Further definitions
Many definitions of sport exist in dictionaries, policy documents, and research papers.
Many definitions of sport exist in dictionaries, policy documents, and research papers. Some prominent examples include:
- An activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, usually requiring some degree of physical prowess, as hunting, fishing, racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, etc. 9
- A human activity involving physical exertion and skill as the primary focus of the activity, with elements of competition where rules and patterns of behaviour governing the activity exist formally through organisations and is generally recognised as a sport. Active recreation activities are those engaged in for the purpose of relaxation, health and wellbeing or enjoyment with the primary activity requiring physical exertion, and the primary focus on human activity. 2
- All forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, are aimed at maintaining or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels. 10
- Sport covers a range of activities performed within a set of rules and undertaken as part of leisure or competition. Sporting activities involve physical activity carried out by teams or individuals and may be supported by an institutional framework, such as a sporting agency. 5
- All forms of physical activity that contribute to physical fitness, mental wellbeing and social interaction (including casual, organised, or competitive sport, and indigenous sports or games). Sport involves rules or customs and sometimes competition. 'Play' (especially for children) is any physical activity that is fun and participatory, often unstructured and free from adult direction. 'Recreation' is more organised than play, and generally entails physically active leisure activities. Play, recreation, and sport are all freely chosen activities undertaken for pleasure. 4
Further reading and resources
- Revised European Sport Charter, opens in a new tab, Council of Europe, (adopted 13 October 2021). The European Sports Charter provides guidance for the Council of Europe’s member states to perfect existing legislations or other policies and to develop a comprehensive framework for sport.
- WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, opens in a new tab, World Health Organisation, (2020). The WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour provide evidence-based public health recommendations for children, adolescents, adults and older adults on the amount of physical activity (frequency, intensity and duration) required to offer significant health benefits and mitigate health risks. For the first time, recommendations are provided on the associations between sedentary behaviour and health outcomes, as well as for subpopulations, such as pregnant and postpartum women, and people living with chronic conditions or disability.
- 4a9b6682-536e-4355-a564-9fa6da422266, accepted by all Australian Governments, (2011). The Framework, developed in consultation with sport and active recreation sectors, provides a mechanism for the achievement of national goals for sport and active recreation and sets out the agreed roles and responsibilities of governments and their expectations of sport and active recreation partners. Its purpose is to assist Australian governments to achieve a consistent approach to the development and adoption of policies that support increased participation; success in international competition; strong national competitions; and contribute to whole of government objectives.
- Sport, Recreation and Play, opens in a new tab, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), (2004). This report defines ‘sport’ as all forms of physical activity that contribute to physical fitness, mental well-being and social interaction. These include play; recreation; casual, organized or competitive sport; and indigenous sports or games. Sport involves rules or customs and sometimes competition. Play – especially among children – is any physical activity that is fun and participatory. It is often unstructured and free from adult direction. Recreation is more organized than play, and generally entails physically active leisure activities. Play, recreation and sport are all freely chosen activities undertaken for pleasure.
- How Australians describe the value and benefits of Sport Snapshot report - 2022, Australian Sports Commission, (July 2022). During 2022, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) organised a series of qualitative research workshops with a representative sample of Australian adults (18+) to develop an understanding of how Australians value, think and feel about sport. The ASC’s Community Perceptions Monitor (CPM) research tool was used to survey the general community about sport and physical activity in Australia. The CPM surveys 500 adults monthly across metropolitan and regional Australia. Data are stratified and then weighted to reflect both the geographic population distribution and age and gender characteristics of the Australian community.
- Towards a Value-Neutral Definition of Sport, opens in a new tab, Michael Hemmingsen, Sport Ethics and Philosophy, (30 September 2023). In this paper I argue that philosophers of sport should avoid value-laden definitions of sport; that is, they should avoid building into the definition of sport that they are inherently worthwhile activities. Sports may very well often be worthwhile as a contingent matter, but this should not be taken to be a core feature included in the definition of sport.
- What Is Sport? A Response to Jim Parry, opens in a new tab, Lukáš Mareš, Daniel D. Novotný, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Volume 17(1), pp.34-48, (2023). This article attempts to analyse and critically evaluates a recent definition of sport presented by Jim Parry in the context of argument that e-sports are not sports. Despite some innovations, his conclusions are in many ways traditional and build on the previous positions. His research, rooted in the conceptual analysis, starts with a stipulation that sport is paradigmatically Olympic sport. He defines it then as an ‘institutionalised, rule-governed contest of human physical skill’ i.e., identifies six necessary elements of sport: human (not animals), physical (not chess), skill (not jogging), contest (not mountaineering), rule-governed (not ‘field sports’), institutionalized (not hula-hooping). Our claim is that this definition, despite its methodological clarity, is not accurate and does not sufficiently represent sport outside the Olympic context. First, to say for something to be a sport it is necessary to be a contest leads to a narrow concept of sport. Secondly, Parry’s account lacks the emphasis on game and play-like structures that are inherently present in sport (even in the Olympic sport), namely non-necessity, non-ordinariness, arbitrariness and gratuitousness. We try to direct the attention precisely on these structures and offer an alternative account of sport understood as a modern ‘hard core’ sport that nevertheless reaches important congruences with Parry’s definition. The originality of this contribution lies in presenting the essential qualities of modern ‘hard core’ sports, which, although sometimes hidden in the modern emphasis on high level performances, competition, and results, play an important role in the question how sport ought to be played and approached.
- On the Definition of Sport, opens in a new tab, Jim Parry, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Volume 17(1), pp.49-57, (2023). This paper side-steps the question of whether ‘the’ concept of sport exists, or can be usefully analysed. Instead, I try to explain the much more modest aim of exhibition-analysis, which is to seek a description of an actually existing example of some concept of sport internal to a normative position. My example is that of Olympic-sport. I try to set out its logically necessary conditions, which of course are conditioned by its context within a theory that emphasises the values of formal competition, citius-altius-fortius, and excellence in contest, as well as rule-based procedural values related to fairness, justice and equality. In so doing, I readily accept that other kinds of sport can be similarly analysed, and I do not press the value claims of Olympic-sport. Instead, I try to show how Olympic-sport, properly construed, can accommodate the concerns of my critics with regard to sport’s play and game-like characteristics.
- Sport participation settings: where and ‘how’ do Australians play sport, opens in a new tab, Eime, R., Harvey, J., Charity, M., BMC Public Health, 20, Article 1344, (2020). The national Australian sport policy has recently redefined the definition of sport to be more inclusive of a wider range of physical activities. The new definition of sport is broader, including both organised competitive sports as previously, but also encompassing a broad range of other recreational physical activities, such as walking, riding, swimming, “ninja’ style obstacle courses and stand-up paddle boarding. This definition is more in line with many other countries which have long since adopted a broad definition of sport which includes organised and non-organised sport, as well as other leisure-time physical activity. For example, Sport England’s strategy is ‘towards an active nation’ and includes people’s engagement in sport and physical activity. In New Zealand, there is a separate strategy for community sport and their definition includes sport and recreation. More specifically, in New Zealand community sport includes play, active and outdoor recreation and competitive sport within sports clubs and events. This definition specifically excludes passive recreation such as gardening, and also excludes elite (international) competition.
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