Difference between revisions of "Talk:Joke sports"

Revision as of 05:23, August 10, 2012

Female version of sports

Hi, long time reader but new editor as I wanted to give something back to the project. I was just wondering why Women's boxing is the only female specific sport listed. To be consistent surely sports such as women's weightlifting, wrestling and some of the athletics events what require pure strength (shot-put, hammer etc) should be included. What do more experience members think of including these? Can I also suggest the 20km walk race?

The other female sports you list seem more legitimate than women's boxing. Women's boxing appears to be particularly artificial - how often are there schoolyard boxing matches between girls?--Andy Schlafly 19:55, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

It happened often enough where I grew up, but I probably came from a tougher neighborhood than you. RayM 20:02, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

I doubt they boxed as boys and men do. I have never, ever heard of that happening, and the small town I grew up in had plenty of fistfights.--Andy Schlafly 20:15, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

You must have lived a particularly sheltered life then Andy!! --DamianJohn 20:54, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

How often on your schoolyard did you see fencing matches? Or two first graders break out into a clean-and-jerk competition? Or archery? Or the down-hill slalom? Or the pentathlon? Or sailing? I think it's fair to say that if you are an Olympics athlete, you probably focused on it outside of the schoolyard.
On a personal side note, as a person who was in both track relays and swimming relays; swimming relay exchanges are much harder. You have to time it such that you enter the water at the exact same time that the person in front of you touches. In track, it's just wait for "Go", then run; wait for "Hit", then put your arm back. Close hand, run some more. But I'm just some guy on the internet; you probably shouldn't take my word for it. But if we are going to have this footnote, could we add some citation at least giving a reputable opinion that track is harder than swimming? PaulRP 21:34, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

I'll second that comment: swimming relays are difficult to get right, and easy to blow. Disqualifications are common at the high school level, and not unheard of in college swimming because of the split-second timing required by all but the first swimmer in the relay.--Bwebster 00:23, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

But I don't think difficulty is the test. Lots of silly new televised competitions are difficult, but are not legitimate sports.--Andy Schlafly 00:34, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

So swimming relays are illegitimate because of the absence of a baton. That is your argument? RayM 00:35, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

criteria?

I'm wondering what our actual criteria are for inclusion on this list. I, for one, don't think that Swimming relays, BMX, or beach volleyball are "joke" sports, unless we want to include golf as a joke sport, sailing as a joke sport (please don't do this. the sailing fan in me would be sad). In fact, it seems to me that even dressage requires more athleticism than, say, prone rifle shooting. I realize that people higher up the pecking order on this site than me may have something invested in this article, so I won't make edits until there's a clarified set of criteria for this article.--DTSavage 20:46, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

You raise excellent points. What is the criteria for separating the legitimate from the joke sports, or for including an event in the Olympics? Why isn't golf an Olympic sport?

I've added "underlying purpose" to the sport as a criterion. More insights are welcome.--Andy Schlafly 00:13, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

Golf will return to the Olympics in 2016. RayM 00:18, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

It was also contested at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympic Games. GregG 01:23, 10 August 2012 (EDT)

Dressage

I wonder if the editor who listed dressage as a joke sport is aware of the history behind the sport? It developed over centuries of military training and tactics for the cavalry, when horse and rider needed to move in harmony with each other during battle. Just because it has become a rich man's sport in today's society does not erase its meaningful history - it certainly wasn't a "joke" to thousands of cavalrymen. A Brief Outline of the History of Dressage by Dr. Thomas Ritter. SharonW 00:22, 10 August 2012 (EDT)