Apparently, MUni is not a sport.

[quark soup]

I was just kind of surfing around and came accross this 'entry at
thefreedictionary.com' (http://tinyurl.com/3gch3).

I was kind of taken aback by the first scentence which contains
"...MUni, while not a sport, involves..."

The rest of the entry is accurate, and so is the entry about unicycle
trials, and it made me wonder if a unicyclist authored it, and if so,
why they would explicitly say it is not a sport. Curious!


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[john_childs]

By their own definition of sport, in their encyclopedia, mountain
unicycling is a sport.
>
> A sport consists of an everyday activity carried out with a purpose
> and in an environment different from everyday: for competition,
> enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of skill, or some
> combination of these. The difference of purpose is what
> characterises[sic] sport, combined with the notion of individual (or
> team) skill or prowess.
>
> Therefore jumping over a hurdle in front of thousands in an indoor
> arena is a sport, whereas jumping a stream during a country walk is
> simply an attempt to keep one's feet dry.
>
> There are many kinds of sports, and they take up a substantial
> proportion of people's time, money and interest, if not as
> participants then as spectators.
>

I do mountain unicycling for enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the
development of skill, and occasionally for competition. Fits their
definition of sport to a tee.

Their entries for unicycle related stuff do need some work. I wonder
who wrote them up? It's neat that the unicycling entries are there, but
I'd prefer to have them accurate and more complete.


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[PopeSamXVI]

Mountain unicycling is a slower-paced sport than mountain bicycling

that's what they said, so it must be a sport.


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[special_liz]

hey muni has to be a sport!!! I mean if they count table tennis and
debating as a sport muni simply has to be!


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[Memphis Mud]

Poker, Sailing, Golf, and Fishing are all sports where the competitor
can smoke big stinky cigars and chug beers during a tournament.

As I passed a hiker on the trails a while back, he said to me: "Way to
go sport".

I appreciate his definition.


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[JJuggle]

At the bottom of this article it states that the article was fully or
partially derived from an article in the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia is a
publicly editable source (although it is locked now for maintenance). My
bet would be that someone edited the Wikipedia entry to state that MUni
is not a sport to ruffle a few feathers. In fact, although I will state
categorically that it was not me, as I prefer not to mess with public
sources of information, I'll bet that it was someone who is a
regular(ish) poster here.

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ


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[PopeSamXVI]

Memphis Mud wrote:
> *Poker, Sailing, Golf, and Fishing are all sports where the competitor
> can smoke big stinky cigars and chug beers during a tournament.*


My school is making Improv a sport. At least we're forming a real team.


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[Gilby]

I just made an edit to that Wikipedia entry.


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[hopeful]

I've always maintained that "if it's not played in the Olympics, it's
not a sport" Which excludes and includes various and sundry activities
including:

Not Played in the Olympics: Football (american), Mountaineering,
Unicycling.

Played in the Olympics: Table Tennis, Power Walking, Velodrome racing
(on a bicycle)

This makes some people upset that their favorite activities are not
considered "sports" but it is a defendable definition.


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[Rowan]

By their definition of cycling:
> -Originally posted by 'thefreedictionary.com'
> (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/unicycling) -
> *Cycling is a recreation, a sport, and a means of transport across
> land. As a sport it is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste
> Internationale Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in Switzerland. It
> involves riding bicycles, unicycles, tricycles and possibly other
> things.*
Unicycling is a sport.
quark soup wrote:
> *I was kind of taken aback by the first scentence which contains
> "...MUni, while not a sport, involves..."
>
> The rest of the entry is accurate, and so is the entry about unicycle
> trials, and it made me wonder if a unicyclist authored it, and if so,
> why they would explicitly say it is not a sport. Curious! *
I think you are right, most of the entry is accurate,
> -Originally posted by 'thefreedictionary.com'
> (http://tinyurl.com/3gch3) -
> *Mountain unicycling is a slower-paced sport than mountain bicycling,
> since unicycles are more difficult to ride than bicycles, and cannot
> coast.*
Apart from this bit, which is wrong about unicycling being more
difficult (bikes are harder in the real world), and contradicts their
own definition of a 'mountain unicycle' (http://tinyurl.com/2o7a8) being
able to coast/glide.


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[GizmoDuck]

JJuggle wrote:
> *At the bottom of this article it states that the article was fully or
> partially derived from an article in the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia is a
> publicly editable source (although it is locked now for maintenance).
> My bet would be that someone edited the Wikipedia entry to state that
> MUni is not a sport to ruffle a few feathers. In fact, although I will
> state categorically that it was not me, as I prefer not to mess with
> public sources of information, I'll bet that it was someone who is a
> regular(ish) poster here.
>
> Raphael Lasar
> Matawan, NJ *


I made that very first entry about MUni in Wikipedia:
'See this thread' (http://tinyurl.com/2we3w)

And I most definitely did NOT say that MUni is not a sport.
Grrrr.....

Ken


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[JJuggle]

Gilby wrote:
> *I just made an edit to that Wikipedia entry. *
It's just that easy. :)

Thanks, Gilby.

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ


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[tennisgh22]

this might spark some controversy, but ive compiled a list of activities
that are in fact not sports:

first of all, a sport must be athletic (aerobic excercise). this rules
out:

fishing
racecar driving
golf
luge
bobsled
curling
pool
dart throwing

next, the winner of a sport must not be determined by judges. this
completely skews the whole thing. it is far too easy to cheat, or have
biased judges, or anything of that sort. judges are just not definitive
and consistent enough. you can't argue whether a ball goes through a
hoop, or whether a person crosses a line. but if they are being graded
on a scale from 1-10 on how graceful a random person on a given day
thinks they are, then that is not a sport. this rules out:

ice skating
gymnastics (all)
skateboarding
diving
pretty much all the x games sports that are not timed events.
(skateboarding, motocross jumping, that sorta judged thing).
trampolining (once an olympic event).

third, a sport must not simply be one continuous action. it must include
more thinking than just "i got to beat this guy to the finish line".
there must be more than just "i must go fast". there must be some mental
skill involved. i know a million people will say that there is a lot of
skill in running, but im sorry, im adding it to the list:

cross country
running (any distance).

fourth, the participant must do more work than the animal companion they
compete with. this rules out:

equestrian
horse racing

fifth, there must be two sides on a sport. alas, as fun as muni is, it
remains an athletic aerobic activity involving balance and guts, but it
is not a sport:

muni
gymnastics (this could also go under judging, if there is for some
reason, heaven forbid, a gymnastics competition).
rock climbing

sixth, a sport must be fair on both sides. this rules out:

hunting (perhaps if it was you against a bear, and you were armed only
with a nail file, that would be considered "fair")

seventh, an activity in which participants get better as they get more
and more drunk is not a sport:

bowling

eight, the sport must not allow its participants to use steroids.
additionally, you must be able to watch an entire game on t.v. without
wanting to shove a fork in your eye because you are so bored.
furthermore, the greatest player in the game's history must not be a 300
lb fat man with zero athleticism who stayed up late drinking and
partying.

baseball

ninth, the sport must be real. the participants may not be body building
actors who wear spandex and hit each other with metal chairs.

wrestling (the kind you see on t.v.)

tenth, just because you have more muscle mass than you know what to do
with, so you decide to have competitions involving rolling cars to
finish lines and lifting bolders above your head weighing 400 lbs,
doesn't make it a sport:

strong man competition

eleven, just because you do it outdoors, does not make it a sport.

the outdoor games (lumberjack kind of stuff, chopping down trees, etc)

twelve, just because it is shown on espn, doesn't make it a sport:

professional jump roping
poker
spelling bees

thirteen, if you can practice your sport with your livestock, then it is
not a sport (as did the winner of the greco roman wrestling competition
in the 2000 olympics):

greco roman wrestling

thank you for your time, you've been a wonderful audience. please feel
free to express your anger with my opinions; i look forward to getting
eaten up for breakfast by 300 people from this forum. im looking forward
to this.

-grant


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[Scott Kurland, RMT]

hopeful wrote:
> I've always maintained that "if it's not played in the Olympics, it's
> not a sport" Which excludes and includes various and sundry
> activities including:
>
> Not Played in the Olympics: Football (American), Mountaineering,
> Unicycling.
>
> Played in the Olympics: Table Tennis, Power Walking, Velodrome
> racing (on a bicycle)
>
> This makes some people upset that their favorite activities are not
> considered "sports" but it is a defendable definition.

Go ahead and defend it then: so the women's marathon (for example) wasn't a
sport until it was included in the Olympics, and then it was?

[Scott Kurland, RMT]

tennisgh22 wrote:
> this might spark some controversy, but I've compiled a list of
> activities that are in fact not sports:
>
> first of all, a sport must be athletic (aerobic exercise). this rules
> out:

Skill events, power events, field events.

> next, the winner of a sport must not be determined by judges.

> third, a sport must not simply be one continuous action. it must
> include more thinking than just "i got to beat this guy to the finish
> line". there must be more than just "i must go fast". there must be
> some mental skill involved. i know a million people will say that
> there is a lot of skill in running, but im sorry, im adding it to the
> list:
>
> cross country
> running (any distance).
Track, field, swimming, biking, et cetera.

> fourth, the participant must do more work than the animal companion
> they compete with. this rules out:
>
> equestrian

Equestrian already got ruled out by rule 2.

> horse racing

Horse racing already got ruled out by rule 3.

> fifth, there must be two sides on a sport. alas, as fun as muni is, it
> remains an athletic aerobic activity involving balance and guts, but
> it is not a sport:

Shooting, lifting....
> muni
> gymnastics (this could also go under judging, if there is for some
> reason, heaven forbid, a gymnastics competition).
> rock climbing
>
> sixth, a sport must be fair on both sides. this rules out:
>
> hunting (perhaps if it was you against a bear, and you were armed only
> with a nail file, that would be considered "fair")

> eight, the sport must not allow its participants to use steroids.
> additionally, you must be able to watch an entire game on t.v. without
> wanting to shove a fork in your eye because you are so bored.
> furthermore, the greatest player in the game's history must not be a
> 300 lb fat man with zero athleticism who stayed up late drinking and
> partying.

This looks more like three rules to me. Rule 8b takes out soccer, cricket, et
cetera.

> baseball
>
> ninth, the sport must be real. the participants may not be body
> building actors who wear spandex and hit each other with metal chairs.
>
> wrestling (the kind you see on t.v.)
>
> tenth, just because you have more muscle mass than you know what to do
> with, so you decide to have competitions involving rolling cars to
> finish lines and lifting boulders above your head weighing 400 lbs,
> doesn't make it a sport:

Un huh.
> strong man competition
>
> eleven, just because you do it outdoors, does not make it a sport.
>
> the outdoor games (lumberjack kind of stuff, chopping down trees, etc)
>
> twelve, just because it is shown on ESPN, doesn't make it a sport:
>
> professional jump roping
> poker
> spelling bees
>
> thirteen, if you can practice your sport with your livestock, then it
> is not a sport (as did the winner of the Greco roman wrestling
> competition in the 2000 Olympics):
>
> Greco roman wrestling
Shooting and lifting take another ding.

> thank you for your time, you've been a wonderful audience. please feel
> free to express your anger with my opinions; i look forward to getting
> eaten up for breakfast by 300 people from this forum. im looking
> forward to this.
>
> -grant

So what does that leave, Brazilian jujitsu?

[dazedNcontused]

Come on now, we all know that the true definition is:

*-"It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. And then it's a
sport.-*

And by that standard Muni is most definately a sport!

Tim


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[treepotato]

huh! Well then neither is mountain biking. ha


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[tennisgh22]

sport - "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs
and often engaged in competitively. "

further proof that muni is not a sport. there are no rules in muni.

-grant


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[Tom Holub]

In article t.com>,
hopeful > wrote:
)
)I've always maintained that "if it's not played in the Olympics, it's
)not a sport" Which excludes and includes various and sundry activities
)including:
)
)Not Played in the Olympics: Football (american), Mountaineering,
)Unicycling.
)
)Played in the Olympics: Table Tennis, Power Walking, Velodrome racing
)(on a bicycle)
)
)This makes some people upset that their favorite activities are not
)considered "sports" but it is a defendable definition.

It's a stupid definition.
-Tom

[Tom Holub]

In article list.com>,
tennisgh22 m> wrote:
)
)sport - "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs
)and often engaged in competitively. "
)
)further proof that muni is not a sport. there are no rules in muni.

Depends what you're doing. Racing in 24 Hours of Adrenaline, for example,
clearly counts as a sport, whether you're doing it on a bike or a MUni.
-Tom

[paco]

hopeful wrote:
> *I've always maintained that "if it's not played in the Olympics, it's
> not a sport" *

Problem: Does that mean that the Olympics accepts non-sports into their
games? They aren't sports until the Olympics says they are, so that
means that the Olympics is about non-sports that turn into sports. What
is it about the Olympics that gives them the power to decide what is a
sport and what isn't? Or is it that the Olympics waits until something
is a sport and then lets them become part of the Games? If this is
true, then something could be a sport for four years before it is played
in the Olympics.
Does something turn from a sport into a non-sport if the Olympics
decides not to hold the event any more? The Skeleton was taken out of
the Olympics for something like 50 years. During that time, had it
turned into a non-sport and then returned into being a sport in 2002?

Just thought I'd poke holes in your theory. Hope you're not offended :D


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[evilewan]

unicycling isn't a sport the way i do it, its an art...;)


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[johnfoss]

tennisgh22 forgot to finish his long post with a list of whatever was
left over. If anything.

I have read arguments about what counts as a sport before. I think it
boils down to the definition of art, which is little more than, if you
call it the thing, it is the thing.

And BTW, though I know you were just having fun, MUni has plenty of
rules. When it's played as a sport, that is. If you're just out riding,
you can do whatever you want. If you're in a race, you have to abide by
the rules.


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[tennisgh22]

rules? what, like "no ditching the muni and running to teh finish line"?
:)

Actually, i can't wait to join my first muni competition. im not sure
ill ever get a chance as all the competitions and group rides seem to be
on the west coast, but who knows maybe one day...

-grant


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[hopeful]

The whole thing with the Olympics, I feel, is that the activities that
they choose to accept into the games are ones that are recognized and
played in enough countries in the world to make them "international" In
the case of football and rugby, not enough countries activley
participate to make it worthwhile to have their own event.

To Tom- well, I'm just a stupid definition kind of guy. ;)


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[Rayden]

What about roller hockey? Ultimate frisbee? These are both team games,
both sides have an equal advantage. I think they have every definition
of a sport that you want, except being in the Olympics, which I do not
see as defining a sport.

I might require a sport to be competitive. Then mountain biking, and
therefore muni would not be a sport.

It all comes down to the defition of "sport" and many people would
define it many different ways. Defining words is an interesting thing.
:)


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