Is Fishing a Sport?

[Riparian]

Is fishing a sport? Definitely.

Is golfing a sport? Definitely.

 

Are fisherman athletes? Absolutely not.

Are golfers athletes? Absolutely not.

 

A sport is simply an activity governed by a set of rules and boundaries to achieve a goal.

[Terry]

Riparian, exactly

[TOM C]

WEBSTERS DICTIONARY=ath-lete, A person who participates in sports.

 

Tournament fishing is classed a sport, so those who pertake are athletes, no where does it say how much energy you must exert or how good you must be at a certain thing to be classed as an athlete, YOU MUST ONLY PARTICIPATE to be classed as an athlete.

 

So argue against it all you want, it is a sport and anglers who fish in a tournament with a set of rules are deemed athletes,

 

Heck guys who catch carp call themselves fishermen, now thats what I call some thing that should be debated LOL ( relax its just a joke) hmmmmm

[Tomcat]

Fishing is a sport when practised by a sportsperson (person who behaves fairly and generously).

[irishfield]

Man... if Darts is a sport and dart throwers are athletes.. then I guess we fisherpeople are too.

 

 

...ice goin out sooon ?

Edited February 13, 2008 by irishfield

[Roy]

A sport is simply an activity governed by a set of rules and boundaries to achieve a goal.

 

I played pickup chess for several years. Injuries and age have a way of catching up though. A hangnail finally took me out.

[wallyboss]

Somebody mentioned Nascar not being a sport.!! A couple of years back during one of the short track races they had a camera inside the car of Mark Martin and the camera was pointed to his feet. They showed us the footwork that he had to do during 2 laps of the race and i was exhausted just looking at it. His left foot never touched the floor of the car for all the laps that they showed and chances are that they havent touched the floor for the whole race. Plus his body was kind of all twisted because his toes were on the clutch pedal and his heel was on the brake pedal.

 

So does the guy have to have the biggest arms in the world to race a nascar car?? No but does he have to be in very good health and in shape. He sure does. Sure there is some overweight drivers in Nascar but do they win a lot of races or at least a lot of top 10's??

 

I know that after 9-10 hours of casting a topwater frog as far as my flipping rod can toss it that I come back home with a sore arm.

 

But I consider myself an outdoorsman not a sportsman. Because if I consider fishing a sport I probably wouldn't do it as much. I fish to have fun not to stay in shape. And most sports there is a winner and a loser. Even if I come back home after a 12 hour day on the water and the walleyes had lockjaw I can still say that I had a good day.

[bowshep]

SPORT[/b]: physical activity engaged in for pleasure;

ATHLETE: one who is trained or skilled in excercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

 

Well it looks like Sex is a sport and l have to agree and now lm an Athlete... lol

 

and l don't care what the judges say...

 

Peace Ken

Edited February 13, 2008 by Bowshep

[Kirk]

No and No.

 

Anything you can do sitting on a lawn chair is not a sport.

 

Do Pros and wannabes dress like athletes? YES

 

Same opinion about Poker on ESPN, give me a break. My high school euchre games shoulda been on ESPN and TSN

[Headhunter]

I think hunting "cougars" is a sport!

HH

[TOM C]

What seems to be lost here is the difference between doing something RECREATIOAL and doing something to COMPETE, if I go play basketball at the gym am I an athlete, no im just out playing basketball, use the same senario for any game at it applies, so if I am out on the lake looking for or catching fish I am FISHING, if im out doing the same thing, but competing against others I am in a sport, so if im in a sport I must be an athlete because only athletes compete in sporting events.

 

What seems to be lost here is that some think you must be in a certain condition and use a certain amount of energy to be classed as an ATHLETE, there are lots of sports that require you to be in better physical than others but does that make them more of an athlete than the next, EXAMPLE: I bet you Bobby Orr would never have been able to compete against the best long distance runners in the world. or the other way around, so is one a better athlete than the other, Of coursr not their just better at a sport than another,

 

So the question has only one answer and that is that TOURNAMENT FISHING IS A SPORT and those who compete in the sport are ATHLETES, you can put all the spins on this you want but when it comes right down to it and you follow the definition of sport and athletes you cant change the meaning

[Bernie]

Im a curler so also an athlete. Just bad enough trying to stay upright on the ice without cleats . Ha

By the time the game ends I gotta hit the shower (after the post game thirst quenching).

Fishing to me is recreational. A tourney could be classified as sport.

As with most activities you only get out of it what you put into it.

[live2fish]

its a sport just like basketball hockey foot ball. u can take it serously and play in leagues competitivly (tournaments) or you can take you kid or friends out for a day of fun just like you can playing pond hockey or basketball in your driveway. are you really an athlete if you have a hoop set up on your garage and every once and a while you toss a few in. no, but if you practice play in a league on teams and do it seriously then yes you are. Fishing, you have to train to fish tournaments practice and yes its very tiring so why is it not a sport becasue you can sit in a chair, well you can sit in a chair to do any sport but your not doing it seriouly or competitivly. doing a sport does not make you an athlete its a matter of how far and seriously you take it,

 

 

Bowen

[Kirk]

Wheres my beer and lawn chair, I'm competing with anyone else parked on shore LOL

 

If my arse is parked in a boat, then I'm competing with other boats, while I sit on a different chair and eat cheezos. LOL

 

When I'm alone I compete with myself

 

I'm Athlete of the Year.

 

I'd like to thank my sponsors, CTC lawn chairs, Budweiser and Cheetohs

 

Hope I don't gotta walk up any stairs to get my elite athletic trophy.

[Tybo]

Before we all start changing the English language, according to:

 

THE WINSTON DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN ENGLISH:sport,1 a game,pasttime,or contest that requires a reasonable amount of physical activity along with individual skill,Skiing,tennis,and billards are all sport

 

WEBSTERS DICTIONARY:sport,An interesting diversion, a particular game or physical activity with set rules

So unless you want to change the ENGLISH LANGUAGE its a sport

 

Wow: looks like my job is a sport.

When I go into work to day,I will have to ask the boss for a 7 digit raise.

[Kirk]

I can think of something that fits Websters definition as an 'interesting diversion' but I don't think even ESPN would broadcast it.

[Canuck2fan]

I voted no to both. For many of the reasons already stated.

 

Fishing is a pastime nothing more nothing less.....

 

Fishing Tournaments are NOT a sporting event in any sense of the word. The way they use line 20 times stronger than necessary, race around in over powered boats polluting lakes unnecessarily, and then man handling a bunch of fish culling them as well as stressing them out for the weigh in is not sporting in any noble sense as far as I am concerned. But that is just my opinion.

 

As for the effort or exhaustion the so called pros put out meaning that qualifies tournament fishing as a sport that is just a joke. Cutting two cords of wood by hand is an effort and exhausting but I don't think anyone would call that a sport....

[Riparian]

There will be no end to this debate.

 

We could go on forever debating the sport fishing thing, but I think its pretty easy to tell who is an athelete and who is not. To me, an athelete is someone who participates in a "sport" but devotes a particular amount of time from their life to it in regards to physical training.

[TOM C]

I voted no to both. For many of the reasons already stated.

 

Fishing is a pastime nothing more nothing less.....

 

Fishing Tournaments are NOT a sporting event in any sense of the word. The way they use line 20 times stronger than necessary, race around in over powered boats polluting lakes unnecessarily, and then man handling a bunch of fish culling them as well as stressing them out for the weigh in is not sporting in any noble sense as far as I am concerned. But that is just my opinion.

 

As for the effort or exhaustion the so called pros put out meaning that qualifies tournament fishing as a sport that is just a joke. Cutting two cords of wood by hand is an effort and exhausting but I don't think anyone would call that a sport....

 

 

 

NOW THAT S FUNNY but needs a whole new thread to address

[Headhunter]

I have a friend who has had a long standing theory as to what is a sport and what is not. His definition is a follows;

"it's only a sport if you can drink beer out of the trophy"!

So, based on this theory, the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup are representative of the only two "real" sports out there!LOL

HH

[Terry]

I can see many people have never been in a bass boat or have done a tourney

 

try going across the lake at 70 mph in 3ft waves for an hour there then fish all day and do the run again

there morning starts at 4 in the morning and ends about 10 or 11 at night..

 

and you have done the same thing the last 5 days..

tomorrow you are going t pack everything up drive the truck and trailer 600 miles to the next tourney and prefish for 4 days , then do a 3 day tourney......, most of those guys would cut those 2 cords of wood before breakfast and still get out fishing......you have no idea.........and for the record I got out of pro fishing cause I couldn't take the pace...

well that's one pf the reasons.........and I cut , split and burnt my own wood for 12 years

[walleyejigger]

I do believe it's a "sport" but were not athletes for it, nor are pro's,

 

not sure why i think that way, just do

[irishfield]

......and I cut , split and burnt my own wood for 12 years

 

Good... you're in charge of stoking the stove !

[Garry2Rs]

My dictionary defines SPORT this way...

..."Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors."...

 

Given this definition I have trouble seeing fishing as a sport. However, the word itself is derived from an old French word, DESPORT, meaning leisure...If we go back to that meaning, then fishing is most certainly a sport.

 

Are pro fishermen athletes? Most of the top Bass Pros look like they're in very good shape. Slim young guys like Kevin Van Dam, Mike Iaconnelli, Skeet Reese, Gerald Swindle and Aaron Martens are the ones who've won Angler of the Year recently, and I hear them talking about how important that is to stay physically fit in order to be competitive at their level. But does that make them Athletes?

 

Then again, I'm not sure that a lot of professional players are athletes either...grin. In my opinion, Pro Sports have more in common with the WWF than the Olympics.

[charlesn]

There's one thing in common with every single person that claims top level bass tournament fishing is not a sport. They haven't tried it at the higher levels where the serious money and thus serious commitment is involved. I would encourage everyone who is answering it is not a sport to give it a try and then come back with your honest thoughts. I think you'd be surprised at how wrong pre-conceived notions can be both about the sport and the ethics of the competitors.

 

Charles