Diving is Not a Sport???!!!

[Tom Smedley]

We've lost our language long ago. Words like being gay simply because you are happy is long gone. In my views my passion is as much of a sport as I ever imagine. My best friend's ex said that diving just wasn't competitive enough. You notice I said ex. I guess he hadn't been with me at the bottom of a great blackwater dive looking for fossils in a five knot current. However, in the words of the infamous and notorious Rick Murchison (who by the way is older than me) "Diving is the only thing that you can do that your teenagers will do with you."

That - in itself - is enough for me.

If I want it to be a sport then by golly it's a sport.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Anyone who doesn't believe diving is competitive needs to come to a Hell Divers Rodeo, or any other spearfishing tournament.

Spearfishing tournament! Excellent sport!

Every day driving... activity... NASCAR... sport. Hmmm all they are doing is driving... what gives?

 

[Stu S.]

Do you follow thre rules? Are you improving your diving? Are you reasonable and fair to other participants? Are you mentally and physically fit? Those are characteristics of sportsmanship. Do these and you are a sportsman (or woman), engaged in a sport.

Many divers are sportsmen, some are not.

 

[Brewone0to]

I just ended a conversation with a diver who informed me that he did not consider diving a sport because it was not competitive. His take on diving is, if you want to play football, basketball, tennis, etc. you are competing for a spot on the "team", diving on the other hand is . . . anyone with a C card can dive . . . maybe not as well as another diver with more experience, but . . . I, or anyone who has been certified can dive, so it is NOT a sport. This discussion was brought about by our pondering over the potential benefits of diving over other recreational pursuits to keep a wayward mid-teen out of trouble as she is a certified junior OW diver.

Just a note, I read an article recently, (can't find it right now to reference) about diving considered as a sport. Your thoughts all ........

Diving is most definitely a sport.
Whereas all those other activities can be summed up simply as "GAMES"
I guess that means that the only real sports are those in
which you stand a chance of killing yourself in the ultimate pursuit.
Skydiving,racing,mountain climbing,repelling,base jumping,hangliding,
caving(wet or dry),freediving, and of course scuba diving are all sports,but not games.
Why is that? Is it because you could die?
Does this mean that all the sports that are considered "games"
are the ones intended to be played by the wusses?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I'am going to rest up for my next day of some sport.

Time to start training for league pool.

adios don o

Realy? What competition?

 

[beezwax]

If I go swimming, and by that I mean just enjoying the water, most people would not call it "sport" even if I burn a bunch of calories. But if I do the 200m freestyle everyone would agree that is "sport." The distinction there is clearly based on competition. On the other hand there are many things that are competitive that are not sports-- a beauty pageant, a debate, a game of chess. The difference there is that they are not physical/aerobic.

I don't think of scuba as a sport because it is not competitive (in any normal sense of the word-- I don't think of diving as me against nature or me trying to top my high score) nor is it particularly physical. Yes that dive gear can feel pretty heavy on land, but if that's enough to qualify then moving to a new apartment is also sport. One of the things I was most surprised by when I first went diving was learning that the whole idea is NOT to breathe hard...of course it's logical and maybe it was obvious to everyone else since you have a finite amount of air and heavy breathing means less dive time. But I always imagined diving like swimming, i.e. physical exertion, heart rate up, motoring through the water, etc. So it was surprising for me to realize how quiet and meditative it in fact is.

Maybe you could consider those divers/freedivers who are specifically trying to set/break records (competition) as sporty types. But in my book stuff like fishing is not a sport either, even if you did haul in the world's fattest bass.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

We've lost our language long ago. Words like being gay simply because you are happy is long gone. In my views my passion is as much of a sport as I ever imagine. My best friend's ex said that diving just wasn't competitive enough. You notice I said ex. I guess he hadn't been with me at the bottom of a great blackwater dive looking for fossils in a five knot current. However, in the words of the infamous and notorious Rick Murchison (who by the way is older than me) "Diving is the only thing that you can do that your teenagers will do with you."

That - in itself - is enough for me.

If I want it to be a sport then by golly it's a sport.

Or, fossil hunting

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Diving is most definitely a sport.
Whereas all those other activities can be summed up simply as "GAMES"
I guess that means that the only real sports are those in
which you stand a chance of killing yourself in the ultimate pursuit.
Skydiving,racing,mountain climbing,repelling,base jumping,hangliding,
caving(wet or dry),freediving, and of course scuba diving are all sports,but not games.
Why is that? Is it because you could die?
Does this mean that all the sports that are considered "games"
are the ones intended to be played by the wusses?

You mean these extreme activities are considered sports because you could die?

This sport must be next on the list: Russian Roulette

 

[Rainer]

For me it's definitely NOT a sport (the whole lack of competition thing). Great activity, though! Can even be decent exercise.

 

[djanni]

sport


• noun 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. 2 [SIZE=-1]informal[/SIZE] a person who behaves in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, etc. 3 success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting. 4 [SIZE=-1]dated[/SIZE] entertainment; fun. 5 [SIZE=-1]chiefly Austral./NZ[/SIZE] a friendly form of address, especially between unacquainted men. 6 [SIZE=-1]Biology[/SIZE] an animal or plant showing abnormal or striking variation from the parent type as a result of spontaneous mutation.