Figure Skating is not a sport!
February 20, 2006 by admin
Filed under Sports Rumors
I’ve had this argument with my wife lately. She is an artistic type who happens to enjoy figure skating.
But it is not a sport! Any activity that winning or losing is based on the opinion of someone else does not qualify to me as a sport.
In freestyle skiing, style points are awarded but the tangible element is also speed. In bobsled or the luge, whoever gets to the bottom in the fastest amount of time is the winner. Speed skating is a sport too.
Figure skating is not a sport. It requires athletic ability, no doubt, but then again so does getting out of bed in the morning.
PREACH IT!!!
The need for strength, agility, and skill do not make something a sport. Objective scoring standards do. Artistic merit is NOT objective.
YES IT IS, CAN YOU GO OUT LAND TRIPLE JUMPS AND THEN LAND ON ONE FOOT ARMS PERFECTLY OUT WITH YOUR HEAD LOOKING TO THE RIGHT SO IT LOOKS LIKE ITS THE EASIEST THING ON EARTH, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT MORON
That doesnt make it a sport… I agree with you they are talented and athletic. but its not a sport, its a competition judged by subjective humans and not objective scoring.. therefore not a sport. Is American Idol a sport too?? same thing.
Is Golf a sport?
Is Archery a sport?
In both cases, you can be morbidely obese and still be quite good at it :)
THANK YOU!!!!!
lol.. this proved his point not urs. Golf and Archery winners are decided by an objective scoring system.. so yes its a sport. Figure skaters are athletic and not fat.. but its not a sport. how is this hard lol?
Yes and in both cases there is an objective way to win. Not some half-ass judging that awards the win to one person or another. In golf, a score is kept based on number of shots. In archery, points are kept for where the arrow goes.
okay, then what is your definition of an athlete?
Unfortunately, then you’d have to get rid of a lot of Summer Olympic sports too .. like gymnastics, diving, and um… there must be more subjective events …. I think it would be different, if they had an hour or so to review everything in detail with slow motion replay. It’s even worse for me, when they not only are subjective – they do it in 2 minutes .. it’s like speed dating.
Defining athlete is beside the point. I think we all agree figure skating requires athletic ability. I think the question should be what is a sport.
The only thing I’m challenging is figure skating as a sport! ;)
FIGURE SKATING IS A SPORT, IT TAKES YEARS OF PRACTICE AND YEARS OF MUSCLE BUILD UP, THE FACT THAT IT IS PARTIALLY JUDGJED CAN NOT DETERMINE IF A SPORT IS A SPORT, LOOK AT GYMNASTICS, IM SURE YOU THINK GYMNASTICS IS A SPORT, AND SO IS FIGURE SKATING, THERE ARE REQUIRED ELEMENTS AND THEY HAVE TO BE EXECUTED IN A MANNER THAT YOU GET CREDIT FOR THEM, ONE SMALL MISHAP AND YOU COULD BE DOWN ON YOUR BUTT, SO UNLESS YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO GO OUT AND IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SKATE A PROGRAM WITH TRIPLE JUMPS (WHICH REQURIE A VERTICAL JUMP OF OVER 23 INCHES) THEN YOU CAN SHUTUP ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AND AGREE WITH YOUR WIFE. FIGURE SKATING IS WAY MORE OF A SPORT AND IS JUST AS MUCH OF A SPORT AS ANY OTHER, JUST BECAUSE IT IS PRIMARILY A GIRL SPORT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING, I KNOW GIRL HOCKEY PLAYERS, FOOTBALL PLAYERS AND MANY OTHERS, SO UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE SPORT BITE YOUR TONGUE AND GET OVER YOURSELF,
Hart: I’m okay with losing those as “sports”. :p
according to wikipedia:
A sport consists of a physical and mentally competitive activity carried out with a recreational purpose for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, self-motivation and a scoring system. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.
Unless you find me another definition of sport. (and I want it to be that well written too!), Figure skating is a sport, Aaron ;)
Who cares about Wikipedia? :-) This is about my opinion! :-)
oh okay.
so that’s like a non-argument.
You know, some people think the earth is flat and that God exists.
Are you telling me that sport is a matter of faith over facts? :)
The earth is flat. Duh.
ROTFLMAO
Any joker knows that.
Wikipedia is clearly wrong. Come on:
* The performances are set to music
* They’re called programs
* Choreography is a factor in judging (Didn’t the old scoring system have an “artistic interpretation” component?)
* It’s sister is Ice DANCING!
And if that doesn’t persuade you…
THE SEQUINS!!! LOOK AT ALL THE SEQUINS!!! CAN IT SERIOUSLY BE A SPORT IF YOU WEAR SEQUINS!!!! THE INHUMANITY!!!
Wow really cuz wat about jerseys that footballs players wear. The spandex look at the spandex!! The INHUMANITY!!! omg go spend a day at the rink adn see what it feels like!!
Hahahaaaa
Ok ummm,
If you think figure skating is not a sport just because it is judged by people and the winner is determined by an opinion. Your wrong.
There are certain requirements you need in your “program” to get points and if you do not meet them you are deducted and then they add up the marks. That is a strong influence on who comes in first. And it is not only all the girly sports that are judged, what about diving and ski jumping may not be judged by the length but the form is still determined by opinion. Figure skaters work really hard to get to the top and they work just as hard as all the pro football players, but just because they don’t have to run down a field they are not considered athletes. If figure skating were easy the y would call it hockey. And the comment about the sequence, figure skaters don’t have to wear a sparkly dress with sequence, they do so they stand out and be remembered. So if figure skating is not a sport then what is it, are you saying that all this work they are doing is just to practice a hobby.
IT IS TOOO A SPORT. FIGURESKATING TAKES YEARS TO GET GOOD AT. IT IS NOT THE OPINION OF OTHERS, FIGURESKATING IS JUDGED ON SKILLS AND ROTATIONS AND LANDING RIGHT (WITCH IS VERY HARD TO DO). you should really get to know a sport before you go on and critizie it!
take it from a long time figureskater.
Definition of sport:
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.
just because it is judged doesn’t mean it is not a sport i mean like what kind of jerk believes that, you do not understand the concept of sport, if hockey was somehow judged would you call it a sport, the amount of training and effort figure skaters do compared to hockey players is outstanding hockey players are like someone else’s robots the coach is the only one that has to work overtime, whereas the figure skater has to pay attention to every detail.
By the way I am a figure skater and learn to appreciate the sport.
P.S. before you know criticize the sport learn and see how much training it takes.
If you think figure skating isn’t a sport . . .
Try doing a Scratch Spin at 250 RPM.
If you think figure skating isn’t a sport . . .
Try doing a Biellmann Spin.
If you think figure skating isn’t a sport . . .
Try doing a Star Lift . . . one handed.
If think figure skating isn’t a sport . . .
Try doing a Death Spiral.
(Seriously Try it…)
I am sick of people saying that its not a sport! My uncle who is a football coach wont let my little cousin skate with my because its “not a sport”. I would love to see him get on the ice! Before you criticize someone (Criticizing a sport is criticizing the players…) why dont you try and see where they are comming from? Why dont you spend one day training as hard as a top knotch figure skater, you probably could’nt do it.
WOW.. ur all the same. Hes not arguing its hard, hes not saying “anyone can do it” hes not saying that figure skaters arent athletic or have major talent. Hes saying that there is no quantifiable scoring system to determine a winner.. its subjectively human judged. Its a COMPETITION not a SPORT. Same as American Idol.. try singing at this key or that key.. (seriously try it).. STILL DOESNT MAKE IT A SPORT CAUSE SOME PEOPLE CAN DO IT,AND OTHERS CANT.
Figure skating IS a sport, it takes practice, time, and years to become good at, if you miss one step you might fall. Serious injuries have happened in figure skating, even some deaths. It requires physical action and is very hard to perfect a routine that requires planning, practicing, physical work, and takes time.
FIGURE SKATING IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO A SPORT!!!!!!!!
it is obviously a sport a mean most sports are competetive like football and cricket and base ball e.g.
Excuse me FIGURE SKATING NOT A SPORT!!! r u serious ok first off like Samm says u trying doing half the moves we do! and im not even to comp yet!! u try doing a sit spin or a spiral and those are basic moves!! Figure skating takes devotion and pratice and why people think that its not a sport is beyond me! To be a figure skater you have to go through alot and I applaud and look up to the people that get there but I also know its not cake walk spending sometimes a whole day at the rink and giving up our time for this SPORT! We do it because we love it adn when someone like you says its not a sport its a slap in the face its like spitting on all our hard work. Do you know what it feels like to get off the rink after about an hour of crossovers or 3 hours of routine after routine and jump after jump, you get frustrated and your feet and legs hurt horribly and you get blisters but when you finally get it down perfectly its like your flying. So never even think that figure skating is not a sport because its as much a sport as football and basketball.
YOU ROCK!
once AGAIN! because your good at it or because it takes hard work DOESNT MAKE IT A SPORT. Your argument has been the SAME as every other one. It doesnt make sense. I respect skaters. i really do, and admit they are talented , and work hard. But they are competitors in a tough competition. Its not spitting on ur hard work, its appreciated, but that doesnt make it a sport. It’s a competition.. and one you wanna be the best at, so theres nothing wrong with it. Me saying its not a sport is not an insult, its a classification. Its a tough COMPETITION that takes hard work and real talent. Growing the best pumpkin for the fair or having the best cow at the fair is the same thing.. doesnt take NEAR as much talent or effort, but still, you do what you can to have the best and biggest pumpkin or prettiest dog for a dog show, to be ready on COMPETITION day.. what makes it a competition? The subjective human judging (ya know like Simon Cowell does for American Idol.. SAME THING).
COMPETITION.. say it with me COMP-E-TITION
I agree, figure skating is not a sport. Sports are events that have unequivocal outcomes. Highest score, fastest finish, longest distance, etc.
Anything that requires opinions to determine the quality of the performance are art forms, not sports.
Figure skating, like gymnastics and synchronized swimming, are art forms, not sports.
Figure skating has highest scores based on points assigned to elements. For example, a tripple axel jump is worth 8.5 points. The judge is there to look at the vidoe and determine if the jump is fully rotated. This is no different than an umpire calling a ball a strike. There are judgement calls made by officials in just about every sport.
Why do people insist on comming up with their own definition of what a sport is. If you check the definition and look a the rules of figure skating you will see that figure skating is indeed a sport.
http://www.gofigureskating.com/story/fssport.html