Any more thoughts on sports vs. athletics? Recreation vs. competition? Hobby vs. profession? There's some more discussion in the beginning of chapter 2 on competition.
When we were discussing the difference between sports, athletics, hobbies, etc. we never came to a conclusion. My rendition of what the differences between all of these classifications are as follows.
A sport is a physical activity governed by a set of rules that people play to obtain some sort of goal. Sports differ from athletics by the level of professionalism. Athletics are more professional than sports, as evident by the fact that athletes receive a substantial salary and consider baseball or whatever they play as their profession.
Recreational activities are sports but they are played mainly for the purpose of passing the time, not necessarily for winning or keeping score.
Sports, athletics and recreational can be considered competitive because usually a player will try to be beating at least one other player. Hobbies on the other hand I don't think are competitive. In my experience when somebody says something is their hobby, for instance polo, usually means that they don’t play polo but they are just big fans and they do a lot of research into the sport and follow its progression.
I agree that hobbies are less professional, but I would not say that professionalism is what separates athletics from sports. Someone can be good at a sport that is physical, but not athletic (such as bowling). They could be a professional, but not very athletic. During class I discussed maybe athletics being a subtext of sports, but I think it may be more like a venn diagram. There are some things that sports and athletics do no share that need to be separate. For example, going running is a physical activity that can make you an athlete without there being any competition involved. Running can make you an athlete that does not train for a sport, but for a hobby. On the other hand, chess or bowling could be considered a sport without there being much athletics involved. This separation is not all inclusive or exclusive.
In my opinion, sports differs from athletics in the sense that I believe athletics is taken more seriously than the word sports in everyday conversation. I picture athletics as an individual or team training year end and out and when I hear the word sports I simply think of a season (i.e. baseball season, football season, etc.) Although these are sports, in my mind the players involved are athletes therefore athletics and sports coincide. When it comes to recreation vs. competition, it can be involved in any activity from sports to chopping wood in the back yard. Anyone can turn almost anything from a recreational activity to a competition. Obviously profession I picture as an athlete being paid to play. Not that college athletes are playing as a hobby, but I don't consider them professionals either.
I have to agree with Nicole that hobbies are less professional and that professionalism is not what separates sport from athletics. I believe that the line between sports and athletics is very blurred and blends in together. What I mean by this is in most sports you have to be athletic in someway. In other sports that you do not have to be athletic in someway there is a technique that you must have for example with chess or bowling you'd need to have a technique or understanding of the game that requires a more analytic type basis. But how could something like chess and football be categorized as something similar to each other. Just like in football whether it is calling plays for the defense or offense you have to be pre-anticipating the opponents moves just like in chess. In each sport there is some type of fundamentals as well. The difference between sports and athletics is not black or white but is very grey.
When we were discussing the difference between sports, athletics, hobbies, etc. we never came to a conclusion. My rendition of what the differences between all of these classifications are as follows.
ReplyDeleteA sport is a physical activity governed by a set of rules that people play to obtain some sort of goal. Sports differ from athletics by the level of professionalism. Athletics are more professional than sports, as evident by the fact that athletes receive a substantial salary and consider baseball or whatever they play as their profession.
Recreational activities are sports but they are played mainly for the purpose of passing the time, not necessarily for winning or keeping score.
Sports, athletics and recreational can be considered competitive because usually a player will try to be beating at least one other player. Hobbies on the other hand I don't think are competitive. In my experience when somebody says something is their hobby, for instance polo, usually means that they don’t play polo but they are just big fans and they do a lot of research into the sport and follow its progression.
I agree that hobbies are less professional, but I would not say that professionalism is what separates athletics from sports. Someone can be good at a sport that is physical, but not athletic (such as bowling). They could be a professional, but not very athletic. During class I discussed maybe athletics being a subtext of sports, but I think it may be more like a venn diagram. There are some things that sports and athletics do no share that need to be separate. For example, going running is a physical activity that can make you an athlete without there being any competition involved. Running can make you an athlete that does not train for a sport, but for a hobby. On the other hand, chess or bowling could be considered a sport without there being much athletics involved. This separation is not all inclusive or exclusive.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, sports differs from athletics in the sense that I believe athletics is taken more seriously than the word sports in everyday conversation. I picture athletics as an individual or team training year end and out and when I hear the word sports I simply think of a season (i.e. baseball season, football season, etc.) Although these are sports, in my mind the players involved are athletes therefore athletics and sports coincide. When it comes to recreation vs. competition, it can be involved in any activity from sports to chopping wood in the back yard. Anyone can turn almost anything from a recreational activity to a competition. Obviously profession I picture as an athlete being paid to play. Not that college athletes are playing as a hobby, but I don't consider them professionals either.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Nicole that hobbies are less professional and that professionalism is not what separates sport from athletics. I believe that the line between sports and athletics is very blurred and blends in together. What I mean by this is in most sports you have to be athletic in someway. In other sports that you do not have to be athletic in someway there is a technique that you must have for example with chess or bowling you'd need to have a technique or understanding of the game that requires a more analytic type basis. But how could something like chess and football be categorized as something similar to each other. Just like in football whether it is calling plays for the defense or offense you have to be pre-anticipating the opponents moves just like in chess. In each sport there is some type of fundamentals as well. The difference between sports and athletics is not black or white but is very grey.
ReplyDelete