Mi deporte, ¿es un deporte?

My sport, is it a sport?

Due to a publication by @lecumberre about whether chess is a sport, some ideas were revived in me about this dilemma that arises in certain activities, and that has not allowed me to talk specifically about one of them that I am passionate about and practice. Since I was a child, that sports activity has been fishing.

I have reviewed the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy on several occasions regarding the definition of the word "sport" and although I understand that I could without the slightest doubt speak of fishing as just another sport, I am not convinced that doing so would not bring unnecessary controversies or discussions.

Probably the fact that this activity can cause suffering and even death to a living being is the biggest impediment to expressing my knowledge and experiences in the #fulldeportes feed, but it is curious and I find it fun at times and stressful at others, that I can read and even talk about other sports that are as much or more violent than fishing, mainly because in them the damage is done to other human beings, not on purpose, by the way, but it is undeniable.

Within this category of activities, we can mention boxing, rugby, American football, some martial arts transformed into bloody shows such as the XMA, the XMMA, and the AMA, and ice hockey which in recent years has become a kind of violent contest when friction and confrontations occur that should only be a normal situation in a contact sport. The list could be expanded, surely.

Let's review a little the definitions of the word "sport" that the RAE offers us. The first meaning reads: "Physical activity, exercised as a game or competition, the practice of which involves training and subjection to rules." Chess might not be a physical activity if we do not take the brain into account, but if we must consider it, of course, it is a game or competition, and training or study is necessary if you prefer, it is decidedly subject to rules.

Chess is undoubtedly a sport my friend @lecumberre, also as you say, it is a science game.

But what about fishing? It is a physical activity, in some cases tiring and even exhausting. Ask me how many kilometers I walk through the Patagonian rivers, sometimes between huge stones covered with moss, sometimes avoiding strong currents and significant depths. It is also a game and for some a competition, there are sport fishing contests that man has been modifying in the conception of it to avoid indiscriminate killings. Virtually all variants of fishing require training and even study and also in some of them there are regulations to comply with and permits to obtain. The only thing left would be to kill the prey, in my case and in that of many others I know, we do not kill fish, we return them to the water with as little damage as possible. This is a modality created by North American fishermen called "catch and release."

The second meaning of the RAE dictionary says the following: "Recreation, pastime, pleasure, fun or physical exercise, usually outdoors." Here the situation is even clearer, I have nothing to add.

Inevitably I conclude that fishing falls within the category of sport, despite everything and because of what I mentioned previously I do not dare to talk about it here.

As in many areas of life, a definition, even from the highest governing body of a language, is not enough to settle any situation or opinion. Man in his incessant search for challenge, knowledge, pleasure, and satisfaction constantly seeks to extend the limits, change the rules, tear down walls, and sometimes, build them.

In this line of thought, sport in the broadest sense plays a predominant role within human activities, whatever its definition or objectives.