A sport is commonly defined as an organized An organization is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, controls its own performance, and has a boundary separating it from its environment. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon, competitive Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market. Although widely used in economics and business management, the usefulness of the concept, particularly in the context of national competitiveness, is vigorously disputed by economists,, and skillful physical activity Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health or wellness. It is performed for various reasons. These include strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance and for enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune requiring commitment and fair play Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".^[note] It is governed by a set of rules The regulation of sport is usually done by a regulatory agency for each sport, resulting in a core of relatively invariant, agreed rules. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as the International Olympic Committee, or by forming their own regulatory body or customs Traditions serve to preserve a wide range of culturally significant ideas, specific practices and the various methods used by distinct cultures. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem which is the accusative case of traditio which means "handing over, passing on". In a sport the key factors are the physical capabilities Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through exercise, correct nutrition and enough rest and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning Victory is a term, originally in applied to warfare, given to success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign is considered a strategic victory, while the success in a military engagement is a tactical victory or losing). The physical activity involves the movement of people, animals and/or a variety of objects such as balls and machines. In contrast, games such as card games A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary things with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games . Some games have formally standardized rules, while rules for others can vary by region, culture, and person and board games A board game is a game in which counters or pieces are placed, removed, or moved on a premarked surface or "board" according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve. Early board games represented a battle between two armies and most, though these could be called mind sports A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental and/or physical skill, rather than by pure chance and some are recognized as Olympic sports, require only mental skills. Non-competitive activities such as jogging and rock-climbing, are usually classified as recreations.

Physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first often define the result of a sport. However, the degree of skill in some sports such as diving Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime, dressage Dressage (a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics. Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to and figure skating Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates is judged according to well-defined criteria. This is in contrast with other judged activities such as beauty pageants and body-building shows, where skill does not have to be shown and the criteria are not as well defined.

Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events. While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports coverage has grown in importance as sport has grown in. Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition. However, professional sport is a major source of entertainment.

Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser", and observe standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.

Etymology

"Sport" comes from the old French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in desport meaning "leisure." American English uses the term "sports" to refer to this general type of recreational activity, whereas other regional dialects use the singular "sport".

History

There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity engaged in sporting activities as early as 4000 BC Categories: 40th century BC | 4th millennium BC | Centuries | .^[1] Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports, including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.^[2] Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and formerly known as Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are martial art of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills.^[3] Among other sports that originate in Persia Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and formerly known as Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are are polo Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team and jousting Jousting in its basic form is a martial contest between two knights mounted on horses and using lances. It can also consist of a series of competitions using a variety of weapons, usually in sets of three per weapon , often as part of a tournament.

A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula (technically an island since the 1893 construction of the Corinth Canal) and region in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (Greek: Μωρέας, colloq. � called Olympia Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad (i.e. every four years), the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC. In 394 AD ( after exactly 1170 years ).^[4]

Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century. Industrialization has brought increased leisure time to the citizens of developed and developing countries, leading to more time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans began following the exploits of professional athletes through radio, television, and the internet—all while enjoying the exercise and competition associated with amateur participation in sports.

In the new millennium, new sports have been going further from the physical aspect to the mental or psychological aspect of competing. Electronic sports Electronic Sports, abbreviated e-sports or eSports, is used as a general term to describe the play of video games competitively. Other terms include competitive gaming, cybersports and V-Sports organizations are becoming more and more popular.

Activities where the outcome is determined by judgement over execution are considered performances, or competition.

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.^[5][6]

Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French pedagogue and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and considered father of the modern Olympic Games. Born into a French aristocratic family, he became an academic and studied a broad range of topics, most notably education and history: "The most important thing . . . is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.

Violence in sports Violence in sports refers to physical acts committed in contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, rugby football, soccer, boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and water polo beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport. These can include intentional attempts to injure player by another player or coach, but can involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are typically chaotic and exhibit herd behavior or hooliganism Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans, particularly supporters of association football and university sports. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and or drugs are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting contests.

Professional sports

The entertainment aspect of sports, together with the spread of mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sports. This has resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor can be seen as more important than recreational aspects, or where the sports are changed simply to make them more profitable and popular, thereby losing certain valued traditions.

The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status.

Politics

At times, sports and politics can have a large amount of influence on each other.

When apartheid Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island was the official policy in South Africa Coordinates: 29°02′46″S 25°03′47″E / 29.046°S 25.063°E The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent, many sports people, particularly in rugby union Rugby union, or simply Rugby, is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, up to 100 metres long and 70 metres (2, adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects.^[7]

The 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona . It marked the second and final time that the International Olympic held in Berlin Berlin (English pronunciation: /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ) is the capital city and one of 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern was an illustration An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda.

In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) if she/he played or supported soccer, or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and rugby union at Gaelic venues. This ban is still enforced, but has been modified to allow football and rugby be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban.

Nationalism is often evident in the pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. On occasion, such tensions can lead to violent confrontation among players or spectators within and beyond the sporting venue (see Football War). These trends are seen by many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sports being carried on for its own sake and for the enjoyment of its participants.

Physical art

Sports have many affinities with art. For example, figure skating, artistic gymnastics, dancesport, and Tai chi can be considered artistic spectacles. Similarly, there are other activities that have elements of sport and art in their execution, such as bodybuilding, free running, martial arts, performance art, Yoga, bossaball, dressage, and culinary arts. Perhaps the best example is bull-fighting, which in Spain is reported in the arts pages of newspapers.

All sports involve physical and mental activities that are pursued for more than simply utilitarian reasons. For instance, running, when done as a sport, occurs for reasons beyond simply moving from one place to another. Value is gained from this activity when it is conducted simply for its own sake. This is similar to the concept of aesthetic value, which is seeing something over and above the strictly functional value coming from an object's normal use. For instance, an aesthetically pleasing car is one which doesn't just get from A to B, but which impresses with its grace, poise, and charisma. In the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't just impress as being an effective way to avoid obstacles. It impresses because of the ability, skill, and style that is demonstrated in its performance.

Art and sports were clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and 'arete' displayed by participants. The modern term 'art' as skill, is related to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games, which were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.

Technology

Technology has an important role in sports, whether applied to an athlete's health, the athlete's technique, or equipment's characteristics.

• Equipment - As sports have grown more competitive, the need for better equipment has arisen. Golf clubs, (American) football helmets, tennis racquets, baseball bats, soccer balls, hockey skates, and other equipment have all seen considerable changes when new technologies have been applied.
• Health - Ranging from nutrition to the treatment of injuries, as the knowledge of the human body has deepened over time, an athlete's potential has been increased. Athletes are now able to play to an older age, recover more quickly from injuries, and train more effectively than previous generations of athletes.
• Instruction - Advancing technology created new opportunities for research into sports. It is now possible to analyse aspects of sports that were previously out of the reach of comprehension. Being able to use motion capture to capture an athlete's movement, or advanced computer simulations to model physical scenarios has greatly increased an athlete's ability to understand what they are doing and how they can improve themselves.

Terminology

In British English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the mass noun "sport". In American English, "sports" is more used. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term used for more than one specific sport. For example, "football and swimming are my favourite sports", would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to North Americans.

The term "sport" is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports. Air sports, billiards, bridge, chess, motorcycle racing, and powerboating are all recognized as sports by the International Olympic Committee with their world governing bodies represented in the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.^[8]

Spectator sport

As well as being a form of recreation for the participants, much sport is played in front of an audience. Most professional sport is played in a 'theatre' of some kind; be it a stadium, arena, golf course, race track, or the open road, with provision for the (often paying) public.

Large television or radio audiences are also commonly attracted, with rival broadcasters bidding large amounts of money for the 'rights' to show certain fixtures. The football World Cup attracts a global television audience of hundreds of millions; the 2006 Final alone attracted an estimated worldwide audience of well over 700 million. The Cricket World Cup is another sporting event which attracts a global audience. The 2007 Cricket World Cup attracted about 2.3 Billion viewers all over the world. In the United States, the championship game of the NFL, the Super Bowl, has become one of the most watched television broadcasts of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is a de facto national holiday in America; the viewership being so great that in 2007 advertising space was reported as being sold at $2.6m for a 30 second slot.

See also

• Outline of sports
• List of sportspeople
• List of sports attendance figures
• List of professional sports leagues
• Timeline of sports

Related topics

• Combat Sport
• Disabled sports
• Fandom
• History of sport
• Multi-sport events
• National sport
• Nationalism and sports
• Olympic Games
• Paralympic Games
• Spectator sports
• Sponsorship
• Sport in film
• Sport governing bodies
• Sports broadcasting
• Sports club
• Sports coaching
• Sports equipment
• Sports injuries
• Sports league attendances
• Sports marketing
• Sports terms named after people
• Women's sports

Notes

^{^} The oldest definition of sport (1300) is of anything humans find amusing or entertaining.^[9] Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling; hunting; and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise.^[10] Roget's defines the noun sport as an "Activity engaged in for relaxation and amusement" with synonyms including diversion and recreation.^[11] An example of a more sharply defined meaning is "an athletic activity where one competitor or a team of competitors plays against another competitor or group of competitors [with] a conclusive method of scoring...not determined by a judge."^[12]

References

1. ^ "Sports History in China". http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa032301a.htm.
2. ^ "Mr Ahmed D. Touny (EGY), IOC Member". http://www.ioa.leeds.ac.uk/1980s/84085.htm.
3. ^ "Persian warriors". http://www.kuwait-info.com/newsnew/NewsDetails1.asp?id=78319&dt=10/13/2006&ntype=World.
4. ^ "Ancient Olympic Games". http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/ancient/index_uk.asp.
5. ^ "Merriam-Webster". http://www.merriam.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=sportsmanship.
6. ^ See, e.g., Joel Fish and Susan Magee, 101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent, p. 168. Fireside, 2003. [1] David Lacey, "It takes a bad loser to become a good winner." The Guardian, November 10, 2007.
7. ^ "Sport and apartheid". http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2005.00165.x.
8. ^ "Recognized non-Olympic Sports". 2007-01-03. http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/recognized/index_uk.asp.
9. ^ Douglas Harper. "sport (n.)". Online Etymological Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
10. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. The Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff. Springfield, MA U.S.A.: G&C Merriam Company. 1967. pp. 2206, sport.
11. ^ Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 1995. http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/sport.
12. ^ Andrew Goodman (July 27, 2007). "That's absurd, golf isn't a sport". New Jersey Herald (newspaper). http://www.njherald.com/289450476013270.php. Retrieved 2008-05-16.

Further reading

• The Meaning of Sports by Michael Mandel (PublicAffairs, ISBN 1-58648-252-1).
• Journal of the Philosophy of Sport

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