Is snooker a real sport?

Beasty

Here you are - A definitive list of Sports

Snooker and Darts are definitely there, alongside Yoga, Paintball, Bowling and indeed Frisbee:)

razorblunt

They're not athletes, they're Mathletes. Excellent use of angles.

Same with Dart players, totting up checkouts in their sleep.

pmy.murphy

Whosthis wrote: »

Calling it a sport is pushing it, calling them athletes is a step too far.

Well I do think its a sport dont so much agree with the athletes statement when you see guys like Andy Fordham or Peter Manley on the oche playing darts

K_user

Just a thought:

A snooker match is between two players, a single game can last for many hours and only one person can win that particular match.

A football game has many participants, within a particular match some of the players may have no say in the outcome of the game because they had no interaction with the ball. Essentially they run around in circles for 90 minutes. Even in a hard fought football match some of the players only have seconds with the ball, depending on others to score the required winning points. And a team is free to swap out individuals during play.

So could it be argued that Snooker is far more of a sport than football because 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual?

(* I’ll just go get my coat now, please go easy with those flames )

Whosthis

K_user wrote: »

Just a thought:

A snooker match is between two players, a single game can last for many hours and only one person can win that particular match.

A football game has many participants, within a particular match some of the players may have no say in the outcome of the game because they had no interaction with the ball. Essentially they run around in circles for 90 minutes. Even in a hard fought football match some of the players only have seconds with the ball, depending on others to score the required winning points. And a team is free to swap out individuals during play.

So could it be argued that Snooker is far more of a sport than football because 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual?

(* I’ll just go get my coat now, please go easy with those flames )

Can doing a crossword be described as a sport, its just you against the clues and 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual.

K_user

razorblunt wrote: »

They're not athletes, they're Mathletes. Excellent use of angles.

Football is all about angles too. Being fit enough to run up and down a pitch for 90 minutes doesn't make for a great player. Being able to kick the ball at the correct angle, at the correct speed, under pressure, is what makes for a great player.

Running is the most basic of athletic endeavours. Start, one foot in front of the other, finish. But again at a professional level its all about the angles, timing, the mathematics of competition. Being able to run fast is a requirement, but that is just the start.

K_user

Whosthis wrote: »

Can doing a crossword be described as a sport, its just you against the clues and 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual.

Putting on your underwear comes down to you v's that odd looking piece of cloth in your hand. You'll either be 100% successful, or make a hash of it.

major bill

I once heard an argument of which of the following '147 or 9 Darter' was harder to achieve

Now there's an interesting one for after hours 😊

blade1

Any sport that you could drink a pint or smoke a fag during,i wouldnt consider a real sport.
Talent yeah,sport no!

Although when i was a kid back in the 70's, there was a man in the local GAA team who always had a fag hanging out of his mouth while playing.
Also,the Goalie used to play in his Y fronts which i assume were meant to be white but were more of a yellowish cream colour!

Whosthis

K_user wrote: »

Putting on your underwear comes down to you v's that odd looking piece of cloth in your hand. You'll either be 100% successful, or make a hash of it.

I think we should bring this concept to the Olympic committee.

K_user

blade1 wrote: »

Any sport that you could drink a pint or smoke a fag during,i wouldnt consider a real sport.
Talent yeah,sport no!

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/466825/I-played-drunk-against-Man-Utd-admits-former-Birmingham-defender-Curtis-Woodhouse

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/25/footballers-playing-under-the-influence

Alcohol contaminates all walks of life.

Zebra3

No. And neither is darts.

Or driving a car.

blade1

K_user wrote: »

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/466825/I-played-drunk-against-Man-Utd-admits-former-Birmingham-defender-Curtis-Woodhouse

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/25/footballers-playing-under-the-influence

Alcohol contaminates all walks of life.

I said drink a pint during.
Theres a difference.

Greenmachine

If poker is a sport, which it is apparently, surely snooker is.

blade1

Greenmachine wrote: »

If poker is a sport, which it is apparently, surely snooker is.

And if Poker is, 45 is!
And if 45 is, SNAP is!

Egginacup

donegaLroad wrote: »

A guy told me one time, that if you dont have to change your shoes, then its not a sport.


Personally I love snooker and I used to play it a lot.

Well you don't change your shoes for swimming, you just take them off:p

Snooker is mesmerising. You don't necessarily have to be in good physical condition to play but it helps. Physical condition helps mental condition and also nerves, both of which can be really tested in a snooker match leaving you a shaking wreck at the end of it all. And let's not forget the skill aspect of it.

Is horseracing a sport? Of course it is only it doesn't have any fans. Nobody watches horse racing because of the love of the sport. They watch to see if the horse they bet on wins.

ToddyDoody

Having umpired a number of darts games (basically standing there and telling them to hurry up), i'd have to say darts is but neither are really. Any sport played effectively by someone over 30 stone is not really a sport.

K_user

ToddyDoody wrote: »

Having umpired a number of darts games (basically standing there and telling them to hurry up), i'd have to say darts is but neither are really. Any sport played effectively by someone over 30 stone is not really a sport.

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

ToddyDoody

K_user wrote: »

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

Touché, Ms. / Mr. K

Greenmachine

blade1 wrote: »

And if Poker is, 45 is!
And if 45 is, SNAP is!

No idea what 45 is, but no snap is not a sport, it lack a critical requirement of skill.

Reoil

If you progressively get **** with age, it's a sport.

BetterThanThou

Don't personally see snooker or darts as a sport, nor poker or any card game. Golf is one I'm not sure about, it's not overly physically demanding, but at least it's outside over a large playing field, rather than a dartboard or a snooker table. That said, darts, poker and snooker both require a lot of skill, more than some sports, but I simply consider them games, rather than a sport.

YFlyer

BetterThanThou wrote: »

Don't personally see snooker or darts as a sport, nor poker or any card game. Golf is one I'm not sure about, it's not overly physically demanding, but at least it's outside over a large playing field, rather than a dartboard or a snooker table. That said, darts, poker and snooker both require a lot of skill, more than some sports, but I simply consider them games, rather than a sport.

ping pong is only a game then?

Omackeral

major bill wrote: »

I once heard an argument of which of the following '147 or 9 Darter' was harder to achieve

Now there's an interesting one for after hours 😊

Interesting. To put another spin on it, which is more likely, a Darts player achieving a 147 or a Snooker player getting a 9 dart finish?

major bill

Omackeral wrote: »

Interesting. To put another spin on it, which is more likely, a Darts player achieving a 147 or a Snooker player getting a 9 dart finish?

Neither IMO you would have to be exceptional at both games to achieve them.

I don't think Darts should be in the same sentence as Snooker when arguing over whether they are sports or not, no disrespect to Darts players but Snooker is much more technical game with better participants. Darts isn't even on the same scale as it.

matthew8

Definitely a sport to me and so are darts and golf because there is a physical element to it. You can have all the angles worked out and have all the mental fortitude but even at the top level you can see some players are simply better at hitting the ball.

BlaasForRafa

K_user wrote: »

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

They aren't ALL wobbly fatties Chiyonofuji was fairly lean and mean for a sumo wrestler back in the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6nqNJUqHn8

BeerWolf

looking_around wrote: »

no, and neither is golf, chess, darts or "e-sports"

imo sport should be anything that is physical/brings up the heart rate/makes you sweat etc

You ought to watch them e-sports that involve a lot of micro management, like in an RTS such StarCraft 2... where you control a lot of units at individual levels in rapid succession while managing bases all the while out thinking, surveying and manoeuvring your opponents.

Video of demonstration (doesn't help the stereotypage, but still :P ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bexWuHmV32A

That being said, I hate RTS's... give me an RPG any day :pac: