A sport is “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment,” according to Google Definitions. By this definition, dance, cheerleading and diving should all have the same categorization as football, soccer and baseball. So why are they so rarely treated that way?

Apparently, the lack of an opponent is to blame for the ill-categorization. However, all of the aforementioned activities, which I consider sports, are based on a point-system which can be compared to another team. Additionally, they require intense physical activity, just as a sport like football.

However, there is a limit. For example, chess and pool should not be considered sports because of their lack of physical work. But this does not mean that they should be invalidated. Just because an activity is not a sport does not mean that it should not be respected.

Another aspect that can be challenged is the definition of a sport. Non-competitive dancing is a sport just like competitive dancing. The same applies for cheer, diving, and even water-skiing.

It is estimated that a soccer player burns over 500 calories in one game, and a cheerleader burns nearly 400 in the same amount of time, according to livestrong.com. Contrastingly, a game of pool only burns roughly 50 calories. If caloric value measures physical effort, it’s obvious why something such as pool shouldn’t be compared to football, cheerleading or soccer.

Overall, the distinction between activity and sport is based on the amount of physical activity. Cheerleading, water skiing, bowling and dance deserve the same status as a baseball player, but pool, bowling and chess do not require enough athleticism to be known as a sport.