What are the easiest Sports?

Brendan Flowers · 18-02-2014 04:11PM #1

What sports does everyone think are the easiest to learn and excel at? Take for example all the sports in the Boards Sport forum, which of these would be the easiest to learn from scratch and become really competitive in? Soccer and Football require such amazing technical skill that I think they can be ruled out. Motorsports at the highest level requires participants to be at peak physical fitness (with G-forces alone being very severe) that it wouldnt be easy master. A lot of Athletics also demand you be at the peak of your physical best. Sports like snooker and darts require someone with extreme precision that I doubt it'd be too easy to master either of these.

So thats just a few that I would rule out. But I still dont know what I'd consider the "easiest". Maybe bowling? Im sure someone will disagree with that though! I suppose it also depends on if a person is just naturally talented at something.

*Putting this in AH as its a general question and it'd be good to hear from non-sporty people. Mods, please move if there is a more suitable forum!*

GenieOz · 18-02-2014 04:14PM

They all have certain parts to them that are going to be difficult to come close to mastering. If they didn't then more people would be professionals at them.

jimgoose · 18-02-2014 04:14PM

Everything that is called a "sport" is difficult to master. That's the joy of it. However, most of them are also easy to just participate in and enjoy. That's also the joy of it. :cool:

BrokenArrows · 18-02-2014 04:16PM

Surfing of the couch variety

The Aussie · 18-02-2014 04:17PM

Any "Sport" that is played in a Pub....

SEPT 23 1989 · 18-02-2014 04:18PM

Crazy Golf

Micky Dolenz · 18-02-2014 04:18PM

Walking.

morninwood · 18-02-2014 04:19PM

E-sports

danniemcq · 18-02-2014 04:19PM

The Aussie wrote: »

Any "Sport" that is played in a Pub....

I dunno the 100m dash to the loo while holding one hand over your mouth and the other over your arse takes some practice,

not to mention the hurling in the smoking area, the hurdles over stool with 4 pints and the old favourite the race you to the floor face first.

Tombo2001 · 18-02-2014 04:24PM

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

What sports does everyone think are the easiest to learn and excel at? Take for example all the sports in the Boards Sport forum, which of these would be the easiest to learn from scratch and become really competitive in? Soccer and Football require such amazing technical skill that I think they can be ruled out. Motorsports at the highest level requires participants to be at peak physical fitness (with G-forces alone being very severe) that it wouldnt be easy master. A lot of Athletics also demand you be at the peak of your physical best. Sports like snooker and darts require someone with extreme precision that I doubt it'd be too easy to master either of these.

So thats just a few that I would rule out. But I still dont know what I'd consider the "easiest". Maybe bowling? Im sure someone will disagree with that though! I suppose it also depends on if a person is just naturally talented at something.

*Putting this in AH as its a general question and it'd be good to hear from non-sporty people. Mods, please move if there is a more suitable forum!*

The easiest to learn is probably running. But not easy to excel at it.

How easy it is to excel at a sport depends on how many people play it.

Handball is a technically difficult sport, probably much much more difficult technically than say Gaelic Football.

However it would be easier to become one of the top 3 handballers in the country than one of the top 3 footballers.

Noxin · 18-02-2014 04:25PM

Tiddlywinks

maximoose · 18-02-2014 04:26PM

Watching the curling in the Winter Olympics the other day

Ok, the person who launches the stones needs to have some skill in judging the depth and weight of each throw - but the two sweeping the ice, surely any clampet with a brush can do that?

bear1 · 18-02-2014 04:28PM

****... does wonders to the arm and wrist

johnr3 · 18-02-2014 04:29PM

Maybe warcaby

castletownman · 18-02-2014 04:30PM

Football. A load of men kicking a bit of leather around a field...And sailing, a load of men in a big boat floating around in the sea! And shouting, a load of men going around shouting!

Friend Computer · 18-02-2014 04:31PM

maximoose wrote: »

Watching the curling in the Winter Olympics the other day

Ok, the person who launches the stones needs to have some skill in judging the depth and weight of each throw - but the two sweeping the ice, surely any clampet with a brush can do that?

Which is a bit like saying any clampet can kick a ball - which they can but it, obviously, misses certain nuances when talking about it as a professional sport. In the case of curling it's how fast and how much is done, the whole principle is that it melts the ice, allowing the stone to slide further, so you don't want to have too little friction and overshoot the mark or too much and fall short.

Guy:Incognito · 18-02-2014 04:31PM

castletownman wrote: »

Football. A load of men kicking a bit of leather around a field

Why don't you go do it then? Sure they pay them €100,000 a week. One season should see you set up for life.

SpaceCowb0y · 18-02-2014 04:33PM

Sport **** (dependant on sex)

Oranage2 · 18-02-2014 04:34PM

Gaelic football looks easy enough, just catching and kicking a ball, pretty basic skills.

Darts pool snooker I think if you practice a lot you could get decent though probably not pro level.

Running is another easy one, basically just moving your legs as fast and you can.

There are some easy enough sports when you think about it.

dub_skav · 18-02-2014 04:37PM

SpaceCowb0y wrote: »

Sport **** (dependant on sex)

Do you mean dependant on gender or dependant on uninterrupted training?

seamus · 18-02-2014 04:42PM

Motorsport is a funny one. I've no doubt that those at the elite level are bloody good at what they do, but the financial barriers to access motorsport are so huge that most likely there are people out there who would absolutely destroy the top drivers, if they had the same opportunities.

The same is true of course of other sports such as golfing or cycling, but the barriers to these sports are typically cultural rather than financial - you can still play golf or cycle with €50 of equipment, but you can't get involved in motorsport without thousands of euro of investment at a minimum.

The fact that so many celebrities go on top gear and put in serious times on the track goes to show the untapped talent that's available which can only be realised with the cash to back it up.

Of course, "excelling" at a sport is a relative matter. How good you are at a sport is relative to the elites. So someone who "excels" at a sport is by definition not far off the elites. And since elites by definition are a small group in a tough to achieve position, then "excelling" in any sport is inherently difficult.

Which means that as mentioned above, your ability to become one of the top sportspeople in a particular field is more down to numbers than the sport itself. The less popular the sport, the easier it is to be one of the best.

SpaceCowb0y · 18-02-2014 04:43PM

dub_skav wrote: »

Do you mean dependant on gender or dependant on uninterrupted training?

both:pac:

pickarooney · 18-02-2014 04:43PM

Tae Kwon do. Everyone I know who has ever tried it has a black belt. And some of them are extremely unfit.

Akrasia · 18-02-2014 04:45PM

I think I would make an excellent Skeleton.. eh player?

If only I had an olympic bobsled course to practise on every day.

raze_them_all_ · 18-02-2014 04:45PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Tae Kwon do. Everyone I know who has ever tried it has a black belt. And some of them are extremely unfit.

don't you mean buy kwon do

jimgoose · 18-02-2014 04:52PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Tae Kwon do. Everyone I know who has ever tried it has a black belt. And some of them are extremely unfit.

It's not just me then? As I thought, every second knobjockey has a black-belt in that thing these days? I was awarded Shotokan Shodan nearly twenty years ago in Dublin and by furk I'll never forget it - the Japs nearly killed me, and that was just the grading!

ManofStraw · 18-02-2014 04:52PM

maximoose wrote: »

Watching the curling in the Winter Olympics the other day

Ok, the person who launches the stones needs to have some skill in judging the depth and weight of each throw - but the two sweeping the ice, surely any clampet with a brush can do that?

What a sweeping statement :pac:

Shedite27 · 18-02-2014 04:56PM

Would have to be bowling, darts or pool.

Don't think any of them require much alterations to physical conditioning, low barriers to entry, just requres a lot of time. I reckon if you gave up your day job and went playing any of them fulltime you'd have a better chance at getting "world class" than any other sports.

jimgoose · 18-02-2014 04:58PM

seamus wrote: »

Motorsport is a funny one. I've no doubt that those at the elite level are bloody good at what they do, but the financial barriers to access motorsport are so huge that most likely there are people out there who would absolutely destroy the top drivers, if they had the same opportunities...

Mmm. I dunno, though - Gordon Sheddon, who legend has it is the current Top Gear "Stig", started racing Ford Fiesta bashabouts in 1999 and now does British Touring Car. Granted kids from actual disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to get into something like soccer, which certainly involves less "overhead".

ScumLord · 18-02-2014 05:00PM

seamus wrote: »

Motorsport is a funny one. I've no doubt that those at the elite level are bloody good at what they do, but the financial barriers to access motorsport are so huge that most likely there are people out there who would absolutely destroy the top drivers, if they had the same opportunities.

Motorsport is deceptive, there's a hell of a lot more to it than just driving the car. You have to know the car inside and out, know what it feels like when it's working and know how to pick out problems when it's not working. You need to understand the art of setting up the car chambers, suspension, aero, gearing. the race is maybe 10% of the work a race driver has to do.

eyescreamcone · 18-02-2014 05:13PM

The easiest sport to excel in are the sports with the fewest amount of participants.
Look at minority sports with expensive equipment - anything equestrian for instance.

Look at rugby where NZ are looked on as gods - population 4.5 million
It would be impossible to win the football world cup anytime in the future with such a low population base.

Some people target sports like hockey and cricket where it is a lot easier to get an international cap than in the more popular sports.

Rowing/tennis/golf

What are the easiest Sports?

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