Most people think the word “sport” belongs to competitive ball games like soccer and basketball, but there are also less popular sports like cricket and badminton. There’s esports, which are competitive video games played in the same vein. There’s hunting/fishing for sport. There are many things that fall under the word “sport.”
When we think of the word “sport,” what most likely comes to mind immediately is a game with a ball and a goal, like football, basketball, soccer, or something like baseball or golf.
When we look at Wikipedia’s definition of the word “sport,” it states, “A sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills.”
Many other “sports” come to mind when you think about it in this board terminology; any organized outdoor physical activity with some kind of point system can be considered a sport. You’ve got things obviously considered sports but less popular than mainstream sports like cricket, rugby, and track; you’ve also got other activities like hunting and fishing, which count as outdoor physical activities with chasing an animal and reeling a fish in. Points can be awarded based on the number caught or hunted or the weight of those caught or hunted.
If we’re not strictly including outdoor sports, that opens the door for hockey, something many consider a sport. It also opens the door for esports, for those who don’t know they’re competitive video games, a physical activity, and competitive and organized that maintains reflexes and eye coordination. The only difference is that it’s typically an indoor activity.
Most people view sports as what they see everyone else consider sports, but the actual definition has a broader impact than most take the time to consider. I personally consider the definition of sport to be “a competitive, organized activity or game with a scoring system.” All of the boxes are checked for what a sport is; it allows for the most consideration as to what counts as a sport.
