Is darts a Sport??
10 January 2006, 11:42 AM
#121
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Originally Posted by darts_aint_sport
Darts players are very skilled at what they do, no doubt about it, it's a difficult game to master. They walk in to an arena like a boxer, chains and rings all over, with Firestarter playing in the background, and loads of chavvy people in the arena watching it, with the tv cameras focussed on the players wives screaming at their husbands more than the players, it must be tough.
Fat and/or lazy people just want to consider it a sport so that they can claim to be sportsmen.
Fat and/or lazy people just want to consider it a sport so that they can claim to be sportsmen.
Though if I was playing darts at a level that the top stars in the PDC do, I would be a sportsman. I wouldn't have the need to "claim" to be.
As for the chavvy crowds etc - I couldn't agree more. It still retains it's routes of being spawned from a pub. The old school element has maintained it's presence, though as players develop and advance this too will diminish - though not totally disappear. One thing is for sure, they have a great time!!
I plan to watch the world matchplay and/or some of the Premier League. I won't turn up with a pair of shorts on, holding a bottle of Gatorade talking about short muscle fibres - but I will however have a great time.
10 January 2006, 11:55 AM
#123
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Originally Posted by TelBoy
Andy Fordham (and many other similarly fine specimens) is NOT a fekkin sportsman!!! Never has been, never will be!! 
Fordham was a physical mess, result - he couldn't compete. Action - he lost weight, improved fitness. As said by many so far on this thread - it is the endurance more than the fitness, however endurance requires physical exertion.
Cyclists are fitter than football players - does that make football less of a sport?? Of course it doesn't - it simply makes it a different sport.
<<<< that'll give you bruises. Calm down, relax. It's just a thread.
Last edited by Senior_AP; 10 January 2006 at 12:00 PM.
10 January 2006, 11:56 AM
#124
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You're going offtopic slightly here, the issue here isn't whether it's any good or not, but whether people deem it a sport. I enjoyed watching it last night, particularly the wives screaming their heads off or crying into their hands.
But it's still not a sport.
But it's still not a sport.
10 January 2006, 11:59 AM
#125
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Yes, he did ALL of that, but he still plays a GAME, "unfortunately" or not!!
If they played chess standing up, would you then re-classify that as a sport? It sounds daft, but that's essentially what you're saying. Standing upright does NOT automatically make an activity a sport, whether it's competitive or not!!
If they played chess standing up, would you then re-classify that as a sport? It sounds daft, but that's essentially what you're saying. Standing upright does NOT automatically make an activity a sport, whether it's competitive or not!!
10 January 2006, 11:59 AM
#126
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The competition element satisfies the criteria..
as for physical exercise im undecided
I suspect the average player uses the same arm for throwning the dart as lifting the pint - thus one arm goes wanting .I guess standing around for the period of the match would count as exercise for some..
as for physical exercise im undecided
I suspect the average player uses the same arm for throwning the dart as lifting the pint - thus one arm goes wanting .I guess standing around for the period of the match would count as exercise for some..
10 January 2006, 12:08 PM
#131
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Originally Posted by TelBoy
Yes, he did ALL of that, but he still plays a GAME, "unfortunately" or not!!
If they played chess standing up, would you then re-classify that as a sport? It sounds daft, but that's essentially what you're saying. Standing upright does NOT automatically make an activity a sport, whether it's competitive or not!!
If they played chess standing up, would you then re-classify that as a sport? It sounds daft, but that's essentially what you're saying. Standing upright does NOT automatically make an activity a sport, whether it's competitive or not!!
When you are watching fotball it is still a "game".
# Sports that are games:
Football
Darts
Rugby
Tennis
Hockey
Cricket
# Sports that are NOT games:
Javelin
High jump
Not many sports aren't games. Some yes, but not many.
A game of "xxxxx" (insert football, darts etc where appropriate).
A thesaurus may help here.
10 January 2006, 12:11 PM
#134
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Don't patronise - you're now being pedantic about common parlance just for effect. A "game" is a word used for any two-sided activity. Whether it is physically exerting enough to be classified as a sport then needs to be decided. Darts, golf and snooker do not, in the majority of people's opinion, fulfil that criteria, it really is that simple. To most of us, anyway...
10 January 2006, 12:22 PM
#135
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Originally Posted by davyboy
How come the sports you mention are not games, feature in the Olympic games?
Generic term I suppose.
They form the event, but on their own are not games. You don't play a game of Javelin so to speak.
For a given sport to be a game there needs to be direct competition between individuals or teams. This applies to football, rugby, darts. It does not apply to throwing a javelin or doing a high jump as you are simply trying to better a given figure in these 2 events. But they are still sport. All sports have varying levels of the criteira required to be classed as sport.
Football and Rugby have high levels of fitness required, as well as vast amounts of skill. Throwing a javelin requires far less fitness, however strength and technique come into play more. though in football, you have to actively compete with the opposition - not so in throwing or jumping. Here you try to beat a set figure achieved by the opponent.
Last edited by Senior_AP; 10 January 2006 at 12:28 PM.
10 January 2006, 12:25 PM
#136
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Originally Posted by TelBoy
Don't patronise - you're now being pedantic about common parlance just for effect. A "game" is a word used for any two-sided activity. Whether it is physically exerting enough to be classified as a sport then needs to be decided. Darts, golf and snooker do not, in the majority of people's opinion, fulfil that criteria, it really is that simple. To most of us, anyway...
Darts fulfills all criteria necessary to be classed sport. It is now classed sport.
Others started throwing the term game etc in to the equation.
Over complicating a simple matter of fact.
10 January 2006, 12:27 PM
#137
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Originally Posted by Senior_AP
Darts fulfills all criteria necessary to be classed sport.
LOL, no it DOESN'T!!! It is competitive, but it is not sufficiently physically exerting, in the eyes of the VAST majority of the population, to be called a sport. I play sport. I also play darts. Darts is NOT sport.
10 January 2006, 12:30 PM
#138
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Originally Posted by TelBoy
LOL, no it DOESN'T!!! It is competitive, but it is not sufficiently physically exerting, in the eyes of the VAST majority of the population, to be called a sport. I play sport. I also play darts. Darts is NOT sport.
You may not see it as a sport - but a sport it is.
10 January 2006, 12:31 PM
#139
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You may consider it a sport, and the monkey in charge of uk sport may think that it's a sport, but it's a subjective term (as has been proven with this thread) so there is no 'fact' about it other than that it is an officially recognised sport, people are free and entitled to believe it is not in their opinion a sport any more than internet gaming is.
10 January 2006, 12:35 PM
#140
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I'd say it was a game myself, like snooker / pool. Competitors may start getting fitter (in general) as it can benefit them in handling the pressure involved when playing in top competitions.
It's not really like golf even, where getting physically stronger actually provides benefits to the game itself. Throwing the darts harder doesn't really make a difference!
It's not really like golf even, where getting physically stronger actually provides benefits to the game itself. Throwing the darts harder doesn't really make a difference!
10 January 2006, 12:36 PM
#141
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Originally Posted by darts_aint_sport
You may consider it a sport, and the monkey in charge of uk sport may think that it's a sport, but it's a subjective term (as has been proven with this thread) so there is no 'fact' about it other than that it is an officially recognised sport, people are free and entitled to believe it is not in their opinion a sport any more than internet gaming is.
"Government" - running the country or raising personal profiles and setting personal agendas.....?? Subjective.
The subjective argument could be referenced in ANY and ALL debate.
10 January 2006, 12:37 PM
#142
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Originally Posted by Senior_AP
You may not see it as a sport - but a sport it is in the eyes of some self-interested quango.
You left off a bit.
10 January 2006, 12:42 PM
#143
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Originally Posted by Senior_AP
You could say everyhting is subjective.
"Government" - running the country or raising personal profiles and setting personal agendas.....?? Subjective.
The subjective argument could be referenced in ANY and ALL debate.
"Government" - running the country or raising personal profiles and setting personal agendas.....?? Subjective.
The subjective argument could be referenced in ANY and ALL debate.
10 January 2006, 12:43 PM
#144
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Originally Posted by darts_aint_sport
Most people have boundaries which Darts lies outside.
Fortunately, it is not these people who decide.
Darts has developed. 30 years ago it was played at a level similar to that of pub chuckers - it has moved on significantly since.
10 January 2006, 12:46 PM
#145
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Are there any benefits to the people involved, if it is deemed to be a sport or not? Apart from getting to appear on They Think It's All Over and a Question Of Sport?
10 January 2006, 12:50 PM
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It HASN'T moved on!! The same blokes are winning, the same blokes are competing. The rules haven't altered. The averages are pretty much exactly what they were when Eric Bristow was playing. Maybe the extra perspiration on their foreheads from more modern lighting is confusing you, lol!