Definition of Sports From an Athletic Trainer Perspective

Sports and physical fitness are the two cornerstones of our lives. No one can deny the fact that both of them are good for the health. People do not get much time to relax and spend some quality time with their family, thus sports and physical fitness become the part of the life. All the sports provide you with a lot of mental and physical workout.

There are several types of sports like beach volleyball, beach soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, badminton, basketball, badminton, weightlifting, softball, tennis and much more. Beach volleyball is an example of an outdoor sport that provides a great cardiovascular activity involving physical exertion as well as mental and physical workout. The same is true about beach football. Field hockey and basketball are a very good example of an indoor activity involving physical exertion. But the most popular and traditional form of sports activity is that of badminton, which involves total concentration on the game.

Generally speaking there is no single defined way for describing sports; however it is agreed and popular that there are several defining aspects like the involvement of physical exertion, skill, timing, tactics, agility, endurance, attitude, competition, leadership, and sportsmanship. The definition of badminton as an indoor game has been given by its inventor, Michael Brown. The first Badminton set was launched at an exhibition held in London in the year 1963 and since then there has been no looking back. Brown considered Badminton a sport where every stroke counts and the player must hit the net even though there are chances to miss.

Sports like golf, tennis, horse racing and rowing are considered as outdoor sports. However they too require physical work and specialized skills, apart from the mental stress that the athletes go through. For example, the golfer has to take shots after shots, the tennis player needs to hit the ball across the court, while the horse sports the rider. The American Badminton Association is one of the oldest badminton clubs in the country and it was formed in 1963. It is a great sport which requires vigorous training and keen observation to excel.

Today there are a number of sports which are widely accepted and practiced throughout the world as a recreational or sports activity like ice hockey, swimming, softball, baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, tennis, surfing, sledding and curling. The definition of each sport varies slightly, but they all demand rigorous training and strict adherence to the rules and regulations. Every sport has its own set of equipment which includes sports shoes, clothes, socks, jackets and helmets. However they differ from sport to sport. For instance the rules and regulations for softball differ from that of ice hockey.

Michael Brown is the president of the Sports Injury Reprographics Institute and he says, “The definition of Sport can be a bit confusing. The dictionary definition is a physical contest between human beings, in which the participants attempt to achieve a specific objective.” He goes on to define Sport as a game in which objectives are defined and activities are performed under controlled conditions with a defined set of rules and regulations. So this definition may actually be an incomplete one, as it does not define what each individual game is all about. Nevertheless it is good to know the definition of the game you are playing so that when injured and take your sports injury claim, you know where to turn to get assistance.