A (hopefully) more analytical approach re: Is pool a sport?

[Woodshaft]

For me, I feel it leans towards a sport.

Billiards involves/requires a lot of physical ability:
Eyes--> focal power,
Coordination--> stroking/bridging,
Stamina--> both physical and mental,
Height--> taller players have a reach advantage,
Muscle--> stronger players can (sometimes) break harder,
Etc.....

I feel that those physical requirements/advantages alone justify the "SPORT" designation.

 

[Clusterbuster]

I think if you view a sport as something one trains for and strives to be good at, it will be a much cleaner definition than just "opponents". Otherwise, you are saying something super physical and tough like skiing is not a "sport", nor is the 100m dash, swimming, or many other similar things, all of which take years and years of training and dedication, are stressful on the body and get millions of dollars put into research on techniques and technology.

A Sport is the overall thing you do that you train for.
A Game is a single thing you do in that sport. Or if we need to divide something frivolous and recreational to something dedicated then we can say amateurs play games while the pros play sports. The 4 guys trying to get laid at the bar 7 footer taking 5 minutes per shot are playing a game, the two guys at the 9 footer playing one pocket after 20 years of practice are playing a sport.
So Baseball is a sport, but a single occurrence of that is a "game of baseball". Now follows Pool is a sport, and a single race to 7 is a "game of pool".

At least by tradition, “sport” involves a contest which emphasizes physical performance and gross motor skills. ThIs is why most people won‘t look on tiddlywinks or speed chess as a sport. The notion of a game can apply to either a sport or non-sport activity. Those playing “a game of baseball” are engaged in the sport of baseball but it doesn’t follow that those involved in a game of Monopoly are involved in the “sport” of Monopoly. If sport is as broad as you suggest the term would lose any practical meaning.

 

[The_JV]

Yeah, not even gonna try to change your mind. lol

Nor I yours

I bet that conversation was quite heated. lol I would have loved to have heard it.

Athletes have a typical emotional response....lol. I don't blame them. However once they realize my personal take has no bias and it's merely a hard definition of a word (genre) that most like to stretch thin. It quickly amounts to agreeing to disagree.

I meant what do you call the sports that you don't consider sports, not the athletes. lol

Competitions... That's the word in the dictionary that represents non-sports

 

[The_JV]

If you can find others to compete in opposite hand coffee drinking and are one of the best at it, then yes I'd call it a sport.

There are a lot of individual sports and team sports, but both are sports. There are athletic sports and non-athletic sports. Skiing is very hard, don't think anyone would not call it a sport, lots of training and physical ability needed, but the opponent is not throwing things at your while you are on the hill.

The key to sport in my mind is competing against someone else to be better than them and dedicating research, learning and training in the field. You don't even need to be in the same country to compete at a sport against someone, you can time an activity or get it rated no matter where the competition is. It's not how hard it is physically, it's not how popular it is, it's not how much you get paid to do it, it's simply dedication to do something better than others and training for that. Coding a program at work is not a sport, but you stick 5 guys in a room with computers and tell them they each have an hour to write the shortest program to do a thing, well you just created a sport.

...and participation ribbons for everyone....!

 

[SpiderWebComm]

Is Cornhole considered a sport? If Cornhole is a sport, why wouldn't pool be considered as one? It meets all of the
qualifications and goes beyond Cornhole with tournaments worldwide for money as well as for amateurs.

Is Cornhole a Sport? The American Cornhole League Says Yes

The American Cornhole League is working to make cornhole an Olympic sport. Learn about the history of cornhole and its rise in popularity.

www.slickwoodys.com

 

[dquarasr]

Miriam-Webster doesn’t make it any clearer, does it:

sport

noun​

1
a
: a source of diversion : RECREATION
b
: sexual play
c(1)
: physical activity engaged in for pleasure
(2)
: a particular activity (such as an athletic game) so engaged in

game​

1 of 4

noun​

ˈgām

1
a(1)
: a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other
(2)
: a division of a larger contest
(3)
: the manner of playing in a contest
(4)
: a particular aspect or phase of play in a game or sport
a football team's kicking game
(5)
: the set of rules governing a game
(6)
: the number of points necessary to win
(7)
: points scored in certain card games (as in all fours) by a player whose cards count up the highest
b
games plural : organized athletics
c(1)
: a field of gainful activity : LINE
the newspaper game
(2)
: any activity undertaken or regarded as a contest involving rivalry, strategy, or struggle
the dating game
the game of politics
also : the course or period of such an activity
got into aviation early in the game
(3)
: area of expertise : SPECIALTY sense 3
comedy is not my game
2
a(1)
: activity engaged in for diversion or amusement : PLAY
(2)
: the equipment for a game
b
: often derisive or mocking jesting : FUN, SPORT
make game of a nervous player

 

[buckshotshoey]

Respectfully, to very few.

So, in your mind, anything that an athlete is judged by someone else (figure skating, diving, gymnastics), that is competing against a clock (track, swimming) or is shooting a target (archery, rifle) is not considered a sport and not competing against anyone. Using that logic, most of the competitions in the Olympics (summer and winter) would be eliminated. That's a myopic point of view.

Have you ever had this debate with an athlete who competes in those sports? And since you don't consider them sports, what do you categorize them as?

That brings this question to mind... why do they call them "the Olympic games"?

 

[buckshotshoey]

Hunting = Sport
Fishing = Sport

I didnt even think of those. I've never heard either one referee to as gamesn

 

[buckshotshoey]

I think if you view a sport as something one trains for and strives to be good at, it will be a much cleaner definition than just "opponents". Otherwise, you are saying something super physical and tough like skiing is not a "sport", nor is the 100m dash, swimming, or many other similar things, all of which take years and years of training and dedication, are stressful on the body and get millions of dollars put into research on techniques and technology.

A Sport is the overall thing you do that you train for.
A Game is a single thing you do in that sport. Or if we need to divide something frivolous and recreational to something dedicated then we can say amateurs play games while the pros play sports. The 4 guys trying to get laid at the bar 7 footer taking 5 minutes per shot are playing a game, the two guys at the 9 footer playing one pocket after 20 years of practice are playing a sport.
So Baseball is a sport, but a single occurrence of that is a "game of baseball". Now follows Pool is a sport, and a single race to 7 is a "game of pool".

That definition makes sense.

 

[The_JV]

That definition makes sense.

Nah.... spinning of definitions to suit an narrative.

A buddy and I could stand still in a squat position for days/months on end. This would build muscle, train the mind, and develop an ability/skill. Is this somehow a sport...? If we do this activity for 8hrs hours a day, does mean those durations are games, but the efforts over the course of the month are a sport.

ridiculous...

 

[SpiderWebComm]

Asking whether pool is a sport should lead to other questions as to why other "sports" are even considered as sports.

One that I've always asked the "why" about is "CURLING" in the winter OLYMPICS. I mean c'mon, give me a break!

How? Why? Why big enough to even be in the Olympics? Is it played by the masses all over the world? Does Florida or Arizona
have very many Curling rooms or studios for regular play? How about Curling leagues? Are Curling tournaments broadcast on
TV?

Curling: History, Types, Objective, & Equipment​

Know the detailed explanation about the origin & history, objective, types of Curling, why & how Curling is played with different techniques & equipment and lot more.

sportsmatik.com

But there it is, an Olympic SPORT.

 

[Ghost of OBC]

A somewhat novel argument for pool as sport lies in the game's origins. We're really playing table Croquet. Our tables are miniature indoor lawns, and our cues evolved mallets. Originally croquet: pool :: tennis : table tennis. I think most would agree that table tennis is a sport. I certainly do! That does leave a question about whether croquet is a sport. I'd argue, yes, as it evolved alongside other field games we call sports like tennis, golf, boules, cricket etc.

I'm not sure it really matters, but a lot of indoor game/sports are versions of outdoor sport designed for the winter. See also the evolution of pub games in the UK.

 

[buckshotshoey]

Nah.... spinning of definitions to suit an narrative.

A buddy and I could stand still in a squat position for days/months on end. This would build muscle, train the mind, and develop an ability/skill. Is this somehow a sport...? If we do this activity for 8hrs hours a day, does mean those durations are games, but the efforts over the course of the month are a sport.

ridiculous...

Sorry, but you are basically doing the same....
"spinning of definitions to suit a narrative".

 

[easy-e]

I think if you view a sport as something one trains for and strives to be good at, it will be a much cleaner definition than just "opponents". Otherwise, you are saying something super physical and tough like skiing is not a "sport", nor is the 100m dash, swimming, or many other similar things, all of which take years and years of training and dedication, are stressful on the body and get millions of dollars put into research on techniques and technology.

A Sport is the overall thing you do that you train for.
A Game is a single thing you do in that sport. Or if we need to divide something frivolous and recreational to something dedicated then we can say amateurs play games while the pros play sports. The 4 guys trying to get laid at the bar 7 footer taking 5 minutes per shot are playing a game, the two guys at the 9 footer playing one pocket after 20 years of practice are playing a sport.
So Baseball is a sport, but a single occurrence of that is a "game of baseball". Now follows Pool is a sport, and a single race to 7 is a "game of pool".

I’m not looking for a cleaner definition. Certainly not one that makes anything someone trains for a sport. As we can all see, we all have different ideas of what we consider a sport. I’ve drawn my line and it makes sense to me.

My problem with other peoples definitions is that I could pretty easily come up with an activity that meets their definition and they’ll say it’s not a sport….

 

[buckshotshoey]

It could be easy enough to say....
The overall definition of an activity is a sport. The actual playing is a game.
Examples...

Football,overall, is a sport. But each individual activity is a game.(football game)

Baseball is a sport... the actual performance is a game. (Baseball game)

Pool is a sport. The actual performance is a game of pool.

Won't be able to apply this to auto racing, hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, and several others.

 

[easy-e]

For me, I feel it leans towards a sport.

Billiards involves/requires a lot of physical ability:
Eyes--> focal power,
Coordination--> stroking/bridging,
Stamina--> both physical and mental,
Height--> taller players have a reach advantage,
Muscle--> stronger players can (sometimes) break harder,
Etc.....

I feel that those physical requirements/advantages alone justify the "SPORT" designation.

Do you consider competitive hot dog eating a sport?

 

[buckshotshoey]

Do you consider competitive hot dog eating a sport?

Could be an Olympic sport! The Glutton Games!

 

[The_JV]

Sorry, but you are basically doing the same....
"spinning of definitions to suit a narrative".

Fair enough... however most of what people are calling sports in this thread are not supported by the actual definition of the word. However "competition" covers all the bases.

...so use an appropriate word or skew the definition of another to suit your argument

I'm indifferent to opinion. Do what you will. Hell some people can't even wrap their heads around what the words "boy" or "girl" are meant to represent. Getting a bunch of people on a pool forum to come to terms with their beloved pass time, not being an actually a sport is fool's errand....lol

 

[The_JV]

Do you consider competitive hot dog eating a sport?

Well of course, duh....

That only makes sense. I was going to mock it further with a comparison to staring contests but that actually closer to a sport then skiing

 

[Bob Jewett]

Here's an interesting article on the question by a guy who does sports and words for a living....

What Defines A "Sport"?

What is the definition of a sport to you? Does golf count? Poker? Curling? This article examines the parameters of what truly defines a a sport and how our traditional definition of the word maybe on the cusp of change.

www.forbes.com