Competitive Fishing, is it a Sport?

Is Fishing a Sport?

When thinking of sports, football, baseball, and basketball are the ones that typically come to mind. That brings up the question, what constitutes as a sport? Sport is defined as;“an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”1 Two parts of that definition are key when determining if an activity is a sport; involving physical exertion and skill, and competition against others.

Professional fishing leagues such as: BASS, MLF, and FLWare generating very high amounts of corporate sponsorship, money, as well as a large fan base. Much like NASCAR, professional fishermen secure corporate sponsorships to pay for entry fees and acquire gear. With tournament cash prizes as high as $300,000 (forestwood cup), competition is fierce to say the least.2 With such high rewards, fishing is becoming a premier sport from all levels beginning in high school, through college, and all the way to the professional ranks.

With competition based in a tournament format, individuals are forced to learn how to catch quality fish on multiple different bodies of water and in different weather conditions. Fishermen have to use all of their skills to perform at a high level just like any other sport. Tournaments generally involve three to four days of fishing, forcing a participant to perform and adapt to the conditions of each day.

So if a sport requires someone to compete against one another and use their skills to determine a winner, wouldn’t fishing fall under that definition? When it comes to the world of sports, the world is far wider than the core sports that we are accustomed to. I encourage you to explore the world of sport, you might just find something that you were made to compete in.

References:

1Dictionary, s. (2016). sport Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/sport

2FLW Fishing: Articles. (2016). FLW Fishing. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-10-15-key-changes-for-2016-flw-tour