Is SCUBA diving a sport?

[PlayaCountryBoy]

I think diving is like any other adventure sport like hang-gliding, sky diving, mountain biking, etc....sports that do require skill...might get you killed, but are not very physically demanding and are regard as very safe for people of all ages with today's training and technology available to us. Will diving keep you fit....my guess is yes. Your expending calories when diving, but the real excercise is the carrying around all the darn equipment. Up and down stairs at a quarry or through sand at the beach to load the boat on the beach (feel lucky if your boarding from a dock)...its all a serious load. And the more equipment you carry the more your gettin a work out. I don't hardly drink and I eat healthy....play tennis a few times a week and dive 4-7 days a week and I feel GREAT!!!...Although after years of carryin otherr peoples equipment to load the boat and divin' all the time... my back aches, my shoulders ache, I can't hardly hear a thing, and I NO I DON"T have DCS! More like rhuematism(?spelling).

 

[Shawley]

I guess it could be considered a rec sport but thats really pushing it. Im one of those crazy competitive people so i guess we get all angles of the opinions

 

[jeckyll]

1) Who cares.
2) It sure as hell is exercise ... to the OP: just carry some doubles up Whitecliff

 

[Laustimus]

Until backpaking, hiking, rock climbing and camping become sactioned ESPN and olympic events I don't see recreational SCUBA diving as a sport. An outdoor activity maybe, but not a sport.

According to ESPN Poker is a sport.

 

[lmorin]

Not that it matters one bit, but how is recreational diving any less of a "sport" than recreational skiing?

Merriam-Webster's on line dictionary has a broader definition of "sport" that is much more inclusive: "1 a: a source of diversion : recreation b: sexual play c (1): physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in"

 

[Arizona]

Most would add an element of competition. Look at the opinions on the forum. Skiing is sport when you engage in competition IMO. This is the main reason why I feel scuba is not a sport. Working out is physical activity, but not a sport in itself. Compare lifting weights to competitive power lifting for example.

I believe the Merriam Webster definition is an older one and times have changed as we push ourselves further and sports become more extreme in general.

 

[Nemrod]

Yes. Reference Websters.

While the Clintons might be able to redefine words I think the Websters and orther similar resources are the accepted useage of words and rthey are kept current including archaic and current useage. N

 

[Arizona]

Yes. Reference Websters.

While the Clintons might be able to redefine words I think the Websters and orther similar resources are the accepted useage of words and rthey are kept current including archaic and current useage. N

Well we should not go there, but I believe President Clinton did more justice to the English language than President Bush. Over time words do change meaning. What "other similar sources" are you referring to? I think the Oxford dictionary is a credible source.

In the end we can agree to disagree, but for me recreational scuba lacks the competitive part to make it a sport.

sport

• noun - an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

AZ

 

[drbill]

I didn't know that Cousteau said it is not a sport. I believed that Cousteau said it is a sport, because he was very military.

I don't think scuba is not a sport, because we cannot make efforts.

I'm referring to Jean-Michel, not his father Jacques Yves. I've worked with both on-and-off since the mid-70's (well, at least until the father's death in that case). JMC and I were being interviewed for a story on diving Catalina a few months ago, and that is where he reiterated that SCUBA is not a sport in his opinion.

Although I have been a competitive athlete in my past (swimming, basketball, running), I love SCUBA because it is not competitive in most cases. I dive for me... not to compete against anyone else. Of course there could be competitive events using SCUBA in which case SCUBA during those events might be considered a sport. However, recreational SCUBA would not qualify IMHO. I don't consider deepest depth, longest bottom time, etc., to be adequate indicators of a "sport."

 

[Arizona]

drbill,

Well put! Thanks for sharing the personal perspective.

AZ