What makes a sport a sport?

Well, the Britannica dictionary defines a sport as a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other. However, I believe there is more to it.

Things get confusing with fishing. In fishing club, fishermen are in teams of two competing against each other. The rules state the fish they catch must be a certain length and weight. To win, the fisherman must catch the biggest and heaviest fish. The 64% of people who said it is not a sport, may believe there are no physical challenges. However, pulling a 20-40 pound fish out of the water with a string and rod seems very challenging. There is a level of strength required to be able to do this.

After analyzing these results, it is clear that people agree and disagree with Britannica’s definition of a sport. 

I agree that dance, hockey, track, rodeo, swim and tennis and cheer truly are sports. However, I disagree with the people voting that fishing is not a sport. There is no arguing that anyone can compete in fishing. A person must have the strength to pull a heavy fish out of the water, and they have to follow a specific set of rules, which follows the definition provided by Britannica. 

To answer the question “What classifies a sport?” a sport is an activity that requires a level of physical fitness, that you compete against others in and have to abide by a set of rules. This means that fishing is indeed a sport. 

This is because a sport is something that a person works for. It would not be impressive to be a professional athlete who didn’t have to train hard to get there. When we look at professional athletes, humans that have an athletic ability like nobody else. 

Playing video games as a profession is not a sport. It is a hard thing to do, but anyone can do this and be a very unathletic person. It takes no physical effort to be able to do this, leaving it just as an activity. Going with that, activities like chess would not be considered a sport. While it may be a difficult game, it does not require any physical activity. 

After analyzing the statistics and giving my opinion, the conclusion resides that a sport is an activity or game that you must follow a set of rules while doing. It also must be something that demands physical activity from you.