

The Olympic Charter dictates that in order to be featured at the event, a certified sport must be widely practised by men in at least 75 countries and by women in no fewer than 40 countries. An example of such a predicament is that of Ultimate Frisbee, which is recognised as a sport but doesn’t feature at the Olympic Games. But the certification of ‘sport’ alone doesn’t guarantee a spot.
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Next, this organisation must enforce the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code and maintain the rules set forth by the Olympic Charter.Īfter an activity has been formally recognised as a ‘sport’, the administering organisation must apply for admittance to the next Olympic event by filing a petition to the IOC. The first qualifier is that the activity must be administered by an international non-governmental organisation. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides which activities merit the title of ‘sport’ and which don’t. But why is that? What are the commonalities between established sports that have earned them the title of ‘sports’? On the other hand, Spikeball, Footgolf and the aforementioned eSports are yet to be universally accepted as sports.

No one questions the legitimacy of Cricket, Football, Tennis, or even the slightly less popular games like Rugby, Table Tennis and Lacrosse. There are some activities that most of us can agree to be sports. ‘What is a sport’ is a question that is devilishly difficult to comprehensively answer in a way that satisfies everyone. My engagement with the topic didn’t end there, and I delved deeper into the different matrices by which society decides what does and doesn’t count as a sport. As I watched the rest of the video though, with its expansive visuals of stadiums filled with spectators, and eye-watering prize money amounts, I started to consider the idea of eSports more seriously. My initial reaction to the news was of ridicule, much like what I had heard from others about Ultimate. It showed how competitive gaming had been gaining popularity across the world, and was even under consideration for Olympic recognition.
But these jibes returned to my mind when I came across a Vox video about eSports. I ’d never given these comments much thought and waved them off as the ramblings of those who didn’t understand the game. As an Ultimate Frisbee player, I’ve often been told that I’m not playing a real sport.
