The Olympics, a well-known global sporting competition. In every Olympics new sports are added and others are removed. This essay will argue why video gaming should not be an Olympic sport because gaming does not fit the definition of sport, match the Olympic criteria and it is not a sport accessible by all countries. Video gaming should not be an Olympic sport. Gaming does not fit the definition of a sport. The dictionary definition of sport is 'an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc'. Although gaming does need skill, to a certain extent, it does not demand for physical prowess. Gaming is more of a test of a competitors reflexes than their athletic abilities. So then, gaming should not be a part of the …show more content…
The criteria for new sports in the upcoming 2020 Olympic games are :'added value; youth appeal; attractiveness for TV, media and the general public; gender equality; minimum impact on the number of events and/or quotas, infrastructure and operational costs and complexity.' The International Olympic Committee has 33 criteria to consider sports for the Olympic games. These 33 criteria are split into seven categories : history and tradition; universality; popularity of the sport; image; athletes’ health; development of the International Federation; costs. Despite gaming fitting some of these criteria, it does not fit all of them. For example, some people do enjoy watching others play video games, but a large percentage of people do not. Many people would not find gaming attractive to watch on television. Another example of gaming not fitting with the Olympic criteria is that it is difficult to determine whether competitors are cheating. Therefore, video gaming should not be a sport that is competed at the Olympic