Settling the age-old debate: what is a sport?

Ava Memarzadeh, Staff Writer

The definition of a sport, and what should be considered one, has been a long standing dispute  among many Samo students. Should members of the mathletes be considered athletes? Should cheerleading be labeled as an athletic team? Almost all the definitions of a sport online are conflicting, leaving the issue up for interpretation. However, what is clear for many is that a sport should include three things: physical exertion, skill and competition. Samo student Niki Soroushyari (’24) agrees with this sentiment.

“A sport is any physical movement or activity,” Soroushyari said.

With this in mind, it is clear that not all competition teams can be considered a sport. This controversy arises from a specific competition team at Samo: mathletes. Essentially, the team prepares weekly for their competitions during meetings, where captains both assist and teach members. The culmination of these preparations is the one competition per semester. Because it shares the competitive and skillful aspect of a typical sport, whether or not mathletes would be considered one is up in the air for many students. 

However, due to the lack of physical activity, educational competition teams are not real sports. Despite the requirement of mental skill and competition, the missing concept of physical skill is enough to dock this activity of the title. 

“I believe that physical activity is important enough that the lack of it in mathletes disqualifies it as a sport,” mathletes member Aiden Lee (’23) said. 

Although he is a dedicated member of the Samo mathletes, Lee makes no exceptions for the team and its absence of physical movement. Thus, mathletes should not be considered athletes. 

While cheerleading is a sports elective and competition team at Samo, many still do not hold it to the same standard as traditional sports. Students are responsible for learning a routine, perfecting it and working collectively and collaboratively with one another. The routines are intricate, and require skill and dedication to learn. During football season, cheerleaders go to weekly games and perform their routines. 

Conceptually, cheerleading incorporates dancing and gymnastics, both requiring physical strength, precision and team competitions. Both dance and gymnastics are considered sports, meaning cheerleading should logically be included as well. Cheerleading requires the same physical activity and dedication as any other sport, undeniably making it fall under that category.

Another topic of discussion is marching band and its credibility as a sport. Participants are required to go to hour-long practices starting before school and multiple competitions during the season for sports games. Marching band consists of various instruments, and players have to perform while marching and doing choreography. Even though marching band involves physical activity, it mostly incorporates components of the performing arts. If going to competitions was enough grounds to consider something a sport, then other music groups would be considered sports as well, especially ones that include choreography. 

Being one of the easier sports in regards to physical activity, golf seems to fall in a grey area. The activity involves skillfully striking a club in order to get the golf ball into its assigned hole. The game takes practice and precision to get the aim correct. Usually, players are transported through the golf courses with the help of golf carts, meaning it does not require much physical exertion. Players range from all ages, and one can play golf recreationally or competitively. 

While this topic is debatable, golf falls under the category of a pass time, rather than a sport. The physical aspect of it is not to the degree as most sports, and the use of skill is not enough to make its case.

Overall, what is clear from all the activities mentioned is that the most valuable and distinguishable trait among controversial sports is the involvement of physical activity. Without it, the activity cannot be categorized as a sport.