Define an athlete...

[Iceaxe]

Spinoff from the Hottest Athlete thread.

What does it take for someone to be an "athlete"?

What are the requirements?

:popcorn:

[sparker1]

I don't have a good answer, but I do think a race car driver must be athletic. The demands of a 500 mile race call for great hand/eye coordination, vision, strength, stamina, etc.

[Iceaxe]

but I do think a race car driver must be athletic. The demands of a 500 mile race call for great hand/eye coordination, vision, strength, stamina, etc.

A second item many don't realize is the "Over the Wall Crew" who pit the car are as highly trained as any NFL offensive line. They are also as well paid as an NFL lineman. Many teams recruit ex-college linebackers as tire changers and jackmen, their daily weight training programs after entering professional racing actually increase. The days of the grease monkey pitting the car died 20 years ago. The fact that they can pit a car, fuel it, change four tires and make other adjustments in less then 13 seconds is amazing to me. Most of the top over the wall crews market themselves as a team and sign very lucrative contracts.

[tanya]

Being a Judo Athlete....

I tend to only see those that work physically hard in their sport... the toughest in my opinion are wrestling, boxing and judo. (I am not prejudice or anything. :lol8:


Olympic Sports
Aquatics - Swimming yes
Archery - No
Baseball - Not sure. They do run a bit. :mrgreen:
Basketball - Yes
Boxing - Yes!
Canoe / kayak - Yes
Cycling - yes
Equestrian - No
Fencing - Yes
Football -Yes
Gymnastics - The most difficult of all sports!!!
Handball - Yes
Hockey - Yes
Judo - Of course :haha:
Modern Pentathlon - Yes
Rowing - Yes
Sailing - No
Shooting - No
Softball - No
Table Tennis - No
Taekwondo - Yes
Tennis - Yes
Triathlon - Yes
Volleyball - Yes
Weightlifting - Yes
Wrestling - Yes
Biathlon - Yes
Bobsleigh - No
Curling - No - How did this ever get to be an Olympic Sport :lol8:
Ice Hockey - Yes
Luge - Yes
Skating - Yes
Skiing - Yes

[denaliguide]

how about poker or billiards? :roflol: :roflol: :roflol:

[Iceaxe]

steroids
bad attitude
over paid
Giant ego
no morals

:lol8:

[Iceaxe]

Bobsleigh - No


You might want to rethink this one...... Your bobsleigh teams are usually made up of world class sprinters.

Several years ago one of the Olympic bobsleigh teams was made up of NFL receivers.

I find it interesting that the sports folks have no first hand knowledge of are the first sports they toss on the non-athlete list.

:cool2:

[tanya]

Bobsleigh - No


You might want to rethink this one...... Your bobsleigh teams are usually made up of world class sprinters.

Several years ago one of the Olympic bobsleigh teams was made up of NFL receivers.

I find it interesting that the sports folks have no first hand knowledge of are the first sports they toss on the non-athlete list.

:cool2:

An archer might run 20 miles a day. That does not make them an athlete in their sport. But you are right... I was at a loss on the bobsleigh one.. I never even watched that one popular movie. :lol8:

[tanya]

steroids
bad attitude
over paid
Giant ego
no morals

:lol8:

Hey! Olympic athletes.... Hopefully do not use steroids (I did not!), don't get paid and [[[[I]]]]] have a moral or 2... but you are right... the rest of them are moraless!!!! Party Animals!

Dang I miss those nightly OTC parties!!!!!

[rockgremlin]

That's a good list Tanya, I agree with all of your choices.

An athlete in my opinion is someone who actively exercises in order to maintain his/her body in peak physical form. The exercises they perform should be to increase overall strength and/or stamina.

Is an NFL lineman an athlete? Some are, some aren't. Some coaches work the hell out of their lineman in order to improve their stamina so that they don't run out of gas in the 4th quarter. Some coaches don't. I think if you are a 300 lb lineman who does nothing but eat to maintain your mass, and the only exercise you get is during games and practices, then NO you are NOT an athlete! An athlete exercises in the off-times not only be a better competitor in his sport, but also to stay healthy. Some lineman (and probably Sumo wrestlers as well) look like they're a few Big Macs shy of a heart attack -- NOT healthy, and NOT athletes.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I was a "mathlete" in junior high. I don't think that matches the description though...

[greyhair biker]

I know lots of 'atheletes' , less than half of which are paid professionals at what their sport is...lots of which maintain a hearty homelife, a regular 'job' and still manage to keep up a regular workout regime doing what they love to do...in other words...someone who can maintain top physical form doing their 'sport' and maybe can give YOU a run for your money...that's an athelete! :mrgreen:

[Bo_Beck]

Spinoff from the Hottest Athlete thread.

What does it take for someone to be an "athlete"?

What are the requirements?

:popcorn:

I always thought of Sailing as a cush sort of sport (as in Whitbread or Americas Cup) until I did the Innaugural Rank Xerox Sydney to Rio Cape Horn Classic. 40 days and nights, 4 hours on, 4 hours off. Pretty challenging physically and mentally, but then during the festivities in Rio I was invited to crew Cisne Branco (Brasilian naval training Yacht) on a 50 mile offshore race. I volunteered to operate Coffee Grinder for the Jib Sheet........HOLY S#*+!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never been so exhausted in my entire life. Those folks that run around on those multi-million dollar vessels during the Americas Cup I take my hat off to!!!

[sparker1]

I think most people discount the demands of some sports if they are not that familiar with it, or haven't tried it themselves. For instance, pool shooters require not only great skill, but dexterity and stamina.

Poker players require lots of training and workouts. Just try staying up all night, drinking and smoking, with scantily dressed women hanging all over you..and still concentrate enough to recognize a great pair. :naughty:

[Iceaxe]

I volunteered to operate Coffee Grinder for the Jib Sheet........HOLY S#*+!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never been so exhausted in my entire life.

Grinder is one tough job..... I follow some sailing and I say those guys are certainly athletes..... For what its worth I follow all types of racings. My wife swears I'd watch turtles race if they painted numbers on their backs and slapped a couple sponser decals on the side.

:cool2:

[Bo_Beck]

[quote=Bo_Beck]I volunteered to operate Coffee Grinder for the Jib Sheet........HOLY S#*+!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never been so exhausted in my entire life. [/color]

Grinder is one tough job..... I follow some sailing and I say those guys are certainly athletes..... For what its worth I follow all types of racings. My wife swears I'd watch turtles race if they painted numbers on their backs and slapped a couple sponser decals on the side.

:cool2:

Thats why she hasn't mentioned to you that there are already Turtle Races!
:roflol:

[JP]

I think most people discount the demands of some sports if they are not that familiar with it, or haven't tried it themselves.
Exactly :2thumbs:

athlete definition
n.
A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

sport definition
n.
1.
a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
3. An active pastime; recreation.
4.
a. Mockery; jest: He made sport of his own looks.
b. An object of mockery, jest, or play: treated our interests as sport.
c. A joking mood or attitude: She made the remark in sport.
5.
a. One known for the manner of one's acceptance of rules, especially of a game, or of a difficult situation: a poor sport.
b. Informal One who accepts rules or difficult situations well.
c. Informal A pleasant companion: was a real sport during the trip.
6. Informal
a. A person who lives a jolly, extravagant life.
b. A gambler at sporting events.
7. Biology An organism that shows a marked change from the normal type or parent stock, typically as a result of mutation.