This blog post is part of the Play, Games, and Sport (What it Means to be Human) blog series. While writing the third part of the blog post, I noticed that I spent a good portion of the time defining what sport was before even talking about sports' significance to humanity and culture. I did not want to number this blog 2.5, but it essentially bridges the official second and third blog posts.

If you type into Google "the difference between game and sport," you will not be impressed with the search results. I think this is an indication that the two terms are used synonymously when the fact is they should not be. I believe the difference between game and sport is similar to the definition of rectangle and square. Any square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square. The definition of the square has more qualifiers but is backward compatible with the qualifiers of a rectangle, too. In the same way, any sport is a game, but not every game is a sport.

When I teach the Invent a Sport Lesson Series, the first component is that we need to identify the core traits of sport so they can create one from scratch. The list of qualifiers we came up with after boiling down and combining similar topics looks something like this:

• Physical or active

• Competitive

• Team or Individual

• Rules

• Organized

• Fun or entertaining

The etymology of the word “sport” in modern English perfectly summates the different aspects of sport because its translations show different attributes of sport based on what a culture appreciates the most about sport. The word sport is derived from “desport," which comes from Old French, meaning "leisure." English borrowed this word as early as the 1300s to mean "anything humans find amusing or entertaining." The Old French term came from the Persian word "bord," which meant "win" or "winning." The Chinese term for sport is "tiyu” (体育; 體育) and means physical training. The Modern Greek term for sport is “athlitismos,” (Αθλητισμός) which is essentially the same as the English word athlete, athletic, and athleticism.

The definition of sport is challenging to ascertain because it depends on the scope of included activities. The most significant schism concerns the amount of physical activity and exertion that are mandatory for the activity to be considered a sport. This disagreement has partially been solved with the creation of classifications of sport, which include:

• Physical - what most people consider traditional sports (basketball, soccer, hockey, etc.)

• Mind – non-physical sport contested through decision and strategy (Chess, Checkers, poker, etc.)

• Motorized – sport requiring the use of a motor vehicle (Racecar driving, motorbikes, jet skis, etc.)

• Coordination or skill – a sport that contests precision of and accuracy of movement without a defense or direct adversary impeding contestant (bowling, pool, darts, etc.)

• Animal – sport requiring the use of animals for locomotion or adversary (horse racing, equestrian, bull riding)

• eSports - videogames played on various platforms (StarCraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, etc.)

 The Global Association of International Sports Federations laid out the following criteria for sports:

Element of competition

• Be in no way harmful to any living creature

• Not rely on single supplier only equipment

• Not rely on any “luck” element specifically designed into the sport

 I find this definition of sport incredibly restrictive if a sport cannot harm any living creature. Violence is integral in some sports as long as it conforms to the rules of that sport. While an action like a punch may be legitimate during a boxing match, outside of the sport, it would be criminal assault. This harkens back to the idea of the Magic Circle, or another world created through agreement that resides in the "real world." To participate in the sport is an implicit agreement to the guaranteed violence, which may result in injury. While no one agrees to be injured, what is agreed upon is the chance of injury. This can make it challenging to determine where the violence of the sport ends and criminal violence begins at times.

Some argue that violence within sports is cathartic and allows for the safe channeling of aggression present within human nature. Others oppose this view and argue that violence is a socially learned behavior. They point out that different cultures have varying amounts of violence, but even more importantly, that different subcultures playing the same sport have varying levels of violence. If a subculture values aggressive behavior, it will become part of the identity and confer status for those who exhibit those behaviors, thereby creating a positive feedback loop.

Since so many sports have varying amounts of physical contact as a feature, it is crucial that sports not only have rules and customs but also an organizing body that can propose changes and amend rules. The rules, performance, and success within the sport should be clear. Arguably, the most transparent way to do this is through an objective measurement like a score or a speed. However, some sports rely on judges to adjudicate and determine a score, with many sports relying on aesthetics as much as physical ability. Some sports can blend the two, like boxing, which can be won via knockout (objective) or the judge's decision (subjective). This organizing body also keeps records of performances and competitions, which may be distributed through media. Throughout history, participation in sports and spectating sports have served as a source of entertainment. We know that entertainment can generate vast sums of money, and whenever we deal with money, not too far behind is gambling or betting. For some cultures, betting on the result of a sport was just as important as the sport itself. In modern times, athletes can make tremendous amounts of money. If someone only plays sport for money, they are essentially an athletic mercenary, and it could be argued that they are not even playing a sport anymore if there is no fun or amusement. That person is engaged in work, or trading time and effort for money. An athlete participates in sport for the fun of it. Sports are autotelic and played for their own sake.

When is running a sport instead of just exercise? If there is competition against a time or other runners, there are rules dictating what is allowed within the race, people are adjudicating the contest, and it is fun for the participants; we have sport. However, there will always be arguments on the validity of sport within mind, motor, animal, coordination, or Esports. Is a chess player really an athlete? Robert Sapolsky had research claiming that chess players could burn 6000-7000 calories because of the intense mental concentration, measured by increased heart rate. However, reproducing these claims has been difficult, and a more accurate assessment has said chess players are burning 10% above resting values. Is a racecar driver an athlete? It is the motor of the car that is doing the work that propels the car. However, it has been consistently measured that drivers burn 1000-2000 calories during a two-hour drive, lose significant water weight through sweat, and are subject to maintaining precision movements under high G-forces.

 How do we know when an athletic activity is a sport or not? Let’s check the list:

• Physical or active

• Competitive

• Team or Individual

• Rules

• Organized

• Fun or entertaining

We should apply these qualifiers to the sport in question to test whether we have a sport. If we can check every box, we have sport. If we cannot, we have an activity or game. And quite often, we have a lively debate, too.