Is snooker a real sport?

Cienciano · 16-01-2015 11:02pm

c_man wrote: »

Well this week being the Masters and all, I've been loving it. Chill out in the evenings, maybe a small smoke, and switch to Eurosport when the BBC finishes their coverage. But then I've got a workmate bitching about it, like saying it shouldn't be on the sports section of the news, it isn't a real sport etc. So what say you AH?

Hold on, you now a guy who's bitching about a game being in the sports section? What part of the newspaper should it be in? Is it really that bad that a game be put in a sports section? Do newspapers/TV news reports need a new section?

harry Bailey esq · 16-01-2015 11:14pm

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

idk what darts/snooker etc should be..but it aint sport.

Have you ever played snooker? Heart racing?yeah.makes one sweat?yeah.physical? Maybe.I'm sure many a player going into a deciding session the following day gets no sleep, and is physically drained.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 16-01-2015 11:34pm

Darts is addictive, I've a board set up at home and I could spend well over an hour at a time chucking away at it playing down from the short format 301 a leg. You get into a rhythm and it's a wonderful feeling when you start to put together a good run of scores, but if your concentration lapses your game turns to muck. There's a big mental aspect to it, it's something you need to dedicate a lot of time to, to get up to any consistent decent standard.

I find I can score ok when I'm focused but hitting certain doubles can be very dodgy. :pac:

c_man · 16-01-2015 11:37pm

Cienciano wrote: »

Hold on, you now a guy who's bitching about a game being in the sports section? What part of the newspaper should it be in? Is it really that bad that a game be put in a sports section? Do newspapers/TV news reports need a new section?

He's a noted contrarian.

Anesthetize · 16-01-2015 11:40pm

Yes snooker is a sport. I define sport as anything you get off your ass to do.

Dtp1979 · 16-01-2015 11:49pm

Golfers are not athletes. Professional golfers are sometimes overweight, old, or out of shape, and their caddies carry the equipment for them. There is no running, jumping, or cardiovascular activity in golf. If an activity does not make you break a sweat, or if it can be done while drinking and smoking, then it is not a sport. Same goes for snooker and darts

Hulk Hands · 16-01-2015 11:52pm

Whether game or sport, Snooker is one of the most difficult and skillfull things a person can aim to master. Irish people harp on about Hurling being the most skillful sport in the world, while people worldwide say Golf. Snooker is up there with either. Stephen Hendry and to a slightly lesser extent, Ronnie O'Sullivan should be acknowledged as two of the greatest sportsmen/performers/players ever

darkdubh · 16-01-2015 11:57pm

Sure soccers not a sport anymore,its a freakshow.What is "sport" these days?

mb123 · 17-01-2015 12:02am

Formula one is in a different league compared to snooker, dont think anyone has ever died playing snooker!

Snooker and darts are a game.

Del2005 · 17-01-2015 12:06am

mb123 wrote: »

Formula one is in a different league compared to snooker, dont think anyone has ever died playing snooker!

Snooker and darts are a game.

With the amount of drinking and smoking that goes along with snooker I'd say a few have died at the table. But what has dieing got to do with being a sport?

As for F1 usually it's the best car that wins, not the best driver. Can it be a sport where the equipment has a bigger impact than the person ,same for horse events?

Would greyhound racing be a sport?

Eutow · 17-01-2015 12:08am

A great month of sport with the PDC darts, the BDO darts and now the Masters snooker.

mb123 · 17-01-2015 12:10am

Del2005 wrote: »

Wit

Sorry?

DEFTLEFTHAND · 17-01-2015 12:11am

Officially anyway both are recognised sports in the UK, parliament actually decides. It's to do with organisations and governing bodies, for instance darts was only given the status in 2005 directly from the House of Commons even though the BDO had been in existence for 30 years at that point. It had been previously classed as a 'pastime'.

mb123 · 17-01-2015 12:20am

Martin567 wrote: »

Does a golf ball propel itself 300 yards forward or do snooker balls pot themselves? No, they get there as a result of the physical exertion of the participants.

Snooker and golf involve far less exertion than long distance running for example but they involve infinitely more skill. Sport is about exertion, skill & competition. Some sports are low on exertion & high on skill while other sports are the complete opposite.

The problem with F1 as a sport is that the result is almost entirely determined by who has the best car so that the individual drivers championship competition really shouldn't )

It take great skill to pilot an F1 car at crazy speeds, you should watch Senna the movie.

It also involves skill playing snooker or darts, but its still a game.

donegaLroad · 17-01-2015 12:30am

you can play online snooker here..

I play Quick-Snooker on this site and my nickname is Letterkenny.. its good if you have 15 minutes to kill.

osarusan · 17-01-2015 12:30am

Very difficult to come up with a definition of 'sport' that doesn't either include things people don't think are sports, or exclude things that people do think are sports.

Either way, any activity/sport/pasttime/game in which the winners can make a decent living (if not many many multiples of a a decent living) is going to involve a real amount of skill, coordination, training, and dedication.

mb123 · 17-01-2015 12:38am

Del2005 wrote: »

With the amount of drinking and smoking that goes along with snooker I'd say a few have died at the table. But what has dieing got to do with being a sport?

As for F1 usually it's the best car that wins, not the best driver. Can it be a sport where the equipment has a bigger impact than the person ,same for horse events?

Would greyhound racing be a sport?

I think its a combination of both driver and equipment, after all the equipment is produced by a team, your part of that team and it all gels together to form a competitive package to take on the rest.

Diabhal Beag · 17-01-2015 1:11am

For people who don't think darts is a sport you should know how tough some of the players are. Ted Hankey had a mini-stroke during a game and played on. Not only that but he still had a crowd roaring against him. Proper athlete unlike gymnasts or synchronised swimmers.

To me it's a way tougher sport than snooker but I respect snooker players. You need precision, bottle and the ability to not be put off by a crowd of drunks in darts though.

Hulk Hands · 17-01-2015 2:05am

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

For people who don't think darts is a sport you should know how tough some of the players are. Ted Hankey had a mini-stroke during a game and played on. Not only that but he still had a crowd roaring against him. Proper athlete unlike gymnasts or synchronised swimmers.

To me it's a way tougher sport than snooker but I respect snooker players. You need precision, bottle and the ability to not be put off by a crowd of drunks in darts though.

Not to be starting a big darts vs snooker debate, but I cant see any way which darts is more difficult bar the crowd noise (some prefer noise to deathly silence though).

Darts is essentially the same throwing motion over and over at the same distance, just changing angles (at times). Snooker is changing angles at every single shot, changing distances at every shot ,changing the motion of the cue (top spin, backspin, swerve), using extra devices (rest), tactically accounting for your opponent. Players have picked up darts and turned semi professional or even professional within 2-4 years. I dont think theres a snooker professional alive that wasnt playing regularly in his pre teens, although I could be wrong on that.

Aphex · 17-01-2015 2:15am

harry Bailey esq wrote: »

Have you ever played snooker? Heart racing?yeah.makes one sweat?yeah.physical? Maybe.I'm sure many a player going into a deciding session the following day gets no sleep, and is physically drained.

Stephen Lee as he walks around the table to take shots :pac:

Putin · 17-01-2015 2:32am

donegaLroad wrote: »

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

So by his strange yardstick, swimming would not be a sport.

Kevin McCloud · 17-01-2015 2:43am

Michaela Tabb is well able to handle the balls.

job seeker · 17-01-2015 2:47am

frag420 wrote: »

Is it fúck!!

If you can play it in a pub then it's not a sport!

That'd be pool &#55356;&#57265; that's played in a pub sunny..

job seeker · 17-01-2015 2:48am

Putin wrote: »

So by his strange yardstick, swimming would not be a sport.

But what if you wore shoes when swimming?

GerB40 · 17-01-2015 2:59am

Martin567 wrote: »

Does a golf ball propel itself 300 yards forward or do snooker balls pot themselves? No, they get there as a result of the physical exertion of the participants.

Snooker and golf involve far less exertion than long distance running for example but they involve infinitely more skill. Sport is about exertion, skill & competition. Some sports are low on exertion & high on skill while other sports are the complete opposite.

The problem with F1 as a sport is that the result is almost entirely determined by who has the best car so that the individual drivers championship competition really shouldn't exist at all.

This post, in my opinion, answers the question perfectly.. Plus there's the fact that most snooker players these days hit the gym fairly regularly, are on strict diets and use sports psychologists to keep them playing at their best. So yeah,I reckon snooker is definitely a sport. An excellent one at that...

Can't bate hurling though

pmy.murphy · 17-01-2015 3:06am

Anesthetize wrote: »

Yes snooker is a sport. I define sport as anything you get off your ass to do.

Very loose generalisation there. So essentially your saying something like for example "picking stones" is a sport?

To answer a few others there I also must mention that like any sport snooker players get to a certain age where their ability begins to wane(usually around the age of 40) as its a highly skilled game which requires huge levels of concentration and focus to play it well. This is where fitness levels come into play and a lot of snooker players like to keep themselves fit to enhance their performance. Like I said snooker players decline around the late thirties/early forties mark and here we are with an exception to that concept in Ronnie O Sullivan who is approaching 40 and still at the top of his game. Ronnie is a man who is obsessed with running and fitness so the 2 seem fairly linked to me as fitness is helping him to prolong his career at the highest level.

Mark Williams is another who is around the same age as Ronnie and who has benefited from a fitness regime. He has been awful the last few seasons but went on a diet and lost a bit of weight and its no coincidence that his form has been much better this season than it had been the last few years and he is close to returning to the Top 16 in the world

Areyouwell · 17-01-2015 3:10am

job seeker wrote: »

But what if you wore shoes when swimming?

At the very least, I'd say you'd need medication.

GerB40 · 17-01-2015 3:14am

Aphex wrote: »

Stephen Lee as he walks around the table to take shots :pac:

Former snooker player Steven Lee.. He got banned for life for being a big cheatin bastard.

Aphex · 17-01-2015 3:16am

GerB40 wrote: »

Former snooker player Steven Lee.. He got banned for life for being a big cheatin bastard.

Yep, and rightly so. Think he's broke these days.

gustafo · 17-01-2015 3:20am

GerB40 wrote: »

Former snooker player Steven Lee.. He got banned for life for being a big cheatin bastard.

he always looked like a fella who was going to keel over and get a huge banger while playing

Is snooker a real sport?

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