[Discussion] Is speedcubing a sport?

[Deleted member 2864]

Some other common non-sports I can think of:
Poker: no physical prowess needed, despite being on ESPN
Golf: it's a GAME, not a sport, despite being on ESPN
NASCAR: the only true difficulty I see is holding in your bowels for that long

Poker. Agreed.

Golf. A sport. It takes a lot of physical effort. The countless hours of training, plus the tournaments themselves take a ton of work. Look at Tiger, he is absolutely ripped, and that upper body strength helps him a lot.

NASCAR. Though I do not consider it a sport, there is a lot more to it. It is a very exhausting activity, and it is ot uncommon for a driver to lose up to 10 pounds of water weight due to sweat.

AHA! Thank you! Exactly what I was thinking, it took me 7 months to muster up a decent swing at the age of 9. I only started playing 8 months in and that took a lot of work for a 9 year old to obtain the balance, skill, and mental shape to be able to play. Golf not only is physical, but mental. Even today, I get really mad at a slice and end up screwing up the whole hole because I dwell.
People who don't play say, "well, you hit this tiny ball that ways barely anything, make the green, put, and hooray! You got a par! Big deal!" but that's only half of it. What do you do if you slice, hook, top, or hit it fat? Can you move on or get pissed and end up screwing up the next shot?

 

[Koen]

Of course it is a sport. If chess is a sport why would speedcubing not be one?

 

[fanwuq]

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play.

Not all physical activities are sports, and not all sports are physical activities. If there is no competition, you can be the most physically strong and skilled person without actually being a sportsman be definition.
For example, a traceur is technically not an athlete because it is a way of life, not competition:

I would call speedcubing, cupstacking, chess, baseball, and golf sports. But in truth, you do not actually have to be in great shape to be good at them.
I don't know why people even bother to take, steroids for baseball. Seriously, just get a fat guy with a huge club, and he will pwn every baseball game.

 

[Neutrals01]

hmm...wow...if I could be like that guy in the video I would be glad..can go anywhere(pass through any obstacles) I want...

btw...if chess,poker,cupstacking is a sport then definitely I say speedcubing is a sport..fingers speed...

and who cares about the way the ancients define sports as...things change from time to time...even english wasn't born yet at that time...

but if chess,poker,cupstacking, etc... are counted as sports, I don't see in what reason speedcubing is not a sport..and some ppl sweat a lot while speedcubing.... and my hands even get tired when I speedsolve for 2 hours non-stop..do u get tired when u fish for 2 hours? I think u will get sleepy instead of tired..(if there ain't any fish around) =P

I think speedcubing is counted a new sport..just like sport stacking...hmm...is beer pong counted as a sport? throwing ping pong balls into the cups..?

 

[panyan]

nothing where you are sitting in a comfy chair and using your hands is a sport

@ fanwuq - awesome video!

 

[Deleted member 2864]

I seriously wonder why nobody has mentioned sportsmanship. Sure, for a sport, you need an athlete, but rules and courtesy should be in it, too! Baseball has rules and the umpire has the final say, soccer with the referee, and many other sports.

 

[qqwref]

Any organized activity and any game has rules; and courtesy/sportsmanship is irrelevant to whether something is a sport. Think of any sport; would it still be a sport if the players were rude to each other? Of course it would, just a much less fun one to be part of. Sportsmanship tends to be a part of sports, but it's because the players want to have a better environment, not because it's necessary for the sport to exist.

 

[Musselman]

well if poker is a sport, then anything is

 

[SlaughterMelon]

I would say yes.

In my opinion, a sport is anything you can compete in, and that you need to practice to get good at. I do consider playing Video Games a sport. You can compete, and you have to practice (oh god you have to practice). And you don't just have to play in teams, as with most traditional sports. Tae Kwon Do is a sport (I believe it is recognized by most sport organization, I think it's in the Olympics, too), but in competitive TKD, you're by yourself, trying to rise above the rest. No team there.

Speedcubing uses both of these. You can compete, obviously, and you have to practice, obviously.

Of course, by this definition, almost anything can be considered a sport, music, writing, speaking, etc. But then, I don't like labels .

 

[sooland]

Yes, it is a sport
It is a sport due to the competition and focus of the cube, and the practice it takes.

 

[Deleted member 2864]

Any organized activity and any game has rules; and courtesy/sportsmanship is irrelevant to whether something is a sport. Think of any sport; would it still be a sport if the players were rude to each other? Of course it would, just a much less fun one to be part of. Sportsmanship tends to be a part of sports, but it's because the players want to have a better environment, not because it's necessary for the sport to exist.

hmm... nice logic, but I do think that there has to be sportsmanship in a sport. If a player is not kind, than they are playing a game, not a sport, IMO

maybe its just cuz I play golf, which requires buttloads of etiquette, but still!

 

[Crumbshaw]

I think its a sport for me cause they have competitions

 

[rahulkadukar]

I say it again YES

 

[solver]

I don't think that cubing is sport, to me its merely an emulated sport

 

[ThatGuy]

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. cause wiki is always right. I'll read the other post eventually and get back maybe.

 

[SparkZer00]

Speedcubing is a sport like ping pong and cheerleading are sports, it arguably is and isn't

 

[ThatGuy]

Our school newspaper had an article on cheer. One of the girls in soccer said: "If you don't wear a sports bra it isn't a sport."

 

[qqwref]

Our school newspaper had an article on cheer. One of the girls in soccer said: "If you don't wear a sports bra it isn't a sport."

Damn, I totally could've made fun of the men's football team in high school if I'd known they were all wearing bras. Why didn't you tell me this earlier? >_<

 

[IamWEB]

I don't think that cubing is sport, to me its merely an emulated sport

You just said that you didn't think it was a sport, and that you think it's a sport.

But you put in a special title second time.

 

[gavnasty]

i think pretty much everything that has a competitive edge and involves physical activity at all is a sport. i also think competitive video/computer games are sports.