Doctors Paul Wake and Sam Illingworth
One of the sure signs that summer is approaching is the prevalence of major sporting events. This summer, showcase events such as the Tour de France, FIFA World Cup and US Opens in both tennis and golf will dominate the news, moving from the back pages to the front (or their digital equivalents). With all of this going on, we find ourselves asking: what is the diTherence between sports and games?
The Global Association of International Sports Federations, the umbrella organisation for all international sports federations, defines a sport as an activity that “includes an element of competition”, “does not rely on any element of ‘luck’ specifically integrated into the sport”, “is not judged to pose an undue risk to the health and safety of its athletes or participants”, “is no way harmful to any living creature” and “does not rely on equipment provided by a single supplier”. According to these definitions, could tabletop games be considered as sports?