From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports
commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the
competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning
or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors.
Etymology
"Sport" comes from the old French desport meaning "leisure"[citation needed].
History
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There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting activities as early as 4000 BC.[1]
Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's ancient
past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports,
including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated
several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.[2] Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills.[3] Among other sports that originate in Persia are polo and jousting.
A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece
and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece
influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent
part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which
in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.[4]
Industrialization has brought increased leisure time to the citizens
of developed and developing countries, leading to more time for
citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation
in athletic activities, and increased accessibility. These trends
continued with the advent of mass media and global
communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the
increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans began following the
exploits of professional athletes through radio, television, and the
internet--all while enjoying the exercise and competition associated
with amateur participation in sports.
In the new millennium, new sports have been going further from the
physical aspect to the mental or psychological aspect of competing.
Cyber sports organizations are becoming more and more popular.
Activities where the outcome is determined by judgement over execution are considered performances, or competition.
Sportsmanship
-
Main article: Sportsmanship
- See also: Gamesmanship and Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing
Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play,
courtesy toward team mates and opponents, ethical behaviour and
integrity, and grace in losing.[5]
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity
will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports
journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . . . is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.
But often the pressures of competition or an obsession with
individual achievement—as well as the intrusion of technology—can all
work against enjoyment and fair play by participants.
People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and
respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as 5 IOC,
or by forming their own regulatory body. In this way, new sports evolve
from their beginnings as leisure activity to more formal sports:
relatively recent newcomers are BMX cycling, snowboarding, and
wrestling. Some of these activities have been popular but uncodified
pursuits in various forms for different lengths of time. Indeed, the
formal regulation of sport is a relatively modern and increasing
development.
Sportsmanship, within any given game, is how each competitor acts
before, during, and after the competition. Not only is it important to
have good sportsmanship if one wins, but also if one loses. For
example, in football
it is considered sportsmanlike to kick the ball out of play to allow
treatment for an injured player on the other side. Reciprocally, the
other team is expected to return the ball from the throw-in.
Violence in sports
involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional
aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes
unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of
loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting contests, particularly football matches
Professionalism
Modern sports have complex
rules and are highly organized.
-
The entertainment aspect of sports, together with the spread of mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sports. This has resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck
can be seen as more important than recreational aspects, or where the
sports are changed simply to make them more profitable and popular,
thereby losing certain valued traditions.
The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status.
Politics
At times, sports and politics can have a large amount of influence on each other.
When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sports people, particularly in rugby union,
adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in
competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution
to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that
it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects.[6]
The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration,
perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing
which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda.
In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) if she/he played or supported Football (soccer), or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and rugby union at Gaelic venues. This ban is still enforced, but has been modified to allow football and rugby be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road (both in Dublin)
is being redeveloped. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also
banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban.
Nationalism is
often evident in the pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people
compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a
partisan view. On occasion, such tensions can lead to violent
confrontation among players or spectators within and beyond the
sporting venue (see Football War).
These trends are seen by many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of
sports being carried on for its own sake and for the enjoyment of its
participants.
Physical art
Sports have many affinities with art. Ice skating and Tai chi, and Dancesport
for example, are sports that come close to artistic spectacles in
themselves. Similarly, there are other activities that have elements of
sport and art in their execution, such as artistic gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Parkour, performance art, professional wrestling, Yoga, bossaball, dressage, culinary arts, marching band, drum corps, etc. Perhaps the best example is Bull-fighting,
which in Spain is reported in the arts pages of newspapers. The fact
that art is so close to sports in some situations is probably related
to the nature of sports. The definition of "sports" above put forward
the idea of an activity pursued not just for the usual purposes, for
example, running not simply to get places, but running for its own
sake, running as well as we can.
This is similar to a common view of aesthetic
value, which is seen as something over and above the strictly
functional value coming from an object's normal use
Classical
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