Is cue sport merely a game or really a sport?
Sports by definition is anything that is amusing or entertaining. The word sport itself in old French means leisure. In the recent times, however, sports has been radically associated with competitive physical activity and appropriate attitude. When one talks of cue games as sports, there is a lingering apprehension about the activity being qualified enough to call sports at all. Since cue sports are table-based activities that you engage in with your pals for a few pennies, discourse on the true nature and intent of cue games has been making the rounds. The bigger debate is whether cue sports are actually sport activities or nothing more than mere fun and games.
The biggest reason for such a speculation to arise has been probably the casualness and informality formerly surrounding the game. Since taking a drag and sipping a pint during the course of the match was no biggie, these images for long stayed etched in people’s psyche. Since the game became supremely popular, it exposed itself to stern public eye and garnered a lot of negative attention! This however has changed in recent times.
Since sportsperson are expected to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle and be appropriate in their mannerisms, cue sport players incorporated some changes and ditched their ‘pub-like’ behavior.
Despite being professionally taught and played at sport clubs/academies and tournaments respectively, cue sports haven’t really made it to the Olympics. Despite a former bid for the sports to launch at Tokyo, cue sports couldn’t get to the 2020 Olympics. This may be a strong leverage against cue sports that the ones discounting the sport for a game may dwell on. The truth, however, lies in the fact that cue sports just like universally recognized sports, employ great skill and dexterity in addition to being lots of fun! Cue sports are not merely just about leaning on a table and sliding a ball across, they are activities that celebrate the actual spirit of sports. They provide entertainment to both the player and the spectator and keeps either party actively engaged. To consider these sports anyway inferior to tennis, football, cricket or rugby would fairly be very unfair!
