Does Hunting Qualify as a Sport?

Question

Me and this friend is having a debate. I argue that hunting is a sport because it is a recreational activity involving intense physical labor and require even more diligence than his favorite sport: football. He argues that a sport is qualified as a sport only if they are televised, to which I responded that that was what the media wanted you to believe so they can reap money from you. Is hunting a sport?

Answer 1

sure

Answer 2

Ya definitely. And hunting is televised, well i dont know if thats what you'd call it but it on tv all the time. The Outdoor Channel.

Answer 3

Hunting was a sport long before there was any such thing as television.

(I can say so, I was there!)

Ask your friend if figure skating or ballroom dancing are sports.

That should liven things up.

Answer 4

hunting is indeed a sport and it is televised as well. but think of the logic, is stickball televised? i think we all know stickball is a sport

Answer 5

Yes. Hunting is a sport. It's very physically-demanding and you have to exert not only your strength, but your patience.

Football needs less diligence, but rather strategy and strength.

I would say hunting qualifies as a sport.

Answer 6

Im not really sure. I'm not positive of the definition of a "sport"  

   I kinda thought to be a sport it had to involve some kind of ball, but apparently I am wrong, as millions of NASCAR fans insist driving in a circle is a sport. I guess the sport part is seeing who can drive in a circle the fastest, and you don't need balls for that. Just look at Jeff Gordon.

  Hunting is really a stretch for me, sportwise, I just dont see it.  A hobby, yes, but a sport? I just dont see it.  How can sitting in a tree waiting for something to walk by so you can kill it be qualified as a sport?  There is no effort on the hunters part other than climbing a tree or squeezing a trigger, and the "opponent" has to do everything.  The hunter has nothing to lose and the "opponent " has everything to lose.

   No, Its not a sport.

If you are hungry, then cool, Otherwise it is just being barbaric and killing another living creature for your own  pleasure.  Ill bet your friend has a tiny tiny p***s.

Answer 7

As I understand things sport is played outdoors and games indoors, there is your difference... simple?

Answer 8

Hunting is a sport. Football is a game. Your friend has it backwards.

Answer 9

They DO televise hunting... so he disproves his own argument :)

Answer 10

Yes.  More than poker for certain.

Answer 11

well if it does so should going to the grocery store, and hitting wildlife with the car, cause I eat everything I shoot.

Answer 12

It is a sport.  Hunters walk up to 10-20 miles on a NORMAL day.  Hunters gear can weigh up to 40 punds depending on what you bring, plus a gun.  Walking 20 miles carrying 40 pounds isn't easy and it qualifies as intense physical labor.

Answer 13

Yes it does

Answer 14

yea i think so

Answer 15

Right you are.  Sports existed before television.  Put that out to your friend.

Good luck.

H

Answer 16

IMO, Hunting is a helluva lot more a sport than ballroom dancing!

However, in a way, your friend is right.  Hunting is much more important than a mere game like football, soccer, or any other game played with a ball of any sort.  Hunting allows a man or woman to commune with Nature, and to see God's handiwork up close and personal.  In a way you could say that hunting is more of a religious act or philosophy than a sport.

On the other hand, using your friend's foolish definition of sport, hunting is clearly a sport.  There are several cable TV channels that televise hunting on a daily basis.  And in addition, hunting video sales is a multi-billion dollar industry.

So I'd say that not only is your friend both right and wrong, he is apparently not overly bright either.

Doc

Answer 17

yes and there are hunting shows. You hike after the animals.

Answer 18

h**l yea it is and I completely agree with the "requires more diligence than football" and it also requires more more intense physical labor half of the time, and as to him saying it is only a sport if it is televised apparently he has never hear of VS network or even more so the outdoor channel hunting is on TV more then football at least 18 hours a day!

Answer 19

G'Day  mate i think hunting is more than a sport back in time hunting was a way of surviving  ,hunting is very physical but even the biggest guy can do it. Id say hunting is more of an ext ream sport then a sport,we don't  play with our balls we may scratch them once an a while but we play with guns and instincts  and the girl  don't have them you can scratch mine cheers mate

Answer 20

Hunting is more than just a sport. It allows you to get in touch with nature and be out in the wild.

Answer 21

I believe it does. Sports don't have to be televised.

I saw a comedian and he said hunting isn't a sport, because everyone has to know they are involved, haha. He was being funny, though.

But yes, I believe hunting is a sport.

Best of luck,

CurieXO

Answer 22

If TV makes a sport - your friend needs to watch the Outdoor Channel

or the upcoming Olympics -

Hunting is a sport our family has enjoyed for years - it comes with a great degree of responsibility to do right

Answer 23

yes, and it is televised, I've seen it on TV.. It even had its own channel.  Any football lover/player will tell you that anything that isn't football, isn't a sport.  That's just how its always been.. lol.

Answer 24

1.

a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

b. A particular form of this activity.

2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

3. An active pastime; recreation.

pretty much fits at least one of these definitions

The televised thing is asinine

Answer 25

yes it does  

Answer 26

ask him if TVs were never invented, would we still have sports?

point to the various hunting shows, and say 'what is that?'

Answer 27

One definition I would use to qualify an activity as a sport is its level of competition - and that competition must between humans, not between humans and animals.