Walking out of Spanish class, my friend and I were taking about Soccer verses Football. He stated that he played soccer because he didn’t understand football. I made the remark that I played a sport, and it was yo-yoing.
He said “That’s not really a sport…”
I said “Well in my mind it is.”
Then I ran through some arguments in my head about how some people would thinks yo-yoing isn’t a sport. It all boiled down to the fact that any hobby could be a sport, whether it be yo-yoing, dancing, marching band, Frisbee, etc.
I was in Physical Education when something like this happened again. I was asked why I didn’t participate in any sports. I simply said because it isn’t a pastime I enjoy. I was then insulted, called out and ultimately defaced. I just couldn’t believe the hatred and judging that these athletic people had against me. I didn’t even know them.
Not everyone hated me, though. A lot of my friends support me (all 3 of them), excluding the person named at the beginning.
I hated being insulted and called out, but I am overall thankful that it strengthened my love for this hobby and gave me another reason to continue
I agree that yoyoing isn’t a sport. And I know I’ll take hate for this, but I think a ton of “sports” aren’t really true sports because IMPO sports must be 1. Active, 2. Have goals or points that are scored and not judged, 3. Be competitive. So even hundreds of things that are highly athletic and in the olympics (ie. swimming, running, diving, ice skating, skiing) are not sports, even though some of them are some of my favorite things to do.
But not playing sports is never something anyone should feel bad about. Sports have always been a huge part of my life, but that’s because I love them. As long as you take cuz of your body and have something to be passionate about I think you’re awesome!
Keep living your life man! Sounds to me like you’re doing a great job of it.
That’s something I don’t say to everyone, and something it’s in my job description to figure out.
I too have always called it an art. Never a sport though. Its a skill through expression. Much like a painter or sculptor. We are the Michelangelo’s and leonardo’s of yoyoing.
I guess one could go as far as saying it’s also like dancing, which is a sport. I’ve seen many competitors get sweaty from moving around on stage a lot. So i could see how some might view competitive yoyoing as a sport.
I guess I’ve never cared as long as I love what I do. ;D
Honestly, most sports could be considered a form of art too. If you can do something with such fluency and finesse, it should be an art. Each require skills to perform well, each unique to the idea at hand.
sport |spôrt|
noun
1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment
I hear and understand those who are saying that yoyoing is not truly a sport. Given the definition above I think it fits.
Ballet is an art form. Improvisational acting. Interpretive dance. Perhaps even debate in some circles would qualify as taking part in an intellectual art form. I really don’t feel yoyoing fraternizes well with these types of activities. I have always wrestled with what category exactly yoyoing fits into. It certainly isn’t anything the likes of baseball, football or soccer. Tennis is far more physically demanding than tossing a little round return top on a string. Even with Ping-Pong one can more easily understand why one would consider that a “sport”. Yoyoing, I don’t know. It’s kind of out there in a cloister all by itself. Archery is usually considered a sport. So is skeet shooting. If shooting a bow and arrow can be consider a sport I think it’s fair to include yoyoing as one as well.
But art? I’m just not comfortable with it being considered performance art. Yo-Yo Ma, now that’s performance art right there.
the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. 2. the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; works of art collectively, as paintings, sculptures, or drawings: a museum of art; an art collection. 3. a field, genre, or category of art: Dance is an art. 4. the fine arts collectively, often excluding architecture: art and architecture. 5. any field using the skills or techniques of art: advertising art; industrial art. 6. (in printed matter) illustrative or decorative material: Is there any art with the copy for this story? 7. the principles or methods governing any craft or branch of learning: the art of baking; the art of selling. 8. the craft or trade using these principles or methods. 9. skill in conducting any human activity: a master at the art of conversation. 10. a branch of learning or university study, especially one of the fine arts or the humanities, as music, philosophy, or literature. 11. arts, ( used with a sing. v. ) a. the humanities: a college of arts and sciences. ( used with a pl. v. ) b. liberal arts. 12. skilled workmanship, execution, or agency, as distinguished from nature. 13. trickery; cunning: glib and devious art. 14. studied action; artificiality in behavior. 15. an artifice or artful device: the innumerable arts and wiles of politics. 16. Archaic . science, learning, or scholarship.
Yep, I’ll go along with you there. The thing is, going back to VinegarEel original post. When standing around the locker room after gym class I would much rather the other guys saw me as a participant in something having a closer relationship to throwing a nice spiral down field than the fellow who is in a interpretive dance club after school. High school locker rooms can be a brutal place for those with pink jock straps.
But I don’t see why that’s always made to be such a big deal. Whatever it is, if people think it’s not a “sport”, then everyone who’s into that thing gets defensive about that. I say, so what? Painting or writing are not sports but they are very respectable, interesting, and completely valid talents. They’re just not sports.
