I'm an avid sports fan and when I mention that in casual conversation, the first question thrown at me is most probably 'Oh..so what sport do you play?'
I often reply hesitantly 'Well, I don't really play many sports. I used to play tennis, but I wasn't very good at it' and receive sympathetic nods. Sometimes, I've been brave enough to say 'Well, I'm excellent at scrabble'. Some laugh and point out that scrabble 'is not a sport.' Well, it is a serious sport in Senegal. But this is not the case in many other countries.
Which leads to the questions that confront me today: 'What makes a sport? What is the criteria that must be satisfied for something to qualify as a sport? Does sport, by definition, refer to a process that involves 'physical' skill? If so, why is chess a sport? How is scrabble any less a sport than chess?
The debate over the very definition of sport is a complicated and highly-contested one. Scrabble and Chess, for instance, involve more concentration than test match cricket would. Wikipedia defines sport as '…activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively' This is a broader definition, and one that in my opinion, is better suited. 'Mind games' often involve more strategy and intense concentration than a traditional sport.
A scrabble competition is underway..
Joel Sherman, National Scrabble Champion from San Diego makes an important point: "I trained for 100 hours in the past month. It's been proved that as we're thinking, we're burning calories at a rate similar to doing an activity that requires physical exertion." Extending this logic a little, one can think of spelling bees, that phenomenon that Indian-origin kids have made their own, as a sport too.
Much of the concept of sport evolves from a conventional idea of a 'sport', that people are conditioned to think of as a physical experience, one of sweat and injuries. Scrabble, for instance, is seen as too casual a household game, something like monopoly. But the truth is that professional, 'serious' scrabble involves a lot of skill, a lot of knowledge, a lot of quick thinking to form words, a massive vocabulary and a skill to form words and connect words with any given letters. Professional scrabble, that works with a timer and involves a lot of thinking and stress, is closer to chess than it is to monopoly.
Opinions vary regarding what makes something a sport and what doesn't, and it doesn't look like this very fascinating debate will conclude any time soon. What's your take?
Recommended Reading:
No comments:
Post a Comment