The Cellar - View Single Post - Do you think bowling is a sport or an entertainment activity?

SteveDallas · 10-29-2010, 10:15 AM

My personal reasoning on this has been:

To be a sport, it has to involve two elements:

Athletic skill
Competition against another person to achieve an objectively measurable goal

Therefore, bowling is a sport to me. Gymnastics and figure skating are not: there is competition, but the competition is decided by the subjective judgement of a third party.

At this point I'm sure somebody is saying, "What about football? It's got referees! Does that mean you think football isn't a sport?" Not at all. There are objective standards for deciding the game. Did the football cross the plane of the goal line? Did the player put his foot down out of bounds? These are specific standards. The refs are there to rule on whether the standards have been met, not to pass aesthetic judgment on how well they are met. It's entirely conceivable to imagine a football game with no referees where the teams make their own calls.

10-29-2010, 10:15 AM	#8
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	My personal reasoning on this has been: To be a sport, it has to involve two elements: Athletic skill Competition against another person to achieve an objectively measurable goal Therefore, bowling is a sport to me. Gymnastics and figure skating are not: there is competition, but the competition is decided by the subjective judgement of a third party. At this point I'm sure somebody is saying, "What about football? It's got referees! Does that mean you think football isn't a sport?" Not at all. There are objective standards for deciding the game. Did the football cross the plane of the goal line? Did the player put his foot down out of bounds? These are specific standards. The refs are there to rule on whether the standards have been met, not to pass aesthetic judgment on how well they are met. It's entirely conceivable to imagine a football game with no referees where the teams make their own calls.