The Definition of Sport
Sport can mean different things to different people. To many people it involves sport in a way that is purely physical, whereby they may describe their enjoyment of a particular sport as being on the bike or running around an empty park while listening to music, or going up against friends or opponents. Whilst some people may regard other types of sport such as fishing, snowboarding, rowing and aerobics as sports too, they are often included within the terminology of sports at the same time. A more encompassing definition would be to say that any human contact activity undertaken for exercise, recreation or competition and involving the physical ability to move and work at an appropriate speed and in a planned way.
A physical activity involving skill and physical exertion as the main focus of the activity and where the participants actually gain physical advantage over each other, usually organised competitively, though sometimes not. Sport can also refer to non-sport physical activities, for example, things like crafts, driving, gardening, dancing and so on. Some sport activities may involve participation in competitive events, sometimes organised around a sport, where competitors put up a genuine fight, sometimes with rules to govern their conduct.
Sport has developed vastly throughout the history of mankind, originally originating as a means of self-ordained stimulation of the body’s natural instincts for hunting and fighting, although this was probably taken over by other means such as war and the building of schools and communities to foster social interaction. Sport has been used to create competitive, team sporting events, sometimes organised around a specific sport or as part of a cultural event such as a cultural festival or competition. In modern times, many people take part in spectator sports, which means that other people see the contest or sporting event without being present.