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+--- Thread: Bridge a Sport! (/thread-1213.html)
Bridge a Sport! - Alex McFarlane - 27-04-2015
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A judge in England has ruled that Bridge is a sport. Sport England had 'defended' the case.
Could be interesting.
Re: Bridge a Sport! - Andy Howie - 29-04-2015
Yep, Times are already saying that by extension Chess is a Sport a well. If confirmed could open up an avenue for funding for us from Sport Scotland as well as getting cheaper venues for events. South Lanarkshire have a free venue scheme for junior clubs so could be good news all round
Re: Bridge a Sport! - Andrew McHarg - 29-04-2015
I still don't agree that Chess or Bridge are sports (at least not in the conventional sense). That's not to diminish their worth (obviously), but if these are sports by the argument of requiring the use of the "brain muscle" to a degree beyond its usual exertion, then almost everything that's challenging could be considered a sport (doing maths homework; driving to work in busy traffic; watching Inception etc), which puts us back to square one in defining categories for any of them.
But Sport England should really get their definition sorted out as well. If sport is an "activity aimed at improving physical fitness and well being, forming social relations and gaining results in competition", then I don't see how activities like Snooker, F1, darts, shooting etc are sports. None of them aim to "improve" physical fitness by playing, and some of them (snooker and darts, for instance) don't even require anyone to be particularly fit.
Personally, I'd be in favour of having "mind sport" as a definition for the likes of Chess and Bridge, and for these to be given the same levels of funding and respect as sports more generally. I'd also put the likes of darts and snooker in this category (if a better one couldn't be found), because the co-ordination required to be successful at either certainly requires more use of the brain than anything else.
Re: Bridge a Sport! - Douglas Bryson - 29-04-2015
"Let me explain what the aim is of the new definition of sport....The new definition also extends to sports or games that involve mental, as well as physical, aspects. There is no justification for continuing to prefer the physical to the mental, given that those two aspects appear to be of similar significance....I should say that I was never a chess player as a child as it was too complicated for me. I was more of a backgammon player, but I am unsure whether backgammon will be able to make its case."
Hansard 25 Oct 2006 - column 1569-70
Ed Miliband as Minister for the Third Sector, with responsibility for voluntary and charity organisations.
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