I have had dogs in my life since I was knee high to a grass hopper, but it’s only in the last 12 years or so that I got involved with pedigree dogs, and started showing dogs about 10 years ago.
Having said that, at this stage in my life I don’t really consider myself as a sports person.
According to The Committee Of Ministers To Member States and the European Sports Charter “Sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.
When I think of sport I think of the Olympic Games held every four years, and later this year in London, as being the pinnacle of the sporting world.
Not to leave it there I started searching the World Wide Web for definitions of sport, and I came up with the following:
The oldest definition in English from around 1300 being “anything humans find amusing or entertaining” (Dog Showing √)
The French word for sport is based on the Persian word bord, meaning “winning” or “win” (Dog Showing √)
Chinese term for sport, tiyu (体育; 體育) connotes physical training. The modern Greek term for sport is Αθλητισμός (athlitismos), which is where the English terms “athlete” and “athleticism” come from (Dog Showing x)
Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward team-mates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat (Dog Showing ??)
Key tenets of sport include that the result should not be predetermined, and that both sides should have equal opportunity to win. Rules are in place to ensure that fair play to occur, but participants can break these rules in order to gain advantage. (Dog Showing ??)
OKIDOKI, so the above still doesn’t answer our question as to whether the showing of dogs can be called a sport, even thought Chess and Darts falls under this title quite comfortably
Lets see what we can dig up in relation to hobbies:
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one’s leisure time. (Dog Showing √)
Hobbies are practiced for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward and personal fulfilment is the aim (Dog Showing √)
In the certain parts of the world, people involved obsessively and pursue a particular hobby that is otherwise considered boring, are often called anoraks – I’ve never been called an anorak for attending a dog show, but have been referred to and often think I must be MAD
So there you have it, The answer to the $6 Million Dollar question…
Whatever you call it, make sure it’s fun and that you and your dog get some level of enjoyment out of it.
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