleasing car is one which doesn't
just get from A to B, but which impresses us with its grace, poise,
and charisma.
In the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't
just impress us as being an effective way to avoid obstacles or to
get across streams. It impresses us because of the ability, skill,
and style which is shown.
Art and sports were probably more clearly linked at the time of
Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration
and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and
'arete' displayed by participants. The modern term 'art' as skill,
is related to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. The closeness of art
and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic
Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting
and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and
architecture.
Technology
Technology has an important role in sports, whether applied to an
athlete's health, the athlete's technique, or equipment's
characteristics.
Equipment As sports have grown more competitive,
the need for better equipment has arose. Golf clubs, football
helmets, baseball bats, soccer balls, hockey skates, and other
equipment have all seen considerable changes when new technologies
have been applied.
Health Ranging from nutrition to the treatment of
injuries, as the knowledge of the human body has deepened over
time, an athlete's potential has been increased. Athletes are now
able to play to an older age, recover more quickly from injuries,
and train more effectively than previous generations of
athletes.
Instruction Advancing technology created new
opportunities for research into sports. It is now possible to
analyse aspects of sports that were previously out of the reach of
comprehension. Being able to use motion capture to capture an
athlete's movement, or advanced computer simulations to model
physical scenarios has greatly increased an athlete's ability to
understand what they are doing and how they can improve
themselves.
Terminology
In
British English, sporting
activities are commonly denoted by the
mass
noun "sport". In
American
English, "sports" is more used. In all English dialects,
"sports" is the term used for more than one specific sport. For
example, "football and
swimming are
my favourite sports", would sound natural to all English speakers,
whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy
sports" to North Americans.
The term "sport" is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive
activities, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both
games of skill and
motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics
of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the
highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with
physical sports.
Air sports,
billiards,
bridge,
chess,
motorcycle
racing, and
powerboating are all
recognized as sports by the International Olympic Committee with
their world governing bodies represented in the Association of the
IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
Spectator sport
As well as being a form of recreation for the participants, much
sport is played in front of an
audience.
Most professional sport is played in a 'theatre' of some kind; be
it a
stadium,
arena,
golf course,
race
track, or the open road, with provision for the (often paying)
public.
Large television or radio audiences are also commonly attracted,
with rival broadcasters bidding large amounts of money for the
'rights' to show certain fixtures. The football
World Cup attracts a global
television audience of hundreds of millions; the
2006 Final alone attracted an estimated
worldwide audience of well over 700 million.
In the United States
, the championship game of the NFL, the Super Bowl, has become one of the most watched
television broadcasts of the year. Super Bowl
Sunday is a de facto national holiday in America; the
viewership being so great that in 2007 advertising space was
reported as being sold at
$2.6m for a 30 second
slot.
See also
- Related topics
References
- See, e.g., Joel Fish and Susan Magee, 101 Ways to
Be a Terrific Sports Parent, p. 168. Fireside, 2003. [1]David Lacey, "It takes a bad loser to become
a good winner." The Guardian, November 10, 2007.
Further reading