Sports Don’t Have to be Physical
A sport is any competitive game that tests skills.
Sports don’t have to be physically demanding. The only needs are skill and competitiveness. According to the World Poker Federation, “While mind sports don’t involve physical exertion in the traditional sense, they share several key characteristics with physical sports.” In the “History” section of the International Mind Sports Association, it says, “A total of 105 medals were awarded in five sports – bridge, chess, draughts, go, and xiangqi.” They show that a sport doesn’t have to be physical, but can be competitive card or board games. The only difference between mind games and physical sports is the physical activity.
The first Olympics was held in Ancient Greece, but were banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I. Then, 1,503 years later, in 1896, the modern Olympics were created, but it wasn’t the same. In the times of the Ancient Greeks, the games came first. Wars would pause for the Olympics to be held. In contrast, the modern Olympics were paused, not World War 1 and World War 2. The change in priority changed the attitude to the Olympics.
Sports don’t need to be physically demanding, as chess can train your brain to learn strategies and increase your focus; chess is actually internationally recognized as a sport. Chess can also train your patience and temper. According to the International Chess Federation, or the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), “The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999,” therefore confirming that chess is recognized as a sport. Although it isn’t physically demanding, it’s still mentally demanding. It also requires strategic thinking, which is also found in physical sports.
Another example is archery and shooting. Both of them are included in the modern Olympics and are considered sports despite the facts that both are relatively stationary. According to the article “Gunning for glory: Know everything about shooting at the Olympics” by the International Olympic Committee, “Although shooters are largely confined to one place during competition, the sport is nevertheless mentally and physically demanding…olympic shooting features three types of guns – rifle, pistol and shotgun.”
The last examples are e-sports, short for electronic sports. Video games that are played real time and are person-versus-person are mentally demanding, and some of them foster skills that one might use in a physical sport. High focus and quick decision-making are also needed in both e-sports and physical sports. This shows their similarity and proves that e-sports should be officially recognized as sports.
Some may say that a sport has to be physically demanding, but games that are mentally demanding also train you, just in a different way. Your mind is just as important as your strength, and since sports are supposed to keep you healthy and help your mind stay keen, mind games are also sports.
This is why a sport can be any competitive game that trains a skill. Officials can begin to promote mind games and e-sports to help the public understand that these are also sports.
Sources:
“History, International Mind Sports Association,” IMSA, imsa.sport/history/
“Gunning for glory: Know everything about shooting at the Olympics,” IOC, www.olympics.com/en/news/olympic-shooting-air-rifle-3-positions-rapid-fire-air-pistol-shotgun-trap-skeet
“About FIDE,” FIDE, www.fide.com/about-fide/