Is cubing a sport?

[Garf]

How about this: cubing isn't a sport YET. Chess has been around for centuries and is widely regarded as one of the greatest games of all time. We see world championships every year for chess, and is usually funded and sponsored everywhere. Cubing, however, has been around for only 51 years, and cubing competitions are relatively recent. I would say it's a lot cooler to watch than chess, however. In a chess setting, the room is pretty much quiet, and you don't hear much when there's a win until everyone is done playing their matches. There's usually more expert chess players than beginner ones, as they are usually intimidated by the pros and grandmasters. Cubing isn't like that (except for blindfolded solving and FMC) at all. There's always chatter and excitement in the room. The atmosphere is never calm, and you are around cubers of all ages and skill levels. Usually world class cubers are pretty chill, and will always be willing to give advice.
The problem with competitions is that they tend to feel more like social events and less like competitions. There's the solving aspect and podiums, but you're pretty much solving with friends or talking to other people. That's why it's hard to take them seriously, unless it's worlds or NATs, or some continental competition.
The solution would be to have more professional settings, like with the recent competitions with just 3x3 but a bunch of world-class solvers (i forgot what it was called), but also maybe some semi-pro comps for upcoming world-class cubers, with a more professional setting and better streaming for audiences.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

The solution would be to have more professional settings, like with the recent competitions with just 3x3 but a bunch of world-class solvers (i forgot what it was called), but also maybe some semi-pro comps for upcoming world-class cubers, with a more professional setting and better streaming for audiences.

sounds like last year’s CubingUSA All Stars comp

 

[bldcuber314]

sounds like last year’s CubingUSA All Stars comp

Or this year's CubingUSA All Stars comp

 

[Cubinginatree]

so why is Chess a sport?

It’s not. Chess is a board game.

 

[OtaMota]

It’s not. Chess is a board game.

Chess is recognized as a sport by the IOC.

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/recognised-international-federations

B: Cubing is in no shape or form a sport. You do not require being in good athletic shape to be good at cubing.

What about shooting sports (sans-archery), what good athletic shape do you need to compete in that? I know you may not like the Chess example, as it’s just an organization being recognized by another organization, but shooting sports like air pistol are actually done in the Olympic Games.

 

[Cubinginatree]

Chess is recognized as a sport by the IOC.

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/recognised-international-federations

What about shooting sports (sans-archery), what good athletic shape do you need to compete in that? I know you may not like the Chess example, as it’s just an organization being recognized by another organization, but shooting sports like air pistol are actually done in the Olympic Games.

Darts and air pistol requires lots of hand eye coordination. Cubing is solving a toy puzzle.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

B: Cubing is in no shape or form a sport. You do not require being in good athletic shape to be good at cubing.

But who said sports had to be physical?

 

[OtaMota]

Darts and air pistol requires lots of hand eye coordination.

In what way does speedcubing not have hand-eye coordination?

Hand-Eye Coordination

Even people with perfect vision and motor skills may have problems with hand-eye coordination. That’s because the problem is generally not with the individual systems,

www.optometrists.org

 

[Garf]

Darts and air pistol requires lots of hand eye coordination. Cubing is solving a toy puzzle.

Our boy has been Americanized quite badly.
Also, cubing at a world class level is more than just solving a toy puzzle. You need the proper hand-to-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills, precision and accuracy as close to 100%, all done in less than 20-25 seconds of first picking up the puzzle for inspection.

 

[NebraskanSpeedsolver]

If we can classify E-Sports as a real sport, I don't think speedcubing should be any different. Enough said.

 

[Cubinginatree]

Our boy has been Americanized quite badly.
Also, cubing at a world class level is more than just solving a toy puzzle. You need the proper hand-to-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills, precision and accuracy as close to 100%, all done in less than 20-25 seconds of first picking up the puzzle for inspection.

To be fair I think that golf, darts, etc are all borderline sports that may be sports or not. After asking 5 people the consensus was that none of these are sports. To be fair the only people I asked were athletes so

 

[OtaMota]

To be fair the only people I asked were athletes so

How diverse was your group of athletes?

Cubing could fit in this definition I feel, or so could shooting sports. Don’t think you asked any archers what they thought tho, did you?

 

[PapaSmurf]

This is a silly thread, mainly because whether you think cubing is a sport or not depends on your arbitrary definition of what fits under the category you have in your head that is called sport. There are no clear lines. Chess is a good example of something lots of people consider to be both, which is why it comes up a lot. Curling, like the poll suggests, is also in that category. It's more physical than chess, but it's a lot less exerting than, let's say, football (association, American or any other activity that goes by that name). I'm not saying that sports don't exist, but more that what a sport is depends on the person. In the same way bowls exists and plates exist, but how flat does a bowl have to become to be a plate? Topology says that they're the same thing (cue Office meme), but that's because the best side to pick is no side if you want to be concrete.

So, is cubing a sport? Well, it depends if you think fish exist. [here, here]

 

[That0newe1rdo]

This is a silly thread, mainly because whether you think cubing is a sport or not depends on your arbitrary definition of what fits under the category you have in your head that is called sport. There are no clear lines. Chess is a good example of something lots of people consider to be both, which is why it comes up a lot. Curling, like the poll suggests, is also in that category. It's more physical than chess, but it's a lot less exerting than, let's say, football (association, American or any other activity that goes by that name). I'm not saying that sports don't exist, but more that what a sport is depends on the person. In the same way bowls exists and plates exist, but how flat does a bowl have to become to be a plate? Topology says that they're the same thing (cue Office meme), but that's because the best side to pick is no side if you want to be concrete.

So, is cubing a sport? Well, it depends if you think fish exist. [here, here]

I understood everything but the last bit.

I am a proud supporter of the existence of fish, like probably 99.99999% of people idk.
Idk why someone would think they dont exist other then maybe be some very young kid who hasnt seen/heard of fish before.

Other then the last confusing bit, i completely agree with the above statement, everyone has different definitions of things, whether or not it is the oxford definition or not.

 

[JDCubing1]

I think cubing is a sport for some reasons:
Speedcubing has a large community all over the world
We have a governing body, ahem, WCA
It requires mainly skill and practice

Im writing an essay abt this so here it is

Should speedcubing be a sport? Most people say it is “just a hobby,” but it is not. Ever since the invention of the Rubik’s cube, people have loved it. The Rubik’s cube is one of the best-selling toys in history, selling 500 million copies. The Rubik's cube may seem impossible, with the 43 quintillion scrambles it has, but it is not impossible. With patience and practice, anyone can solve the cube! Just take your dusty Rubik’s cube off the shelf and learn to solve it so we can get it to be a sport.
While the speedcubing world may seem niche, it stretches across the globe. These competitions take place in over 140 countries. This is like how the NFL stretches all over the U.S. With over 245 thousand people (about half the population of Wyoming) competing worldwide, it is one of the biggest unofficial sports. I think if chess can be a sport, so can speedcubing. The community has existed since before the internet! Even though it was not as big back then, cubing was starting to take the world by surprise. The community will keep growing, and it will not stop for a while. In addition to a global community, the world of speedcubing also has a governing body.
Like the NFL or NBA, the speedcubing world has its own governing body. The World Cube Association, or WCA for short, has been governing all speedcubing competitions ever since 2004. As the years have gone on, the WCA has added different regulations and rules for speedcubing competitions. For example, for a 2x2 solve to count, the scramble must require at least 4 moves. The WCA was created with the goal of providing a place to be competitive in speedcubing. If the WCA did not exist, the world of speedcubing would be much smaller and more niche. Thanks to the WCA, we do have that competitiveness that has kept speedcubing alive for over 2 decades. Beyond the WCA, speedcubing requires skill.
Like basketball, speedcubing requires skill. Winning a competition with luck is not possible. If anyone wants to get good at speedcubing, they must learn and practice. The most widely used technique for speedcubing is CFOP which stands for: Cross, F2L, OLL, and PLL. This method requires beginners to learn over 100 algorithms! While speedcubing may lack the physical work required for other major sports, it does not lack the mental work required. Some people may be naturally good at the cube, being able to learn quickly, but skill always beats talent.
Non-cubers, people who do not cube, treat speedcubing as a little hobby. They say it is just a toy and it is not worth the time and effort. In my opinion, it is worth the time and effort. Although speedcubing is borderline a hobby and sport, so are many other sports like chess. As I said, speedcubing should be a sport because it has the potential to go worldwide. The speedcubing world has a large community, a governing body, and it requires skill, just like other major sports. If we can get speedcubing to be large enough, we can have it recognized as a major sport.

Btw this is also for school so give me some tips pls!

 

[That0newe1rdo]

I think cubing is a sport for some reasons:
Speedcubing has a large community all over the world
We have a governing body, ahem, WCA
It requires mainly skill and practice

Im writing an essay abt this so here it is

Should speedcubing be a sport? Most people say it is “just a hobby,” but it is not. Ever since the invention of the Rubik’s cube, people have loved it. The Rubik’s cube is one of the best-selling toys in history, selling 500 million copies. The Rubik's cube may seem impossible, with the 43 quintillion scrambles it has, but it is not impossible. With patience and practice, anyone can solve the cube! Just take your dusty Rubik’s cube off the shelf and learn to solve it so we can get it to be a sport.
While the speedcubing world may seem niche, it stretches across the globe. These competitions take place in over 140 countries. This is like how the NFL stretches all over the U.S. With over 245 thousand people (about half the population of Wyoming) competing worldwide, it is one of the biggest unofficial sports. I think if chess can be a sport, so can speedcubing. The community has existed since before the internet! Even though it was not as big back then, cubing was starting to take the world by surprise. The community will keep growing, and it will not stop for a while. In addition to a global community, the world of speedcubing also has a governing body.
Like the NFL or NBA, the speedcubing world has its own governing body. The World Cube Association, or WCA for short, has been governing all speedcubing competitions ever since 2004. As the years have gone on, the WCA has added different regulations and rules for speedcubing competitions. For example, for a 2x2 solve to count, the scramble must require at least 4 moves. The WCA was created with the goal of providing a place to be competitive in speedcubing. If the WCA did not exist, the world of speedcubing would be much smaller and more niche. Thanks to the WCA, we do have that competitiveness that has kept speedcubing alive for over 2 decades. Beyond the WCA, speedcubing requires skill.
Like basketball, speedcubing requires skill. Winning a competition with luck is not possible. If anyone wants to get good at speedcubing, they must learn and practice. The most widely used technique for speedcubing is CFOP which stands for: Cross, F2L, OLL, and PLL. This method requires beginners to learn over 100 algorithms! While speedcubing may lack the physical work required for other major sports, it does not lack the mental work required. Some people may be naturally good at the cube, being able to learn quickly, but skill always beats talent.
Non-cubers, people who do not cube, treat speedcubing as a little hobby. They say it is just a toy and it is not worth the time and effort. In my opinion, it is worth the time and effort. Although speedcubing is borderline a hobby and sport, so are many other sports like chess. As I said, speedcubing should be a sport because it has the potential to go worldwide. The speedcubing world has a large community, a governing body, and it requires skill, just like other major sports. If we can get speedcubing to be large enough, we can have it recognized as a major sport.

Btw this is also for school so give me some tips pls!

Love it !
I wouldnt say "beginners to learn over 100 algs", as if i knew 100 algs (i probably do) i wouldnt be a 'beginner' tbh.
It would be better to replace it people or cubers imo.

Idk why i decided to comment on that of all things but i did

 

[JDCubing1]

Love it !
I wouldnt say "beginners to learn over 100 algs", as if i knew 100 algs (i probably do) i wouldnt be a 'beginner' tbh.
It would be better to replace it people or cubers imo.

Idk why i decided to comment on that of all things but i did

For some reason my teacher wont let me use the following words: you, awesome, cool, got
That is why I said beginner

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

Cubing in my eyes is not a sport and never will be.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

Cubing in my eyes is not a sport and never will be.

this is why you are taking years to be sub-9

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

this is why you are taking years to be sub-9

Cuz I suck. Also why is it taking u years to be sub 7. Also I kinda quit cubing as well