Is backpacking a sport?

[balzaccom]

“Keep close to Nature’s heart … and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”

John Muir.

That doesn't sound like a sport to me...but that's just me.

[sekihiker]

For my last backpacking trip, the Russian judge gave me an 8. I think my routine was near perfect, but he took points off for my tent pitch. I’m gunning for competitive backpacking to be in an upcoming Summer Olympics. My tent pitching will be perfect by then.

Seriously, as others have said, sport or not really doesn’t matter to me. For me, it’s an amazing activity that I’ve enjoyed since my parents took me on my first Sierra backpacking trip when I was five years old. That was 53 years ago. Still loving it.

I agree.

After reading the above, I spent a little time on the internet this morning checking out sports.

Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Wikipedia

Dictionary.com defines sport as "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess".

Oxford Dictionary defines sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment". Jul 28, 2018

Sport (or sports) is all forms of usually competitive physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing entertainment to participants, and in some cases, spectators.
https://www.sciencedaily.com

Like all sports, chess has a defined set of rules and etiquettes. The International Chess Federation serves as the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Additionally, the International Olympic Committee considers chess to be a sport. Dec 3, 2020
On Chess: Settling The Debates: Is Chess A Sport? | St. Louis Public ...https://news.stlpublicradio.org

Dance is not just an art form — it is a sport. The definition of a sport, according to dictionary.com, is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Nov 10, 2019
Dance is a sport and should be seen as one | Local Voices ...https://lancasteronline.com

In many ways dance will always be compared to sports due to its physical nature, but will always be set apart by its performance, emotional connection to the movement and audience, artistry, and its history through time. Sep 15, 2016
Why Dance Isn't A Sport — Sunflower State Dance http://www.sunflowerstatedance.com

Is backpacking a sport? Nope…if it were a sport, it would be called adventure racing/ultra running. Backpacking is just walking outdoors and staying out overnight or multiple nights. Jul 26, 2012
Backpacking as "Sport"? - Backpacking Light https://backpackinglight.com

Is Hiking considered a sport?
In fact, with sport usually defined as “any activity that gives enjoyment or recreation,” hiking is a sport according to Webster's and other dictionaries. Sport or not, admittedly, there's little competition in hiking. Hikers sometimes race each other up a mountain. Jan 23, 2020
Is Hiking Sport? – John McKinney http://www.thetrailmaster.com

I'm not sure where John McKinney found his definition of sport, i.e., “any activity that gives enjoyment or recreation” - but I think it's my favorite.

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
- Ernest Hemingway

After discussing the above with my wife, she thinks shopping should be considered a sport.

[balzaccom]

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
- Ernest Hemingway

Funny to read the quote from Hemingway--given his deep love of fishing. But then again, having watched Ken Burns' film on Hemingway, not sure what to believe about what said compared to what he did.

[rlown]

Still a sport. Timing on trail gets longer as you get older.

[sekihiker]

Still a sport. Timing on trail gets longer as you get older.

Exactly. If you think about running as a competition with yourself, hiking is the same if you keep track of things like that.
The big difference, especially as you age, is just being able to get on the trail at all.

[rlown]

drugs you have to be on play a key. research them before you go on them.

[sekihiker]

drugs you have to be on play a key. research them before you go on them.

... and surgeries you may have had or conditions or illnesses you may be dealing with.

[sherilo]

its look like, but i think not perfectly slightly close of sport.

[Gogd]

Well for those who refuse to accept long held definitions of the term sport, let us debunk the rationale given why backpacking is not a sport.

Sports are competitive
When I was young I competed against dark and weather to make my daily objective. Now as a septuagenarian with health issues, I compete against time, weather and the Grim Reaper.

Sports are not spiritual experiences
Using a John Muir quote of the transcendental experience of hiking in the mountains to dismiss hiking as a sport assumes competitive all sports lack a spiritual component. You folks need to have a chat with surfers, marathon runners and competitive road cyclists. These sports are very spiritual when practiced on a high level.

Sports have winners and losers
Well maybe there are a few unfortunate losers - they don't make it back home - but almost every backpacker feels like - IS - a winner every time they hit the trail.

Sports require refining skills
Just walking with a pack requires no skill to perfect.. ..until you need to prevent a hot spot from evolving into a blister.. ..until you need to start a fire using water soaked wood.. ..until you need to cross high/fast water.. ..until you need to travel on steep, snow covered terrain.. ..until you need to navigate along a route lacking trails.. ..until you need to find your way in the dark.. ..until you need to deal with extreme, stormy weather.. ..until you need to find a spot at a popular destiny where no one will stumble upon you and your partner in a moment of romantic rapture...

Sports have rules
Hiking doesn't? Hmm, you need to read the fine print on your trail permit.

Sports require mutually agreed upon sets of goals and methods
Specifically the ultimate goal of ANY BC activity is to return home, hopefully with all of your digits intact. The method is practicing safe judgment while conducting the manifold activities that occur while on a hike. I think we all agree on those baseline criteria.

But let's put to rest the notion all sports must have a universal agreement as to what the goal is for all events, and the methods of conduct while engaged in the sport are uniform across all events of the sport. The rules that define the objective for boxing matches vary, as do individual fighting methods. Same goes for kick boxing and MMA. The same goes for surfing competitions, golf, adventure racing, and many more sports than the author of this quote realizes. Furthermore, I don't know who the author of that statement hikes with, but my hiking buddies all agree where we are going, what we intend to do, and how we are going to do it.

One HST member commented: "backpacking is an endurance sport, like his marriage".
Indeed, an archaic form of the term sport refers to carnal relations. Well how about that!

Ed

[TxAggie]

Sport implies competition. In that regards, backpacking is only a sport against yourself.

Is backpacking a physical activity? Absolutely.

A sport? Nah, not in my personal opinion.