Is It Sport?

[Geoffs]

I stuck the MBM Red alert sticker in my car window, which of course prompted discussion amongst non boating friends and colleagues.

Leaving aside the ‘Quite right too, you rich um, ‘people’ (avoiding the b*****s), should be taxed, the other point refers to the word ‘Sport’. I get the comment, ‘Messing around on the sea, visiting all the pubs, hardly a sport, is it?’

Fair point, when I think of sport I think of football, tennis, golf, motor racing, power boat racing, dinghy sailing and the like. Motor boating is an obsession, passion, addiction, but hardly a sport.

I fear the ‘Save Our Sport’ slogan somewhat dilutes the campaign, as all the other arguments get pushed aside, with ‘Of course it’s not a sport’.



<hr width=100% size=1>Old Chinese proverb 'Man who sail boat into rice field, soon get into paddy'

 

[longjohnsilver]

No not a sport, just a hobby/passtime/leisure activity.

As for a sticker in car windows telling all and sundry sat behind you in the petrol station that we get cheaper diesel is IMHO not just rubbing salt in the wound but opening it as well. A real pandoras box. Not a good move by MBM producing the sticker, mine hit the bin pretty quickly.

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[PhilF]

I have always seen sailing as a sport and MoBo as a hobby, pastime
PhilF

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[Romeo]

racing by motor or sail is a sport. Cruising by sail or motor is not. Just like formula 1 is a sport, but driving to your holiday destination is not. Semantics, but it all helps to undermine a dubious cause. IMHO.

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by RobbieW on 09/07/2004 10:48 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[PaulF]

Spot on Robbie,

In my book for sport, there has to be competition. I too think the MBM sticker could ruffle more feathers.

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[Kevin]

Isnt hunting classed as a sport? and thats wandering about firing small balls of lead into small furry or feathered animals? so sport does have a huge range of definitions but id call boating a pastime.

kevin

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[jon_bailey]

You could argue that there was competition involved in hunting and shooting, because both the fox and the pheasant have a chance of 'winning', i.e. getting away. OK it may be really one-sided but so is F1 at the moment and that is a sport.

BTW I am not condoning chasing after, or shooting furry or feathured things.

Agree that recreational boating is not a sport.

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[mirabriani]

My observation is, if there is another sail in sight, cruising invariably becomes racing.........Only when I am crewing for a friend of course!
Briani

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[Wiggo]

By analogy, then, we could make it a sport by shooting at raggies, then? Or am I overdue for my meds again?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/graham.wignall/boats/eulimene600x800.jpg>The old and the new</A>

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

Yes but you would only be able to shoot them when they are in the air, so don't think it would be very exciting.

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[jon_bailey]

This would not be a sport because they have no chance of getting away, i.e. they have no chance of 'winning'.

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[Aardee]

Who said anything about getting away...we shoot back /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>"I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me" - A A Milne.

 

[jon_bailey]

But then it is war - so definately not a sport. /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

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[BrendanS]

I dunno, it sounds like it could be great fun. One level up from super soakers! /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[jon_bailey]

Now, fights with super soakers could be a sport because not war (no-one killed) and every chance of a winner.

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[Hugo_Andreae]

I must admit to a little poetic license on this one. "Save our leisure activity" didn't have much of a ring to it whereas" Save Our Sport" (S.O.S) has rather more urgent connotations.

I acccept that motorboating doesn't necessarily involve physical exercise or competition but it does require a range of both physical and cerebral skills to do correctly. To my mind this makes it just as much of a sport as darts, snooker, windsurfing, horse riding and any number of similar activites which are routinely referred to as sports.

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[PaulF]

Er 'Motor boating involves no excercise'? Hugo you have either not been out in a force 5 for a long time or your memory is poor.

Maybe you only go out in 60 footers that dont get thrown around? Try a 28 or 30ft boat when there is some life in the water, have a two hour ride, at 20knots+ then if you think it invoves no excercise check your pulse!

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