USA Gov't Now Recognizes Pro-Gamers as Pro Atheles

[gorcorps]

It's basically a lesser gymnastics. It's a sport. I don't know who decides any of this... clearly they don't have a good set of guidelines.



I did say golf was borderline but in the big picture I'd vote no. Billiards also requires physical movement and power. Darts too. Horseshoes. Curling. No.

I don't know what you'd call race-car driving. I'd consider that much more strenuous than golf. We just need a better encompassing word for anything not requiring continuous / strenuous bodily motion in a competitive environment. (Insert baseball joke here)

Hell I was laughing at race-walking in the Olympics. But I'd have to say that's a sport, albeit a tremendously stupid one.

Well the act of swinging a club isn't that bad, but again the entire sport of golf (professionally) includes the walking aspect which on average is ~5 miles of walking for an 18 hole course. If you're terrible at it you'd be walking a lot more, but obviously amateurs and people who aren't good usually use carts which takes out the most active part of the game.

If you talk about golf as it's usually played by the layman, ie with carts, then you're right in that it's no better than pool, darts, and I'll throw bowling in there. But at the professional level golf is more involved where as those other games don't change much.

 

[Eug]

 

[Wreckem]

It's basically a lesser gymnastics. It's a sport. I don't know who decides any of this... clearly they don't have a good set of guidelines.



I did say golf was borderline but in the big picture I'd vote no. Billiards also requires physical movement and power. Darts too. Horseshoes. Curling. No.

I don't know what you'd call race-car driving. I'd consider that much more strenuous than golf. We just need a better encompassing word for anything not requiring continuous / strenuous bodily motion in a competitive environment. (Insert baseball joke here)

Hell I was laughing at race-walking in the Olympics. But I'd have to say that's a sport, albeit a tremendously stupid one.

Sideline cheerleading is NOT a sport, a sport by definition requires competition.

I think hes referring to the court decisions that said competitive cheerleading is not a VARSITY sport. Competitive cheerleading is a sport it just isn't a varsity sport because at the university level its not very organized, competitions aren't very organized and aren't just for university squads.

 

[ciba]

exactly... name another sport in which people can play and compete professionally well into their 40s in some cases their early 50s

Baseball.

 

[Eug]

Equestrian
Curling

 

[Paratus]

Starcraft has had professional players for years.

Here's an example of a pro match from last years Intel Extreme Masters Tournament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMwRpYOh_RA&sns=em

The best players have won in the neighborhood of $400K not including team salaries and endorsements. In Starcraft, most of the best players are Korean. So this might make it easier for foreign players to play in American tournaments.

I wouldn't have said playing video games was a sport until I played SC2 and the saw these guys play. They're pros.

 

[Leros]

Maybe we should reclassify athletes as competitive players. Race car driving isn't really a sport. If we consider race car drivers to be athletes, then video gaming isn't much of a stretch. Pro race car drivers are obviously very talented, but so are pro gamers.

 

[Lonyo]

Maybe we should reclassify athletes as competitive players. Race car driving isn't really a sport. If we consider race car drivers to be athletes, then video gaming isn't much of a stretch. Pro race car drivers are obviously very talented, but so are pro gamers.

In what way isn't it a sport?

"Football" isn't a sport because fat people just stand around and bump into each other, and get a break after 5 minutes.

 

[SlitheryDee]

If we consider chess and other similar games a sport that's fine by me. Feel weird calling gamers "athletes" though.

 

[Leros]

If we consider race car driving to be a sport and race car drivers to be athletes, then why would we not consider video game players to be athletes? What if they were playing a race car driving game using a real steering wheel and pedals? Where do you draw the line and why?

 

[WelshBloke]

Starcraft has had professional players for years.

Here's an example of a pro match from last years Intel Extreme Masters Tournament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMwRpYOh_RA&sns=em

The best players have won in the neighborhood of $400K not including team salaries and endorsements. In Starcraft, most of the best players are Korean. So this might make it easier for foreign players to play in American tournaments.

I wouldn't have said playing video games was a sport until I played SC2 and the saw these guys play. They're pros.

None of that makes it a sport and not a game.

 

[Lonyo]

Funny because its true.
http://www.sc2earnings.com/

Cumulative over ~3 years excluding any salaries.

 

[lxskllr]

None of that makes it a sport and not a game.

The difference between the words sport and game are fairly arbitrary. It's only preconceived notions that differentiate them.

###########

From Old French desport, variant of deport (“fun, amusement”), from Latin deportāre, present active infinitive of deportō.


Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.

...

Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, fishing.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sport

 

[WelshBloke]

The difference between the words sport and game are fairly arbitrary. It's only preconceived notions that differentiate them.

The difference between most words is fairly arbitrary.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

although i hate golf, it is certainly a sport. gymnastics, cheerleading, dancing, figure skating and similar activities are not sports. the difference is not physical effort, but quantitative results. nothing that relies on a panel of judges arbitrarily assigning a number can be a sport.

 

[Paratus]

The difference between most words is fairly arbitrary.

They train, have coaches, teams, tournaments, announcers, sponsors, and do things physically/mentally most can't compete with.

Doesn't matter to me if you don't think it's a "sport". Like I said I would t have considered a video game a sport until I started playing SC2 and watching competitive matches.

:beer:

 

[Wreckem]

Definition of athlete:
a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

Gaming can require agility and stamina, especially in a tournament setting. However, I'd still call it a stretch to call most pro gamers athletes. Although there are some MLB players I wouldn't consider athletes either.

 

[Wreckem]

although i hate golf, it is certainly a sport. gymnastics, cheerleading, dancing, figure skating and similar activities are not sports. the difference is not physical effort, but quantitative results. nothing that relies on a panel of judges arbitrarily assigning a number can be a sport.

So alotsking and snowboarding and a bunch of other sports(diving, etc) aren't sports because they have judging? That is just not correct.

If something takes skill, physical exertion(strength, agility or stamina) and is competitive, it is a sport.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

So alotsking and snowboarding and a bunch of other sports(diving, etc) aren't sports because they have judging? That is just not correct.

that is exactly what i'm saying

If something takes skill, physical exertion(strength, agility or stamina) and is competitive, it is a sport.

you can't deny the effort put into preparing for and performing such activities, but if you aren't crossing a finish line, putting some object into a goal, or another activity that has clearly defined parameters instead of arbitrary opinion, it just is not a sport.

a snowboard race would be a sport. fancy flips in front of judges that, however qualified, are pulling numbers out of their asses is not a sport.

 

[Remobz]

Definition of athlete:
a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

Gaming can require agility and stamina, especially in a tournament setting. However, I'd still call it a stretch to call most pro gamers athletes. Although there are some MLB players I wouldn't consider athletes either.

Exactly, one big STRETCH!

 

[JimKiler]

Golf is not in the same league as those others. You're sitting down in poker and doing nothing but "thinking". Golf requires quite a bit more physical movement even though it's not fast. And if you walk the course instead of use a cart like a lazy ass it's quite a trek.

I have an issue with poker and driving being considered a sport. Golf makes more sense to me than anything.

I disagree, poker requires tons of concentration to not react or provide any tells or emotion. I can do it now and then for a couple hours when playing friends. But to do it in a tournament for 8 hours a day and 5 days straight would be tough. But again it is not the physically exerting.