Gaming is nothing new, but esports has been gaining more and more traction over the past few years. Following a few political conversations, I was thinking to myself about esports and its current state in the world. Should esports be considered a sport?
I am using this article to share my thoughts about that matter with you. I am not basing this article on the money involved in the industry, prizes, sponsorships, or audience sizes. Let me first share some of my ideas and some facts, and then let’s decide together if esports is a sport or not.
Etymology
Let us begin with the actual term “sport” and find out where it comes from and what it actually means. Like many other terms we use today, “sport,” as it is used in the English language, has been derived from Old French. The original word was “desport” and could be roughly translated into the English term “leisure,” describing anything and everything that one could find entertaining.
Does that apply to esports? Yes.
Definition
As per Merriam-Webster, the definition of the noun “sport” is, next to others, a “physical activity engaged in for pleasure” as well as “a particular activity (such as an athletic game) so engaged in.” I would not say that esports and gaming is exclusively a physical sport but also a mental sport, so either way, I feel that the definition of sport is not conflicting with what we know as esports.
Does that apply to esports? Yes.
The Global Association of International Sports, formerly known as SportAccord, uses the following criteria to define whether or not an activity is a sport. They say that a sport should have an element of competition, be in no way harmful to any living creature, not rely on equipment that comes from a single provider or company, and not rely on elements of luck for the game/match to be decided.
Does that apply to esports? Yes.
Inclusion and sportsmanship
A sport should be fair and neither allow for cheating and doping (drug abuse) nor encourage the audience to behave violently. A sport should welcome practitioners and audiences from all demographics, including all age groups and genders, and of course, include people with handicaps.
Does that apply to esports? Yes.
But is it not just gaming?
Esports is gaming, but with a competitive motivation and the idea of improving through practice. You can also kick a ball around for fun with your friends in the park without it becoming a sport and without you being an aspiring football player. Esport requires less physical practice than football but more than chess, which is a sport. For me, esports is right in the middle of being a physical sport and a mental sport.
Should #esports be considered as a type of sport or not?
— TechAcute (@TechAcuteCom) November 21, 2018
It’s also worth pointing out that car racing is considered a motorized sport and that show jumping is regarded as an equestrian sport, which is part of the group of primarily animal-supported sports. So one cannot rule out esports for being a sport just because they are using computers and consoles to compete with each other.
Does that apply to esports? Yes.
Summary
So what do you think? Should esports be considered as a sport? Practicing esports and gaming, in general, has a lot of positive side effects. For instance, it can be very social. You also learn how to collaborate and work with others in a team. Which is, by the way, imperative to finding and keeping a job. You learn how to solve problems. If you’re not a native English speaker, it’s also a good way of improving your skills to speak English when communicating with players from outside of your country on the Internet.
Practicing esports helps young people to deal with the effects of losing just as much as winning. I think there are many layers and aspects to this subject, but based on definitions and facts, I would agree that esports should be considered as sports. I am looking forward to reading your comments and thoughts about this matter below in the comments. Thanks for reading!
Photo credit: The feature image and the image showing event audience has been taken by Clément Cellier for PSG eSports. The image “Kommentatoren Team beim Arena of Valor Turnier auf der Gamescom 2018” has been taken by Marco Verch.
