Is vex a sport?

VEX V5 Technical Support
#1

i have been getting a lot of crap lately about how vex isn’t a sport. what do you guys think?

#2

nope, definitely not a sport, kinda similar to how chess or cup stacking isnt a sport.

#3

You sweat, draw blood, and get your heartrate up - so I think Vex is a sport!

#4

Sports is for idiots. Thus VEX is no sport

#5

However, it is significantly more intense than most sports

#6

A 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. Running back and forth from pit to field and building can definitely get tiring after a while. Id say this is a 50/50 thing. If anything Robotics is more mental exertion.

  2. We compete -100%

I’d say in this day and age, not just vex but robotics could be considered a sport to some degree. Now, I wouldn’t call anyone that does robotics an athlete or compare it to football or lacrosse though.

#7

My argument is that if NASCAR is considered a sport, robotics should also be a sport. All NASCAR drivers to is push the gas pedal and brakes.

#8

I disagree with it being a sport because the physical activity is not the part that is used in competition or for entertainment.

#9

I do finger and thumb push ups to practice driving.

#10

To be good at robotics requires good hand and eye coordination, decent spacial awareness, and depth perception.

It can also be physically draining.

I don’t know if it requires the designation as a “sport”, but there is certainly an argument for it.

People are slowly considering things like DOTA and League to be (e)Sports, I’d file robotics in a similar place.

edit to add: This guy has set of arguments why Robotics is better than sports

#11

I agree that robotics is more like an esport than a conventional sport. I have noticed that at lan events, especially for Rocket League, fans cheer for ALL teams, not just their favorite. I have also noticed that esport teams seem to have better sportsmanship and are a little humbler. These things remind me of robotics.

#12

Yes.

#13

I personally think VEX is a sport. I most certainly exert more energy at a competition than I would spending a day doing a sport such as golf or shooting.

Perhaps there needs to be a mind sport category or something, for stuff like chess or more importantly robotics.

#14

Not to mention, VEX has been on ESPN / CBS Sports. :slight_smile:

#15

Lol chess is a sport

#16

Sports are like Vex.

#17

actually, car racing is really physically taxing. IDK about NASCAR specifically, but those who drive Formula One burn more calories in a race than most other sports players do in a match.

#18

If chess use counted as a sport than vex is a sport

#19

except it isn’t

#20

I actually play chess in many tournaments, and believe me, were basically the biggest group of unathletic people you could throw together (there are a few exceptions though). Therefore, I would not consider chess or robotics a sport but that does not mean that they both do not require immense mental skill, just not physical.