View Poll Results: Is MJ a sport?

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Thread: Is MJ a sport?

  1. #1
    Registered User NZ Monkey's Avatar
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    is MJ a Sport?

    Moved from the Competitions in Oz thread - DavidJames

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    TheTruth, I guess you're just going to have to face it... Ceroc is not a sport.
    Ceroc matches any description I've heard of a sport that I can think of quite well. Of course, plenty of sports can be played with or without competition, and the difference lies in the reasons the individuals are doing it for.

    TheTruth; if you're interested in Dancesport and want to use that as your competition benchmark then Ceroc isn't the best place for you. Ceroc is at the other end of the sporting spectrum.

    Quote Originally Posted by TheTruth
    Competition, I believe, is what drives a sport to greater heights.
    Competition does drive a sport to greater heights. There are other ways as well though. Competition is usually the fastest I agree but it isn't the be-all-and-end-all. What's the rush anyway?

    There are plenty of people out there putting in the time to learn good technique and refining their own dancing not for the sake of competition, but for whatever other reasons they have. They're not as visible as competitors, but that's because they chose not to be. I do my best to keep improving but have no desire to compete.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget
    the only good thing competitions do is give people a reason to practice together. Some people need that reason and a goal to practice for.
    That's not quite true. Competitions give people a reason to think critically about what they're doing, and why (and of course, how to do it better....). Sometimes this leads to revelation, and sometimes that experience get's passed on to others. It's easier to think critically about something if you have a reason to improve they way it works.

    Again, you don't need competition to do this, but virtually the entire history of the human race suggests that it helps...... just think how many of our modern conviniences had roots in wartime R&D or the space race for instance.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Tramp
    Personally, I don't think in any way that it's a shame. Ceroc is primarily a social dance. And I hope that it stays that way. Ceroc seems to be evolving quite nicely without the need for competitions really, although, they can be fun for those people who enjoy that sort of thing.
    A big, fat to that.

    There are a number of Swing dances that manage to successfully be both social and competition dances, especially in the USA. I do sometimes wonder how they've developed that balance and synergy. Many people seem to think that it's either one or the other, or that Ceroc *should be* one exclusively. I see no reason why it can't be both in time.
    Last edited by David Bailey; 15th-August-2007 at 10:27 AM.

  2. #2
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Ceroc Competitions - in Oz

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    Ceroc matches any description I've heard of a sport that I can think of quite well. Of course, plenty of sports can be played with or without competition, and the difference lies in the reasons the individuals are doing it for.
    Most sports I know have as part of their definition a set of rules, and a criteria for deciding a "winner".

    Ceroc doesn't really have many rules, and none of them would help you decide how to judge a competition.

    Ceroc can be turned into a sport, but then so can grass-cutting.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  3. #3
    Registered User NZ Monkey's Avatar
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    Re: Ceroc Competitions - in Oz

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    Most sports I know have as part of their definition a set of rules, and a criteria for deciding a "winner".

    Ceroc doesn't really have many rules, and none of them would help you decide how to judge a competition.

    Ceroc can be turned into a sport, but then so can grass-cutting.
    How about hunting or fishing? It's hard to do either of these activites and lose (unless you get shot or caught I suppose, but how does the animal *win*?) yet they're considered sports.

    The Olympic Commitee seems to think - or at least has done in the past - that Ballroom was a sport. In the grand scheme of sports Ballroom isn't so different to Ceroc.

    If you omitted the rule that you scored points for getting a goal in football would it stop being a sport?

    In Iado you can win or lose, but only over or to yourself. Is that a sport?

    Should a friendly moderator split this into a seperate thread?

    Is moderator baiting a sport?

  4. #4
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Ceroc Competitions - in Oz

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    How about hunting or fishing? It's hard to do either of these activites and lose (unless you get shot or caught I suppose, but how does the animal *win*?) yet they're considered sports.
    Like grass-cutting, they are pastimes that have been turned into sports.

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    The Olympic Commitee seems to think - or at least has done in the past - that Ballroom was a sport. In the grand scheme of sports Ballroom isn't so different to Ceroc.
    Ballroom has the rules and competition criteria built-in making it, for some people, a sport.

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    If you omitted the rule that you scored points for getting a goal in football would it stop being a sport?
    If there's no winner, there's no sport.

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    In Iado you can win or lose, but only over or to yourself. Is that a sport?
    I don't know what Iado is, but in most sports you need to compete against others to be a winner.

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    Should a friendly moderator split this into a seperate thread?
    We've discussed this at some length already on this forum, so I don't really want to have the same discussion all over again, but if there are many more posts on this subject, then, yes it will no-doubt get split into a new thread, by me or some other passing friendly moderator.

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    Is moderator baiting a sport?
    Moderator baiting is only a sport if you can show that you are doing it better than anyone else.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  5. #5
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Is MJ a sport?

    From here:
    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    Ceroc matches any description I've heard of a sport that I can think of quite well. Of course, plenty of sports can be played with or without competition, and the difference lies in the reasons the individuals are doing it for.
    Assuming that NZM meant "MJ" rather than "Ceroc" (), do people think MJ is a sport, or an interest?

  6. #6
    An Eclectic Toaster
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    This poll suggested - well, lots of confusion, really.

  7. #7
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart M View Post
    This poll suggested - well, lots of confusion, really.
    That was a general "dance" thing I thought - I'm talking more about MJ.

    FWIW, I'm with Ducasi - to me, MJ is not a sport, or even a dancesport, because there are no consistent rules to help measure performance, and no governing body to define and enforce such rules.

    And Ceroc definitely isn't a sport, it's an organisation

  8. #8
    Registered User Mini Mac's Avatar
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    any type of dance i consider a sport. Ballroom, street, tap, ballet, modern jive anything. But ceroc itself as my dad keeps telling me is an organisation lol and more of a social event, which i guess hes right, but mj certainly does keep me fit and healthy!

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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Likening it to a sport is a way to try to sell it to your other half when you want to go dancing on your own. "It's just a sport to me, I'm just going for the exercise...no different from you going to your [football/ice hockey/sailing/insert relevant activity]".

  10. #10
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    Smile Re: Is MJ a sport?

    A cow jumping over the moon has been defined as sport.

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    Ceroc can be turned into a sport, but then so can grass-cutting.
    Ploughing is a sport … Bert Fry won a prize in it a few years ago!

    I think grass-cutting is becoming far too competitive … I keep thinking of that song that starts "One man went to mow".

    When will it ever end???

  11. #11
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by JoC View Post
    Likening it to a sport is a way to try to sell it to your other half when you want to go dancing on your own. "It's just a sport to me, I'm just going for the exercise...no different from you going to your [football/ice hockey/sailing/insert relevant activity]".
    Oooh, good plan

    Quote Originally Posted by happygoldfish View Post
    When will it ever end???
    With the "grass cutters steroids scandal" headlines no doubt.

  12. #12
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart M View Post
    This poll suggested - well, lots of confusion, really.
    I've added a poll to this thread which may only add to the confusion.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  13. #13
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    I'd define sport as exercise, hence MJ is exercise, hence a sport

  14. #14
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    It depends what you mean by "Sport" ....


    sport - Definitions from Dictionary.com

  15. #15
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    Ceroc matches any description I've heard of a sport that I can think of quite well. Of course, plenty of sports can be played with or without competition, and the difference lies in the reasons the individuals are doing it for.

    TheTruth; if you're interested in Dancesport and want to use that as your competition benchmark then Ceroc isn't the best place for you. Ceroc is at the other end of the sporting spectrum.

    Competition does drive a sport to greater heights. There are other ways as well though. Competition is usually the fastest I agree but it isn't the be-all-and-end-all. What's the rush anyway?

    There are plenty of people out there putting in the time to learn good technique and refining their own dancing not for the sake of competition, but for whatever other reasons they have. They're not as visible as competitors, but that's because they chose not to be. I do my best to keep improving but have no desire to compete.

    That's not quite true. Competitions give people a reason to think critically about what they're doing, and why (and of course, how to do it better....). Sometimes this leads to revelation, and sometimes that experience get's passed on to others. It's easier to think critically about something if you have a reason to improve they way it works.

    Again, you don't need competition to do this, but virtually the entire history of the human race suggests that it helps...... just think how many of our modern conviniences had roots in wartime R&D or the space race for instance.

    A big, fat to that.

    There are a number of Swing dances that manage to successfully be both social and competition dances, especially in the USA. I do sometimes wonder how they've developed that balance and synergy. Many people seem to think that it's either one or the other, or that Ceroc *should be* one exclusively. I see no reason why it can't be both in time.
    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    Most sports I know have as part of their definition a set of rules, and a criteria for deciding a "winner".

    Ceroc doesn't really have many rules, and none of them would help you decide how to judge a competition.

    Ceroc can be turned into a sport, but then so can grass-cutting.
    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Monkey View Post
    How about hunting or fishing? It's hard to do either of these activites and lose (unless you get shot or caught I suppose, but how does the animal *win*?) yet they're considered sports.

    The Olympic Commitee seems to think - or at least has done in the past - that Ballroom was a sport. In the grand scheme of sports Ballroom isn't so different to Ceroc.

    If you omitted the rule that you scored points for getting a goal in football would it stop being a sport?

    In Iado you can win or lose, but only over or to yourself. Is that a sport?

    Should a friendly moderator split this into a seperate thread?

    Is moderator baiting a sport?
    Ceroc is not a dance, it is a franchise company, therefore it can not be a sport. It's a bit like asking "is David Lloyd a sport?"

    Thankfully, DJ spotted this and corrected the balance.



    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames View Post
    Assuming that NZM meant "MJ" rather than "Ceroc" (), do people think MJ is a sport, or an interest?
    And, of course MJ is a sport. It's not one that most participants compete at, but it is definitely a sport. There are many sports that are done for pleasure as well as competition. Consider sailing, you can enter the Olympics or you can potter around your local lake in a dinghy - but both are the same thing.

    But, Ceroc would sink on your local lake so it can not be a sport

  16. #16
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by Caz View Post
    I'd define sport as exercise, hence MJ is exercise, hence a sport
    That would also include sex, climbing stairs, running for the bus etc.

    And by implication exclude archery, shooting, etc.

  17. #17
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    There are commercial reasons for having MJ classified as a sport. Many government agencies have special provisions e.g. discounts, grants, for sporting activities. "Let's make MJ an Olympic sport" is good for a bit of publicity on a slow week for the media.

  18. #18
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post

    There are many sports that are done for pleasure as well as competition. Consider sailing, you can enter the Olympics or you can potter around your local lake in a dinghy - but both are the same thing.
    No there not.
    Pottering around your local lake in a dingy is a hobby, not a sport.

    For me, sport has to have an element of competitiveness (sp?) and importantly, some measurement of that competitiveness. If the guy pottering around the lake times his laps, or measured his tacking ability against the wind, then, yes, it could be a sport. But just pottering, nope.

    In fact, I'd go further than that. The definition of sport has been stretched for reasons of finance, TV and the rest. Really, to be a sport I'd also add the 'measurement' should be absolute, and not subjective. I.E. Fastest time over 100m is a sport, scores most goals is a sport, who smiles the prettiest and makes the nicest patterns in syncronised swimming is completely subjective to the judges watching, cannot be measured absolutely, and thus is not a sport.
    Same things applies to dance in my mind.

    Dance has aspects of sport; that I can live with. Dance as a true sport ? Not in a million, trillion, billion years

  19. #19
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    No there not.
    Pottering around your local lake in a dingy is a hobby, not a sport.

    For me, sport has to have an element of competitiveness (sp?) and importantly, some measurement of that competitiveness. If the guy pottering around the lake times his laps, or measured his tacking ability against the wind, then, yes, it could be a sport. But just pottering, nope.

    In fact, I'd go further than that. The definition of sport has been stretched for reasons of finance, TV and the rest. Really, to be a sport I'd also add the 'measurement' should be absolute, and not subjective. I.E. Fastest time over 100m is a sport, scores most goals is a sport, who smiles the prettiest and makes the nicest patterns in syncronised swimming is completely subjective to the judges watching, cannot be measured absolutely, and thus is not a sport.
    Same things applies to dance in my mind.

    Dance has aspects of sport; that I can live with. Dance as a true sport ? Not in a million, trillion, billion years
    By TA's definition, darts is a sport.

    However, he is, uncharacteristically, wrong in this case. What TA is calling a sport is competition. There are many activities that are sports where there is no competitive element for most of the participants. The fact that you don't compete in a sport where some people do compete does not make what you do into a hobby. It might be your hobby, but it's still a sport.

  20. #20
    Registered User Tessalicious's Avatar
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    Re: Is MJ a sport?

    I know for a fact that MJ isn't a sport.

    Why?

    Because when I was at school, my PE teacher told me that even though I would never be any good at any sport, I should still humiliate myself trying three times a week.

    I don't think I humiliate myself completely at MJ (and I don't go three times a week either) - ergo, not a sport.

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