There have been debates around the world on whether it should be regarded as a sports, as it doesn’t exactly follow all the characteristics typical for “regular” sports. What do you think – is esports a sport?
Looking at the actual characteristics of sporting activities, it is fair to regard it as a sport. Sport is regarded as an activity that incorporates physical fitness, skill, competition, and entertainment, and it includes all this in the games.
Definition and history of esports
It refers to electronic sports that involve competition through video games. It is an online gaming activity. It came into existence through the emergence of video game competitions established at Stanford University in 1972. As the games gained popularity, game players and tournaments got published in newspapers and popular magazines like Life and Time. In the 1990s, Nintendo, which is a Japanese video game company started holding Nintendo World Championship tournaments which helped promote the evolution of this genre.
Classification of esports as a sport
Despite the world having debates over the years on whether it is a sport, many came to conclude that some video games are a sports activity due to their popularity.
However, looking at it, it has ticked all the sports activity characteristics. It involves physical activity since, for one, to effectively compete in a video game they will need physical stamina just like a normal sports activity like car racing. Some video games improve physical fitness.
Characteristics of Esports
As it is common for sports games like football to have competitions, many of the games are popular with casual or organized competition which qualifies it as a sport. Examples of competitive video games include racing and fighting games. Gaming is a sport since, at the end of every video game, one is able to obtain results of the competition. It has also been proved to help people gain useful skills like concentration and mental coordination, especially in children.
What makes esports be regarded as a sport
Sports activities require careful planning and well thought out execution. When video game providers develop a game they have to develop the game with utmost accuracy and professionally display it for play. Gaming is a form of entertainment for both the players and the spectators of the game.
The games are competitive between two or more people. It’s also governed by standard laws and rules of play, for example, online gambling sites and casinos have universal rules of play.
Training
Unlike common sports games that require lots of physical activities, gaming is mainly geared towards training of the mind. For one to be a professional video game player, one may be required to sacrifice a lot of their time in practice. This mainly involves learning tricks and strategies and familiarising with any new updates of the game. After being well trained, one can take part in tournaments that always happen with a live audience and referees to monitor any cheating.
Benefits of esports
It has a number of great benefits to the player. First, gaming has been proved to improve physical and brain health. It helps players distinguish the different color shades and also improved brain coordination. The games have also been very effective in the eye to hand coordination.
Secondly, gaming has also helped players gain problem-solving skills. Many of the games start off with a problem that needs to be solved quickly and this skill comes in handy in solving life issues.
Thirdly, it improves critical thinking. The video games pose different situations for the players and this requires the players to quickly analyze and solve the situation and make the right decision in the shortest time possible. Video gaming also helps reduce stress levels as most people use it as a form of entertainment and a hobby. Being a pro in esports activities may also be a great pathway for you to land job opportunities like coaching, sports journalist, referee, etc.
FAQs
Should Esports be considered a sport?
Since the rise of eSports during the last few years it should definitely be taken seriosly and to be considered as a sport. There are now huge price tournaments and big companies supporting different teams out there to add to the legitimacy.
This is a debate many have had and it will continue until gaming is finally on national TV and more or less everyone knows about it. Also, when their schools start to educate players it will add to the reputation. However, it’s safe to say that most people think it’s a real sport already.
Esports is something you do online, using a console of some sort where as sports are done in a physical environment with physical objects.
