Is hunting a sport?

[Five Seasons]

19 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

The more I think of it, Some hunts do require serious athleticism such as Mt Goat, Sheep, Chasing Cats behind dogs, etc. in these types of hunts you may get lucky and it's a short walk, but it could also be 10-20 miles everyday for 10 straight days. I know a lot of guys train very hard before a mt goat hunt in the mtns of BC


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When I think of athletic hunting I think of Rinella from Meat Eater. But again I think that you can participate in a sport and not be an athlete and vise versa.

[moog5050]

Funny, the definition of sport has been the subject of much debate:

The precise definition of what separates a sport from other leisure activities varies between sources. The closest to an international agreement on a definition is provided by SportAccord, which is the association for all the largest international sports federations (including association football, athletics, cycling, tennis, equestrian sports, and more), and is therefore the de facto representative of international sport.

SportAccord uses the following criteria, determining that a sport should:[1]

have an element of competition

be in no way harmful to any living creature

not rely on equipment provided by a single supplier (excluding proprietary games such as arena football)

not rely on any "luck" element specifically designed into the sport.

They also recognise that sport can be primarily physical (such as rugby or athletics), primarily mind (such as chess or go), predominantly motorised (such as Formula 1 or powerboating), primarily co-ordination (such as billiard sports), or primarily animal-supported (such as equestrian sport).[1]

The inclusion of mind sports within sport definitions has not been universally accepted, leading to legal challenges from governing bodies in regards to being denied funding available to sports.[12] Whilst SportAccord recognises a small number of mind sports, it is not open to admitting any further mind sports.

There has been an increase in the application of the term "sport" to a wider set of non-physical challenges such as video games, also called esports, especially due to the large scale of participation and organised competition, but these are not widely recognised by mainstream sports organisations. According to Council of Europe, European Sports Charter, article 2.i, " "Sport" means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.".[13]

 

It also noted that sport comes from the French word desport which related to any leisure activity circa 1300.  Clearly SportAccord would not include hunting in the definition, but I suppose one can reject their definition even if it is the "closest to an international agreement" of the definition.

I still like my definition better.  Smokey no sporty.

[fasteddie]

I guess Hunting can't be considered a sport because you don't get a "Participation Trophy" at the end of the season . 

Whether or not it is considered a sport is in the mind of the beholder ! 

[Five Seasons]

5 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

 Call hunting a sport, obviously there is a clear winner &/or loser as there is in any sort of competition. 

see I disagree a little here. As others have mentioned I've had plenty of hunts where I didn't get a deer or bag a bird, but left the woods fulfilled. That's what's great about hunting. Your measure of success is your own.

[moog5050]

I kind of laugh at suggesting there is "competition" between man and deer.  Certainly the deer don't know it, unless you consider trying to survive a "competition."

[The_Real_TCIII]

2 hours ago, moog5050 said:

I kind of laugh at suggesting there is "competition" between man and deer.  Certainly the deer don't know it, unless you consider trying to survive a "competition."

If they knew theyd forfeit immediately, or demand better equipment

[Nomad]

No .

[fasteddie]

In August , when the new licenses come out , I am going to refuse the Lifetime Sportsman's License and get the Lifetime Participation license ! 

[bkln]

You will get 20 yards penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct" :-)

[bkln]

4 hours ago, First-light said:

So if hunting is a sport do I get a T.V. timeout to go take a shit and when am I going to see the instant replay on my shot to see if was hit or not. lol

You will get 20 yards penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct" :-)

[bkln]

...and where is the justice? we don't get "2 minute warning" either... LOL

[left field]

3 hours ago, moog5050 said:

SportAccord uses the following criteria, determining that a sport should:[1]

[snip] be in no way harmful to any living creature [snip]

 

This is interesting. Perhaps a nod to Western European countries where the modern view of fishing and hunting differ greatly from the Americas. 

Switzerland (maybe others) has outlawed C&R fishing as they feel it is a bloodsport. Though I still practice it, if I look at the true definition I have to agree.

I guess the problem isn't that the definition of hunting has changed, it's that what we come to call sports has changed so drastically (by including nearly everything) that it not only has pushed hunting to the fringe, it has made some hunters refuse to include their pastime.  I first saw this question on an upland forum and to a person, they all said that hunting is not a sport.

[fasteddie]

Hunting is considered a sport . I saw it on the Alternative Facts listing !  

[Black Bellamy]

Again, what a silly debate.

The word "sport" has two meanings.  Everyone is familiar with the modern usage.  But for hundreds and hundreds of years, "sport" meant "a leisure activity, pastime, entertainment" and those who engaged in such were called "sportsmen".  

So hunting is definitely, absolutely, 100% a sport...if you use the old definition.

If you use the new one, hunting is not a sport.

So apples and oranges.  The entire article over at http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/ is annoying, because the guy spends half the article explaining the modern definition of sport, then spends the other half of the article trying to convince us that hunting doesn't fit his definition.   All it does is showcase his ignorance of the etymology of the word.

There's tons of words that used to mean something completely different.  If 500 years ago I wrote "God is awful" I would be praised for my wisdom because back then "awful" meant "awe-full" or "deserving of awe" or simply "awesome".    Today "awful" means something completely different, just like "sport" and a million of other words.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Black Bellamy
spelling

[dbHunterNY]

no.... sports have an off season.

[wolc123]

Are hunting and fishing sports?  It depends on the participant.  I do not consider them "sports", because my primary reason for participating is to gather food to eat.  The fact that those activities are fun is merely a pleasant side-benefit.  The lack of food makes it nearly impossible for me to justify any time or money spent on "sports" like golf, football, baseball, basketball, or hockey.  I understand why those who's primary reasons for hunting and fishing are for "the challenge" or for "the competition" consider those activities "sports".   I am very thankful for those "sportsmen".   The younger animals they pass, or the smaller fish that they release, just might provide me with some fine eating.      

[stubby68]

7 hours ago, fasteddie said:

In August , when the new licenses come out , I am going to refuse the Lifetime Sportsman's License and get the Lifetime Participation license ! 

Get a lifetime hunting license. 

[left field]

@Black Bellamy 

That's what I was getting at. While the linked article was poorly reasoned, it does bring up the etymological argument. Hunting was the original sport but now that we've changed the meaning of the word "sport" to include anything and everything (and considering how drastically hunting has changed over the years to be less sporting) should hunting still be included?

[NFA-ADK]

We could debate this one a long time and I think it simply comes down to interpretation as stated above.  The way I see it we are sportsmen and women and by that definition we chase our prey in the outdoors using weapons, hook line and sinker and follow a code of ethics. 

Is it a sport, I would say yes in that we compete against each other more than our prey and tend to measure each other on success when success should be measured on woodsmanship, personal achievement and enjoyment of mother nature.  Instead we have Boon and Crocket, that confirms it as a sport to me but I really don't like calling it a sport at all.

 

[nyslowhand]

Too funny! I was thinking along the same typical "sports" rules, a halftime, 7th inning stretch, 2min warning and the one I like the best is an overtime period with 1st to score....!

So Moog, per SportAccord I'm assuming sexual activity falls within their definition of a sport? Pretty sure Bill Clinton would disagree with your take about a stogey being a disqualifying factor. Oops, goes back to the topic about old farts saying inappropriate things! Sorry, couldn't control my thoughts.

[Doc]

20 hours ago, moog5050 said:

I kind of laugh at suggesting there is "competition" between man and deer.  Certainly the deer don't know it, unless you consider trying to survive a "competition."

Many years of hunting has taught me that right from the initial shot on opening day, the deer are well aware that the game is on. They go into full survival mode and use every trick available to them to elude the invading team. And, by golly, they are damned good at it too. That is indeed a competition.

[Doc]

20 hours ago, moog5050 said:

 

.........SportAccord uses the following criteria, determining that a sport should:[1]

have an element of competition

be in no way harmful to any living creature

..............................

I'm not familiar with this SportAccord outfit, but that odd-ball criteria about living creatures that they awkwardly just threw in there certainly does look like they have an anti-hunting bias and agenda that shows that they are not exactly impartial in their definition. I think they lost their credibility when they tossed that in there.

[growalot]

This debate may become moot...seeing the state wants to make sure it's a sport. Their AR push to make an attempt to get everyone their "participation trophy" 

[fasteddie]

14 hours ago, stubby68 said:

Get a lifetime hunting license. 

I have the Lifetime License ! 

[Curmudgeon]

14 hours ago, wolc123 said:

 It depends on the participant.  I do not consider them "sports", because my primary reason for participating is to gather food to eat.  The fact that those activities are fun is merely a pleasant side-benefit.

As wolc said. Some of you are "sports". Some of us are just doing what our ancestors (and wolves) did before the word "sport" was invented.