Sports Test

[Bronze Fox]

After the great disappointment in history let's move onto sports.

[Cpt._Keyes]

sustain the g-forces they are subjected to, for the time they are subjected to it, then return and ask this again...now this is only for those who are actuall full time cup drivers...anyone can drive fast for a bit...but to actually race well, with the reflexes and endurance and cardio required...yes, the top level racers are athletes

[Dirty Dan]

I dont know. It's obviously categorically different in that you're in vehicles, but it's also obviously a game, and physically demanding. If you recognize those facts it doesnt matter what you call it really.

[Cpt._Keyes]

Merriam-Webster,
Athlete
a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

Strength to counter the Gforce, Stamina for the G-force, heat, intense attention required to do this

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at 200 mph all while in a car with no grip...no brakes and is constantly fighting every input you put in

[Boss Llama]

I don't consider them "athletes" in the usual sense of the word, no. What they are doing is a highly-skilled and physically challenging task that I would suggest is more akin to being a fighter pilot than a football player. While it is true that they are being athletic through the use of strength and stamina to endure physical hardship in their profession, the same is true of construction workers who use equipment like jackhammers. I think the most commonly intended use of "athlete" in speech is meant to refer to a person who is performing physical feats which are themselves the goal of a competition (running fast, throwing far, hitting/kicking/catching something), rather than those who use their skills to get a machine to do something.

I don't take anything away from the drivers - they are performing legitimately difficult and harrowing work that requires both mental and physical toughness - I just don't think that particular work is what is usually meant by "athlete." Like pilots, like construction workers, they are equipment operators first and foremost. If, on the other hand, we're using the broader definition and an air force fighter pilot is an "athlete," then yes, these drivers would count too.

[Cpt._Keyes]

I don't consider them "athletes" in the usual sense of the word, no. What they are doing is a highly-skilled and physically challenging task that I would suggest is more akin to being a fighter pilot than a football player. While it is true that they are being athletic through the use of strength and stamina to endure physical hardship in their profession, the same is true of construction workers who use equipment like jackhammers. I think the most commonly intended use of "athlete" in speech is meant to refer to a person who is performing physical feats which are themselves the goal of a competition (running fast, throwing far, hitting/kicking/catching something), rather than those who use their skills to get a machine to do something.

I don't take anything away from the drivers - they are performing legitimately difficult and harrowing work that requires both mental and physical toughness - I just don't think that particular work is what is usually meant by "athlete." Like pilots, like construction workers, they are equipment operators first and foremost. If, on the other hand, we're using the broader definition and an air force fighter pilot is an "athlete," then yes, these drivers would count too.

Construction workers and pilots dont use their athletic skills to take part in games, sports or excersise..which negates them being an "athlete" The dictionary definition is specific...and cannot really be argued against. a test driver, fighter pilot, similar skillset, but not athletes for failure to meet the first part of the definition. A race car driver meets the first set of parameters and the second, using their ability for a game, and meets the physical standard

[Boss Llama]

Note that I phrased my entire statement in terms of the usual sense of the word, and what people mean - not what is defined by a given choice of dictionary. That's why I don't consider "Cyber-athletes" to be athletes either, despite the fact that a champion FPS gamer uses stamina and agility in a contest.

If we are going with dictionaries, that doesn't help much, because different dictionaries specify different things. Some say what you said, some say athletes are those who participate in contests OF physical agility, strength, or stamina (as opposed to contests that happen to involve them while measuring something else), and still others say simply "a person who is proficient in sports" (which would obviously include everything from race car drivers to chess players).

It's an opinion poll, and I've said my piece.

[Cpt._Keyes]

your opinions are wrong!

Also nascar is a competition OF stamina as well as the racing bit

[ADevilishPotato]

your opinions are wrong!

Also nascar is a competition OF stamina as well as the racing bit

No

[Cpt._Keyes]

your opinions are wrong!

Also nascar is a competition OF stamina as well as the racing bit

No

elaborate

[ADevilishPotato]

your opinions are wrong!

Also nascar is a competition OF stamina as well as the racing bit

No

elaborate

your opinion is wrong!

[Cpt._Keyes]

your opinion is wrong!

I don't have an opinion!

[Stevo]

It doesn't matter.

[Pine]

It doesn't matter.

[NerevarineKing]

I don't watch sports.