Do you think that snooker and darts should be considered sports?

I love playing snooker not so much darts but I have no doubt that If I wanted to lose weight I wouldn't play a round snooker or darts to do so. I think that a sport must involve adrenalin of some sort and a faster heart beat than if I were watching TV. jury is out.

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Reply 1

Scott.M

Well curling is classed as a sport, same with those winter sports where you sit in that tube thing and go down the slide. Neither of those would keep you fit I doubt.

Reply 2

scrotgrot

I say "games" are turn-based (discrete time), "sports" aren't (continuous time).

Bat and ball sports are interesting because they challenge this definition; however, it's true that within each play time is continuous as it involves beating the ball to base.

Reply 3

TheMagicRat

I don't really care what they're classed as. All I know is I enjoy watching and playing them. If there's anyone out there that doesn't watch these things because they don't think they're sports then you really are missing out, especially when it comes to darts. I urge any naysayers to watch darts when it is next on TV because it is better than it has ever been. Just sit back, relax and enjoy without worrying what it's classed as.

Reply 4

wildrover

I don't know how you can argue snooker doesn't raise adrenaline, I get nervous just watching it and i have no idea how thye manage to pot ball under so much pressure, It should be a sport because it requires you to be at the peak of mental fitness, which is just as valid as physical.

Reply 5

Nikolas147

How many people say Snooker and Darts are not sports?

They both offer a lot of prize money to the top players in the world, since the takeover of Barry Hearn in both sports so much have changed. If your wondering why snooker it's self is not in the Olympics then the main reason for that is the governing body. They wont agree on a few certain aspects. In the Asian games they have both Billiards and Snooker.

I played snooker at an International level when I was 20 and ended up playing in a few different countrys. And I was just short of playing in the world under 21 championship in Canada.

In my eyes they are both Sports. But people can have there opinions.

Reply 6

lucas13

well its not really about fitness but they are still sports

Reply 7

WGR

I thought about why is snooker a sport but chess isn't and I have come to the conclusion that a sport is anything that requires physical skill. You don't need any physical skill to play chess because all you need to do is put the piece in the correct square. With snooker you have to aim and put the right amount of strength into your shot. If we use your definition i.e anything that breaks a sweat then where would we draw the line? A seriously unfit person would find throwing a dart to be physically taxing.

Reply 8

bluester

they both require physical and mental skill and both are competitive - therefor they should both count as a sport

and for anyone doubting the entertainment value of the two, especially darts, just watch it and you will be amazed how tense and dramatic it is

Reply 9

Fashion Girl

Active sports are good for losing weight but snooker requires mental agility
so you could wear yourself out after some time. And darts does have a lot of hand movements so its not exactly light on force.

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Reply 10

Krollo

I recall reading somewhere that the difference between a game and a sport is that a game can be played by person A giving instructions to person B and the result still being a fair representation of A's ability. By this definition, snooker abd darts are both sports (though admittedly so are Hungry Hungry Gippos and Jenga).

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Reply 11

username402722

They should be considered sports so they can be in the Olympics and that's four more team GB gold medals, unless Raimond Van Barneveld or another Dutch darts player wins gold.

Reply 12

bluester

Original post by sr90

I think a lot of people still see Darts as a pub game, something which is only played by beer bellied, unfit men who like a pint or two. This hasn't been the case for decades now, the best players will spend hours a day practicing as the standard increases year on year. It takes physical and mental skill, it''s as much of a sport as diving, horse riding, formula 1 etc.

I'd recommend giving it a watch. It's the most watched sport bar football for a reason.

is that stat really true? I love darts but I had no idea it was that popular!

Reply 13

bluester

Original post by sr90

I can't remember when but I definitely remember Sky saying it during the PDC World Championship one year. There was a peak audience of 1.5m for the final this year which is remarkable for a so called ''pub game''!

Edit: Bit of digging...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/darts/8987433/Darts-and-snooker-overlord-Barry-Hearn-remains-the-benevolent-despot-with-an-eye-for-profit.html

http://www1.skysports.com/darts/news/12287/8313528/eric-bristow-says-three-weeks-of-darts-will-be-easy-after-surviving-the-im-a-celebrity-jungle

http://www.pdc-darts.co.uk/dave-clark-skys-top-darts-presenter-talks-to-dbc/

excellent to see darts is getting some credit - it really is one of the most entertaining and dramatic sports

Reply 14

Venomilys

A sport doesn't have to be physically challenging. It can be based purely on skill.

Look up some of Ronnie's greatest shots on live television, they look easy and all but people who've never played snooker cannot appreciate the difficulty and precision it takes to get a perfect snooker across a 12ft snooker table, such a tiny margin or error it's silly.

Reply 15

DJSmith

I'd considered darts and snooker "sports" when each and every player weighs less than 12 stones.

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Reply 16

username917703

Definitely. Both require excellent hand to eye coordination. It's physical competition. Just because it's not the 100m sprint don't discredit them.

Reply 17

greenmango

yes it should be included as a sport!! :smile:

Reply 18

miser

I think that 'sport' should include any physical skill used competitively. And it only serves to annoy people who enjoy something if you tell them it's not a real sport - in their eyes it's as if you are attacking its legitimacy.

Reply 19

DJSmith

Original post by Wilfred Little

Definitely. Both require excellent hand to eye coordination. It's physical competition. Just because it's not the 100m sprint don't discredit them.

Balderdash!

Try explaining to one of the originators of sport itself, the Greeks, about darts and snooker being a sport, eh? They'd laugh at Phil Taylor...darts a sport, my foot!
We should view snooker and darts as just a game, the same as the way we view chess or draughts, for example.