[daveGT]

An on-going office debate has enspired me to post this tread. "What defines a 'sport' and furthermore, is golf for example, a tougher sport than tennis?" I sure his is a hotly debated subject over cold ones at any local brew house.

Here's my somewhat educated, experienced opinion: I define a 'sport' as an activity which requires a combination of the following elements:
1. Strength
2. Hand-eye/foot coordination
3. Endurance
4. Hand/foot speed (not the same as coordination!)
5. Strategic thinking (the player, not the coach!)

Now given these five mandatory elements, and giving each one an equal weight, rate the sport for each element from 1 to 10. Add up the total points and you can (somewhat objectively) rate the difficultity of the sport.

Here's my list (I've played all)

Sport (Weighted Element ) = Total

-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Basketball (4 + 8 + 9 + 7 + 8) = 36
(forward - league play, not horse!)
2. Water Polo (5 + 7 + 9 + 6 + 5) = 32
(hole or point - not goalie)
3. Tennis (2 + 8 + 5 + 4 + 3) = 22
(competive singles)
4. Track / Running (1 + 1 + 10 + 7 + 1) = 20
(distance)
5. Golf (2 + 9 + 0 + 0 + 3) = 14
(weekend warrior)
6. weightlifting (10 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 3) = 14



There you have it. Tennis is a tougher "sport" than golf!

Gimme feedback!!