I’m just gonna go ahead and say it; it’s an art, not a sport. The closest thing I can think of to it would we playing an instrument. It takes time to become good at it, you use your hands and need to be skilled with them, and requires imagination. Sure, it takes speed to execute the fastest, most complex horizontal trick, but that doesn’t make it a sport. Sure a guitarist needs speed and stamina in his fingers to bust out the most ridiculous solo, but its not a sport. I don’t think anyone would argue that. Sure, there a band competitions, but it’s still not a sport. Why? Because you’re competing with an art. If a band competes in a competition with a song they wrote (A form of art), and another band does the same, is it a sport? No, they aren’t competing at the same time. Same goes for a yoyo competition, they aren’t going up at the same time and having a literal yoyo fight; they get judged afterwords and ranked according to how the judges feel they did (Not unlike a band or art competition). The only way I would see yoyo as a sport is if it was like yoyo fencing. Use loopers and try to get the opponent.
And about gymnastics being a sport now, it’s still an art, just sportified and not really a true sport, like figure skating and dancing. There is also at least one form of gymnastics that survives as solely an art - Parkour and Freerunning. Although some will tell you it’s a sport because of the amount of training, strength and conditioning required, there is no natural competition to it.
I could consider it a sport, if i was interested in competing. But even after five years of throwing i still havent gone over the trick ladder, i skipped quite a few tricks that werent interesting to me. Its more or less a meditation technique for me. I throw when im mad. Sad. Or even happy.
Yoyoing fits within the definition of sport. It requires physical activity and skill. You can compete at it therefore it is a sport. I consider it a hobby because I don’t compete. The same goes for shooting and golf for me. Both shooting and golf are sports, but I do not compete in them.
being able to compete in something doesn’t automatically qualify it as a sport. Art contests, writing contests, battle of the bands, chess, etc etc. All competitions. None are sports though. Plus, how physically demanding is yoyoing really? as long as you have an arm, you can do it.
Bare with me while i try to make sense lol. I personally think it IS a sport but the majority of people think it isn’t. Here’s an example. In regards to the definition, I don’t think archery should be considered a sport but it is. It takes skill to master but no energy is really exerted. It’s a single person skill but teams are formed and competitions held. Since i dont get archery i dont see why its considered a sport but the same goes for yoyoing for people who aren’t involved in it. At the end of the day,all things considered… It fits the criteria. It takes skill, energy, and dedication to master. Who cares what the general public think. They don’t get it…just like I don’t get archery lol
I agree with absolutely everything above except for the underlying premise, found in the phrase “Who cares what the general public think.” Just because the general public probably doesn’t see it as a sport doesn’t inherently mean that the general public thinks anything less of the skill required to do it.
Archery is a lot easier to judge in a competitive environment. Hitting a smaller target = more points (I’m not really sure how it works, just a guess) In a sport like this, there is always someone who is clearly better.
While our current judging system has it’s flaws, it’s the best we can do at the moment. Until the system is revamped I don’t think yoyoing should be properly classified as a sport. And while I would like to be called an athlete as much as the next guy I think we should focus more on the art aspect of yoyoing. It sets us apart.
archery is actually rather hard physically. In a competition , I’m using the state one that I shoot in, we shoot 6 arrows 3 times at 3 distances. We also have 2 practice arrows for each distance. Now I pull a 45 pound draw weight, that’s how much weight is on the string. So basically every time I shoot I pull 45 pounds. So after a competition I have pulled 2700 pounds. That’s pretty physically demanding. But I do see where your coming from. People who aren’t part of it typically don’t see how hard it is.
I also think one problem is that people take “physical exertion” to mean “physically exhausting”. I don’t think that’s really necessary.
All the definition is saying is that it must be a test of physical skill. Archery is most definitely a test of physical skill. Yoyoing is also a test of physical skill, so it meets that portion of the requirement. Where yoyoing falls short of being a sport is that there is no inherent competition.
The opposite would be something like chess, where there is inherent competition, but no test of physical skill.
I didn’t know anyone else on the forums did archery
I’ve never entered any competitions, but I’ve gone to a few archery ranges, and I’ve gone hunting with a 60lb compound bow. It’s definitely very physically demanding, I think my arm would fall off if I took that many shots.
@thetopo: Huh, that’s interesting that the olympic committee considers chess a sport. Still, the other activities I mentioned still stand.
