Robotics Is Not A Sport Essay

Over the past few years, as some states have begun to recognize robotics as a sport at the high school level, the argument of whether robotics is truly a sport or not is being debated. Robotics is an activity that requires hard work and commitment, and all those who participate in robotics should be able to say that robotics is a recognized high school sport. The definition of the word sport describes robotics perfectly. Robotics also parallels other official sports, and much like other sports, robotics requires a great deal of skill and strategy. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of the word sport is “a competition or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other”. If you take that literal definition alone, …show more content…
Even though the students might not be actually physically playing the game, such as dribbling a ball, or throwing a football, they are however building, transporting and controlling the robot that is doing the game. Robotics requires the student to build the robot that they then control in the match so that they may complete tasks that the game requires. Instead of the student being on the field doing these tasks themselves, they are controlling the robot similar to how Nascar drivers control their cars. “Is a driver really an athlete when he is never required to move any part of his body except his hands? I'm really stuck in between gears on this one. I still feel like it's a sport.” (Deen) Robotics actually even mimics Nascar in the sense that they both have pits where they must work on their cars and robots. Sometimes students have only moments to repair or modify their robots before competing in their next match, which can look very similar to a fuel and go type pit stop for