Motor racing is "not a real sport".

[Swoop]

According to a bunch of numpties and The Harold.

Their article refers to formula 1 (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/news/article.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10594477), but the poll on the website is less specific with the question "Is motor racing a real sport?".

Luckily a small majority have said "yes"... at this stage.

[imdying]

Of course measured events are real sports...

Examples of 'sports' that aren't, include:
- Diving
- Gymnastics
- Drifting

Once they get a computer to compare, grade, and sort the details of every movement made in each of the above, thus eliminating bias etc in judging, then they'll be sports.

If it needs a judge, it's not a sport.

[F5 Dave]

If it evolves a team & a ball it is a game.

These are useful for teaching children teamwork, the importance of fitting in with society & to cope with victory or defeat with honour.

None of which could be said of those stupid krunts that plague the TV. Leave it to the schoolkids.

[firefighter]

If it needs a judge, it's not a sport.

I ca'nt think of a sport without a judge....

Rubgy, soccer, vollyball, hockey, tennis etcetcetcetc all have referees. A referee is basically a judge.

That means there is no such thing as sport.

[kiwifruit]

Depends on your interpretation of what a sport is, dunnit. I personally don't think F1 or any motor racing is "sport".

:jerry:

[pritch]

If it needs a judge, it's not a sport.

You're probably being a bit tough there. There are a lot of synonyms for "judge". Motor racing has stewards so too horse raciing...

I see what you mean though, ice dancing and synchronised swimming leap to mind.

[Rodney007]

I ca'nt think of a sport without a judge....

Rubgy, soccer, vollyball, hockey, tennis etcetcetcetc all have referees. A referee is basically a judge.

That means there is no such thing as sport.

i think those smugs at the herold havnt heard of motogp,

considering, tennis results gets blabed all over the radio, and the only mention of motorbike racing results is in the last 30 seconds of nightline im really not supprised,

[SlashWylde]

You're probably being a bit tough there. There are a lot of synonyms for "judge". Motor racing has stewards so too horse raciing...

I see what you mean though, ice dancing and synchronised swimming leap to mind.

Seems to me there are two broad categories of sport:

1) Objective assesments of proficiency, e.g. fastest run, longest throw, highest leap, first accross the finish line etc. These do not require a judge per say as the results generally speak for them selves, and merely require suitable officials.

2) Subjective assessments of proficiency, e.g. prettiest gym routine/dive etc. require one or more judges to assess the merits of the performance.

[SPman]

If it has the possibility of sudden violent death whilst participating and demands performance at or near limits which can cause this, it's a sport!

Didn't Ernest Hemingway say, that Motor racing and Bullfighting were the only 2 true sports on the planet....?

[Forest]

I ca'nt think of a sport without a judge....

Rubgy, soccer, vollyball, hockey, tennis etcetcetcetc all have referees. A referee is basically a judge.

That means there is no such thing as sport.

If you subscribe to the traditions of the British Aristocracy then the only real sports are hunting, shooting, and fishing.

Everything else is merely a game.

[Subike]

I guess that these same people would call golf a sport.
Ever been to a womens golf day?
Seen all those oversized middle aged women playing their weekly sport?
Or Sat golf ?
Yet it is up there with motor racing as a High income "sport" for professionls.
If motor rsacing is not sport, neither is golf.
Now bridge and poker could be argued to be the same .
But we all know which is the most common sport. And the best.
Bedroom sport

[firefighter]

Yet it is up there with motor racing as a High income "sport" for professionls.
If motor rsacing is not sport, neither is golf.


True.

I most certainly consider motor racing sport.

The driver needs to be in shape, physically fit, study the tracks, practice a lot, and relies heavily on his team (pit crew etc) to keep the vehicle running at it's absolute peak.

Then he takes his steed out and enters full-on fierce competition for first place.

That is un-disputedly sport.

[Rodney007]

fastest man wins = sport

[imdying]

Rubgy, soccer, vollyball, hockey, tennis etcetcetcetc all have referees. A referee is basically a judge.No, a referee is an impartial observer who settles disputes that the competing teams are unable to (because they're busy playing, not watching the finer details). You can still play the game fine without a referee, which is the key point... winning and losing is decided by the score, not by the referee. Of course the score itself can be influenced by the referee, and in that regard I don't consider them true sports.


That means there is no such thing as sport.Athletics. Only judge is a measuring tape or stop watch, neither of which has political or regional bias, and cannot lie.


Depends on your interpretation of what a sport is, dunnit. I personally don't think F1 or any motor racing is "sport".Well thanks for that captain obvious... Thanks for nothing :rolleyes:


You're probably being a bit tough there. There are a lot of synonyms for "judge". Motor racing has stewards so too horse raciing...In its purest form, the stopwatch is the judge, so it qualifies. Packing crap around it via the aforementioned is only to turn the sport into entertainment, not vice versa.


Seems to me there are two broad categories of sport:

1) Objective assesments of proficiency, e.g. fastest run, longest throw, highest leap, first accross the finish line etc. These do not require a judge per say as the results generally speak for them selves, and merely require suitable officials.

2) Subjective assessments of proficiency, e.g. prettiest gym routine/dive etc. require one or more judges to assess the merits of the performance.In other words:
1) Sport

2) Non sport


If you subscribe to the traditions of the British Aristocracy then the only real sports are hunting, shooting, and fishing.

Everything else is merely a game.Fishing yes, no to hunting, shooting is a maybe, depends on how vaguely it's scored.

[kave]

I would have to say that Motor racing is generally not what I would consider a sport. Often it is a showcase of engineering skills, the equipment plays too heavy a role in the results. Of course riders in competitions such as MotoGP have amazing levels of skill, but I personally believe that sport should be a competition between individuals or teams of people with the equipment playing a negligible role, not a competition between manufacturers, mechanics or engineers. A sport (at its pinnacle) should also require a high degree of athleticism from the participants, so that rules out Golf and Snooker as well. Perhaps I would count motorcycle trials or something similar as a sport, but I simply don't know enough about it.

[imdying]

Often it is a showcase of engineering skills, the equipment plays too heavy a role in the results.Oops, we just cut swimming out in that case...

[Mystic13]

the actual link

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=4

Motorcycling is the ultimate sport. Every racer is a full on athlete and the best are super-fit. Their performance is based on their ability to adjust to an incredible amount of variables at high speed.

What puts them in a league of their own is the consequences of a mistake. If you miss a serve or a pass etc you lose nothing. Heck in tennis they give you two goes to get over the net.

Sports that should be banned at the olympics;

4x100 relay or any relay - it says we ain't good enough to win but if our country is big enough we can probably find 4 guys combined to win a gold.

Any team sport such as soccer, rugby, team gymnastics. Douubles tennis, table tennis etc. They all compromise on individual personal performance.

And what's with synchronised swimming. Some dad at the pool saw his daughter do a hand stand and voila.

How about synchronised running, synchronised high jump, synchronised boxing or synchronised javelin. Give me a break.

Synchronised motor bike riding I'd watch.

Motorcycle riders have skin in the game.

[bogan]

I would have to say that Motor racing is generally not what I would consider a sport. Often it is a showcase of engineering skills, the equipment plays too heavy a role in the results. Of course riders in competitions such as MotoGP have amazing levels of skill, but I personally believe that sport should be a competition between individuals or teams of people with the equipment playing a negligible role, not a competition between manufacturers, mechanics or engineers. A sport (at its pinnacle) should also require a high degree of athleticism from the participants, so that rules out Golf and Snooker as well. Perhaps I would count motorcycle trials or something similar as a sport, but I simply don't know enough about it.

does a sport have to be between humans though? Dog trials etc, greyhound racing, surely machines can get in on the action and still be called a sport. Any compeditive er competition can probably be called a sport to some degree.

[kave]

does a sport have to be between humans though? Dog trials etc, greyhound racing, surely machines can get in on the action and still be called a sport. Any compeditive er competition can probably be called a sport to some degree.
Personally I wouldn't count frog jumping as a sport, nor would I count horse racing or dog racing. I guess it is just my personal preference. When I was in Fiji I bet on crab races and I didn't really feel that what I was doing could be called placing a sports bet. As for any competition being a sport then you start allowing Chess, Monopoly and computer games to be called sport as well. I just feel that it cheapens the whole idea of sport.

[wysper]

So lets see then...

A sport needs a strong physical component.
No artistic merit scoring.
No subjective results.
A winner and losers.

By my definition Motor Racing makes it.

If you are not allowed machines or teams then almost every human endeavour is out. If you can't allow technology to come into it, then every racquet sport is out, ball sports are out (balls have evolved and gotten better through technology), sports with bats and sticks are out. Archery, Shooting, Fishing, Skiing - all out. Sports where athletes wear boots are out, rugby, soccer, sprinting etc. So nothing left then. Shit, sport just vanished. BUGGER.

[bogan]

i gotta wonder, does this question come up in other languages, or is it just english that has ambiguous terms. We have competition which describes anything with winners/losers, althetics, motor racing, etc terms which describe subset of competitions, is 'sport' just a superfluous word?

[ukusa]

So lets see then...

A sport needs a strong physical component.
No artistic merit scoring.
No subjective results.
A winner and losers.

By my definition Motor Racing makes it.

Generally I agree, but although the word motorsport seems to infer it is a sport, you don't actually need an athlete. You could in fact get a 50 kg weekling driving in a race. He may not be any good (as many motorsport drivers/racers need to build a little muscle for endurance & strength), however he could refer to himself as a sportsman.

Horse racing is deemed as a sport, is the jockey an athlete? (or is the horse?)

Is pie eating a sport (you get a winner & loser in the pie eating competitions!)

[Bass]

It's really very simple.
If it doesn't have a motor, then it's not a sport.
The end.

[ynot slow]

Only one true sprot I know of without a referee or judge,called Bullrush,but the mamby pamby's banned it from school grounds.

[McWild]

I was going to say that sport is anything that gets its own segment on Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, or ESPN.

Then I realised that they show Spelling Bees.



So how about we just call sport anything that can be broadcast within a pub without enraging the patrons?

[Hiflyer]

I was going to say that sport is anything that gets its own segment on Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, or ESPN.

Then I realised that they show Spelling Bees.



So how about we just call sport anything that can be broadcast within a pub without enraging the patrons?

Chess? haha,

I think there are the obvious ones like rugby while there are grey areas like chess....



if you are competing against someone its a sport isn't it?

[Fatjim]

A classic case of misquote and misrepresentation.

The Indians said F1 wasn't a sport in that it didn't fit their criteria for tax breaks. F1 doesn't encourage people to participate etc.

I'm sure SPARC would say the same thing if F1 came asking for a handout.


I think F1 is more of a sport than Golf, but thats not saying much.

[MacD]

Didn't Ernest Hemingway say, that Motor racing and Bullfighting were the only 2 true sports on the planet....?

Close, it is usually quoted as:
"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."

[High_Voltage]

so theyre saying motor racing also called motorsport isnt a sport? so why is the word sport in motorsport?

[Big Dave]

Dictionary
sport |spôrt|
noun
1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment : team sports such as baseball and soccer | [as adj. ] ( sports) a sports center.
• dated entertainment; fun : it was considered great sport to trip him up.
• archaic a source of amusement or entertainment : I do not wish to show myself the sport of a man like Williams.
2 informal a person who behaves in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation : go on, be a sport! | Angela's a bad sport.
3 Biology an animal or plant showing abnormal or striking variation from the parent type, esp. in form or color, as a result of spontaneous mutation.
verb
1 [ trans. ] wear or display (a distinctive or noticeable item) : he was sporting a huge handlebar mustache.
2 [ intrans. ] amuse oneself or play in a lively, energetic way : the children sported in the water.
PHRASES
in sport for fun : I have assumed the name was given more or less in sport.
make sport of dated make fun of.
the sport of kings horse racing.
DERIVATIVES
sporter noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [pastime, entertainment] ): shortening of disport .

Thesaurus
sport
noun
1 we did a lot of sports (competitive) game(s), physical recreation, physical activity, physical exercise, athletics; pastime. See note at winter sports .
2 dated : they were rogues out for a bit of sport fun, pleasure, enjoyment, entertainment, amusement, diversion.
verb
he sported a beard wear, have on, dress in; display, exhibit, show off, flourish, parade, flaunt.

[Dave Lobster]

How about.. If a dog can do it, it's not sport.. ball kicking.. etc. ;)

[Boob Johnson]

If it has the possibility of sudden violent death whilst participating and demands performance at or near limits which can cause this, it's a sport!

Didn't Ernest Hemingway say, that Motor racing and Bullfighting were the only 2 true sports on the planet....?
Indeed he did. Who the hell is the clown that even suggested motor racing isn't a sport? Would HAVE to be a women married to an armchair bandit no doubt :laugh:





Only one true sprot I know of without a referee or judge,called Bullrush,but the mamby pamby's banned it from school grounds.
A school up north just last week as reinstated it :niceone:

[musicman]

If you are not allowed machines or teams then almost every human endeavour is out. If you can't allow technology to come into it, then every racquet sport is out, ball sports are out (balls have evolved and gotten better through technology), sports with bats and sticks are out. Archery, Shooting, Fishing, Skiing - all out. Sports where athletes wear boots are out, rugby, soccer, sprinting etc. So nothing left then. Shit, sport just vanished. BUGGER.

Nope, still got weightlifting/powerlifting. All you need is some heavy weights, no technology needed! :2thumbsup

[Big Dave]

Indeed he did.

And indeed he was a cock for saying it. Go the Bull.

[mud boy]

pftt motor sport is not a sport then way do they call it motor sport
it is a fuckin sport lol

ome dum people out there :bash:

[humphrt]

Didn't Ernest Hemingway say, that Motor racing and Bullfighting were the only 2 true sports on the planet....?

wasn't there three? motor racing, bullfighting and skydiving.

yeh sports involve risk, and not to your pride but to life. they involve pushing the limits as far as you can and further in order to win and split second decisions. anything else is just a game.

[MarkH]

Now bridge and poker could be argued to be the same.

I play poker - not a sport in my opinion.

Poker, Bridge, Chess, etc
These are competitive games but they lack the physical skill requirement that I think makes a game qualify as a sport. I made $170 last Saturday playing poker, but I didn't need to work up a sweat to do it.

Motor racing of all forms DOES require physical skill - there is a lot of work involved in F1, WRC, MotoGP and all other Motor racing, many drivers work out heaps to keep strong & fit (Michael Schumacher was well known for his strength & fitness). Controlling a tennis racquet or controlling a fast vehicle - either takes a lot of skill & effort to beat the worlds best.

[MacD]

And indeed he was a cock for saying it. Go the Bull.

But wasn't that his point, that the bull could (however unlikely) win? At the time motorsport was a very dangerous sport and often resulted in death. The same could be said of mountaineering.

[Big Dave]

But wasn't that his point, that the bull could (however unlikely) win? At the time motorsport was a very dangerous sport and often resulted in death. The same could be said of mountaineering.

Any endorsement of torturing dumb animals for entertainment deserves condemnation - however tacit it may be.

[Pixie]

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

Ernest Hemingway quotes (American novelist and short-story writer, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, 1899-1961)

[Pixie]

Generally I agree, but although the word motorsport seems to infer it is a sport, you don't actually need an athlete. You could in fact get a 50 kg weekling driving in a race. He may not be any good (as many motorsport drivers/racers need to build a little muscle for endurance & strength), however he could refer to himself as a sportsman.

Horse racing is deemed as a sport, is the jockey an athlete? (or is the horse?)

Is pie eating a sport (you get a winner & loser in the pie eating competitions!)

What a crock.
By your definition any fat wanker rugby player is a sportsman.

I recall an episode of The Krypton Factor where Aaron Slight and Andrew Mertens were running the obstacle course.
Well the mighty NZ sportsman/All Black barely finished the course and promptly vomited on the grass from the exertion.The motorcycle racer came first and was not even breathing hard.

[Big Dave]

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

Ernest Hemingway quotes (American novelist and short-story writer, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, 1899-1961)

Couldn't think of anything not already quoted huh, pix? :-)

[MarkH]

I recall an episode of The Krypton Factor where Aaron Slight and Andrew Mertens were running the obstacle course.
Well the mighty NZ sportsman/All Black barely finished the course and promptly vomited on the grass from the exertion.The motorcycle racer came first and was not even breathing hard.

I think that people that don't think that motor racing is a sport obviously have never ridden/driven a serious race in their lives.

What's that quote? I prefer a sport that requires TWO balls! :bleh: