Is pool a sport or a game?
Chris Davies, Upton, England
- Any "sport" which can be played while smoking is definitely a "game"...
Dave, Bilbao, Spain
- Smoking is not the decider in whether it is a sport or a game. The captain of my college cricket team regularly used to bowl and field while puffing on a roll-up. Whether he could be described as a sportman, as opposed to merely a games-player is, however, a different matter.
Howard Rose, Dublin
- It is a competition requiring physical ability in which the result is objectively determined. So it's a sport, unlike, for example, chess (a game) or iceskating (a recreation).
Craig, New York, USA
- If you win its a sport. If you lose its "only a game".
Neil, Bangkok
- Anything habitually played in a pub is not a sport.
Harry, Bristol
- Neither, it's where you go to swim
Sid, London
- The physical dexterity argument doesn't quite work as there are a number of indoor games (the board game sort you'd play after Christmas dinner) which require physical skill, usually steadiness of hand, which are by no stretch of the imagination sports. Surely pool is a game. After all, if it's a sport then surely darts must be, and darts, for whatever reasons, is clearly not a sport. Perhaps the definition hinges on the extent to which a game is played professionally. Although pool is of course played professionally, most people's experience of it is as an amateur game. Golf though, again widely played by amateurs, does have a large international pro circuit which would define it correctly, in my opinion, as a sport.
Angus Walker, London
- It has to be classed as a sport; it's competitive and the BBC says it is.
Ian, Newcastle, UK
- Pool is a sport. The way I see it, the difference between a game and a sport is in the concept. Games symbolise concepts ie: chess, a war; monopoly, getting rich, etc. The pieces symbolise and therefore the same game can be played twice. In sports, the same game can never be played twice, because there is always the difficulty of real measurements: the difference between a metre, centremetre, milimetre, and so on into infinity. Hence, pool is a sport.
Raf, Rickmansworth Herts
- Darts IS a sport! And so is pool. There are professionals at the top level in both sports, and they practice 7 or 8 hours a day. Just because it doesn't shatter them physically and leave them arthritic in later life like "athletic" sports should not count against it. I'm fed up of stupid footballers, rugby meatheads and doped-up athletes sneering at us brain / precision sport enthusiasts. The mental stamina required to cope under pressure is often greater. Witness big Jocky Wilson in the World Darts final, sweating his way to victory, and you'll understand Sid Waddell's immortal commentary: "Jock Wilson - what an athlete!"
Bob, UK
- According to sport england (or one of the multitude of funding bodies) - pool is a sport and could therefore have money - darts was a game and thus could not. The distinction apparently was that darts did not involve enough physical activity.
Mark, Edgware UK
- Sport England have no consistency, otherwise how can the IOC recognise Chess as a sport (which by the way, is likely to appear in future Winter Olympics) and they do not.
Gordon, London UK
- Why can't it be both?
Rory, London UK
- I consider a sport to be a game where you can legally make it difficult for your opponent to play. This will obviously include any ball game where there is tackling but also pool and snooker where you can play to block his or her next shot. This definition would make chess a sport but golf a game. In golf you cannot, within the rules, make your opponent's shot more physically difficult, the psychological effect of your good, or bad, shot is an entirely different matter.
KP, Enfield Middlesex
- If it would violate the "game" to have another stand in to play for you, it is only a game. If it would be ok to have someone else do the physical work for you, then it is also a sport, assuming it follows the basics of being competitive, etc. Pool and darts are sports, but chess is only a game.
Matthew, Atlanta GA
- Pool is no more or no less than an exacting science!
John, Beecher Ill. USA
- Pool is a sport whilst professionals are playing or the game is being taken seriously, whereas it is a game whilst being played lightheartedly or whilst drinking.
dave, brighton england
- When pool is played professionally and to make a living it is a sport. When it is played in your local pub on a friday night it is a game.
jenna, wales
- I would classify pool as a "sport" due to the fact that they both have the same characteristics. They are both a game of skill that involve a level of competitiveness that is measured by the keeping of scores to monitor performance.
Lisa, Preston, England
- I would classify a sport as any game played by 2 players or 2 teams where both players or teams occupy and compete on the playing surface at the same time. While occupying the playing surface, one player/team can influence the play of the other player/team. In this case games like football, baseball and the like are sports, as is tennis, volleyball and badminton. Games like pool, darts, golf, and curling do not meet those criteria. In pool, both players occupy the playing surface and can influence the other's game, but they do not compete at the same time. Same for curling. In golf, players can compete at the same time (theoretically) but the rules forbid influencing the other player's game. Although pool and the others take great skill, they do not meet the criteria for sport. Just my humble opinion.
K. Merrick, Boston, MA, USA
- "I consider a sport to be a game where you can legally make it difficult for your opponent to play." Really? Then 100 metres (run in lanes) is a game, but 800 metres (scrum for the inside track) is a sport.
Joe, Birmingham, UK
- There are 2 criteria to apply to determine if an activity is a sport or not. 1. If professionals in an activity smoke whilst participating in it, then it's not a sport. 2. If the garments worn whilst participating in an activity include a nice pair of slacks, then it's not a sport. Therefore, it's fair to say that by virtue of contravening both rules, pool is not a sport.
mushy, essex UK
- Why are so many of you hung up on the smoking aspect. If it is because smoking is unhealthy then any "sport" that has drug takers cannot be a sport. Out goes most of athletics, football, baseball, gridiron football, etc, etc
Dean, newton UK
- It's both really isn't it. Football is a sport and you have a game of that. The same as others like tennis, cricket, rugby etc. However I don't think something like monopoly could be considered a sport, as it isn't physically challenging - unless you end up fighting over who's gunna be the boot. Maybe things like darts and pool, that are played inside could be described as a 'relaxed sport'?
Scarlett, Cardiff, UK
- A sport requires two prerequisites: it needs a body in which to play it (ie a brain in a jar would NOT be able to play sports, only games), and there needs to be competition at a professional level.
James Corwin, Leeds, UK
- Pool is definitely not a sport, as it is just a mini game of its more skillful counterpart, snooker, therefore only a game. Would you consider mini-golf a sport?
C. K, London, UK
- Darts, pool, snooker and chess are not sports. A sport requires physical assertion, athleticism, skill and stamina in my opinion. The next thing people will say is that Poker is a sport. Get real people these are games and not sports. If chess is a sport what about Ludo or Monopoly? I agree they are skilful past times, but they cannot be classified as sports.
Craig , Croydon UK
- What? This is mad, Pool is a sport. As is snooker. It is a challenge of skill with competitors going head to head to result in a winner. Sport involves reacting to the opposition to score or protect the end result of a team or player being crowned the winner. It is about finding weaknesses in an attempt to gain an edge. It needs a referee. I believe pool just in the pub with friends is a game, just as football in the park is a game. However when playing as a team in a league, no question this is a sport. You are competing to win. The difference between pool and chess, is in chess you can make the same move twice. However Pool requires accuracy skill and practise, like football. What's the difference between eye/foot co ordination (in football) to eye to hand (in pool) the difference is we get to drink a pint and have a chat in the warm. You picked the wrong sport.
Sophie , Dartford UK
- Simple answer…yes. Obviously, like a lot of sports you have varying levels. In pubs in the UK people play pool whilst having a drink and a smoke (when you could smoke in pubs), that’s why some people would class it as a game. Those same guys probably kick a football around on Sunday afternoon (I have seen these types of guys stop during a match and light up), then knock back some beers and smoke, does that make football a game? When you hit the serious levels of Pool, both Amateur and Pro, this is a serious game, with tactics, strategy and physical and mental alertness. Not something you need on a Friday night in the pubs with the lads, I agree. Some tournaments are over 5-7 days, playing multiple types of pool (9 ball, 10 ball, 8 ball, Straight Pool, One Pocket, Banks), all of these require differing levels of skill, all require mental strength and physical stamina. Top Pros work out in the gym, run and practice for up to 8 hours a day, much like football players, tennis players and golfers. Do not confuse the pool played in Pubs with the sport played in many dedicated pool halls and tournaments around the world.
Martin, Portland USA
