Klayfish
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 19, 2016
And heck, even car racing is a sport, I think, though all they do is sit behind a wheel and drive fast. Which then raises the question... at what point does the activity become more about skill than athleticism?
Yes, it really does depend on how you define sport. Taking your example here...and believe me, I'm not offended whatsoever. Racing cars is my hobby...very expensive hobby (I need to look into knitting or something...LOL). I can tell you first hand that it's not just sitting behind a wheel and driving fast. Yes, that's the name of the game, but it's actually more physically and mentally demanding than you can imagine. I will be in the race car roughly 2.5 hours on a race day. Races are usually during the summer, so it's hot outside. We have to wear full safety gear, just like they do in NASCAR. In fact, my racing suit is from NASCAR, bought from Ebay. Fireproof gloves, shoes, socks, helmet, neck restraint, etc... Then sit in a car with no air conditioning, no insulation, and an engine giving off intense amounts of heat. Add in the concentration levels required to turn fast laps and deal with race traffic, the g-forces, driving the car, and you're exhausted when you get out. It's surprisingly difficult.
Yet even I would struggle as to whether I'd say my hobby is actually a "sport". I can see the argument from both sides. At the end of the day, I enjoy it, so I'm happy to call it anything. There are so many things that require physical skillsets that even if they aren't someone's definition of "sport", take a high level of physical skill.
How about ballroom dancing? What about cross country ballroom dancing?