What's a Sport

I've been watching the Olympics a fair amount this week. Something I haven't done during the past several Olympic Games. I think part of it is Phelps quest for 7 gold medals (2 more to go). On the other hand, I've always liked races. Swimming and track and field are probably my favorite events. And volleyball, which I play a lot of, has been awesome. May and Walsh have been dominating their competition. (A thought on that later.)

Interspersed in the swimming events this week has been a lot of gymnastics. In the past this is one of the events that has turned me off. This year I've been more interested. What these athletes do is unbelievable.

I still have a problem with the gymnastics in a sporting event. The problem I have with it is the subjective nature of the competition. "How 'artistic' was the routine?" is a major factor in who wins. To me a sport should have an objective out come. Who scores the most points/goals/runs? Who was the fastest? Who lifted the most weight? Who jumped the farthest? Who pinned/knocked out his opponent?

Gymnastics, ice skating (non races), snow boarding (non races), diving, and others just aren't purely objective.

That being said...