What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

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What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby DanteHoratio » Tue Feb 06, 2018 2:28 am

I have noticed many people dismiss pro wrestlers as athlete, which got me to thinking. What do YOU believe is needed for a person to be considered a athlete. Pro wrestlers eat like athletes. They train like athletes. They do many physical stuff just like athletes. The only difference is pro wrestling has predetermined outcomes, and the wrestlers are telling a story in the ring. Despite that, I see no legit reason to not consider pro wrestlers as athletes

And what about race car drivers or Horse riders? Are they athletes or no? What is needed to be a athlete?
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Cpt._Funkotron » Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:41 am

DanteHoratio wrote:I have noticed many people dismiss pro wrestlers as athlete, which got me to thinking. What do YOU believe is needed for a person to be considered a athlete. Pro wrestlers eat like athletes. They train like athletes. They do many physical stuff just like athletes. The only difference is pro wrestling has predetermined outcomes, and the wrestlers are telling a story in the ring. Despite that, I see no legit reason to not consider pro wrestlers as athletes

And what about race car drivers or Horse riders? Are they athletes or no? What is needed to be a athlete?


I think to be an athlete, you have to professionally or habitually compete in a formalized contest of physical ability. Pro-Wrestling isn't a contest, ergo being a Pro-Wrestler doesn't make you an athlete.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby cmsellers » Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:54 am

Cpt._Funkotron wrote:I think to be an athlete, you have to professionally or habitually compete in a formalized contest of physical ability.

Doesn't "habitually" encompass "professionally"? Any rate, I don't think you need to compete. My cousin does a lot of outdoorsy stuff such as hiking, rock-climbing, and sailing, but as far as I know has never competed formally. However she does this stuff regularly and is in great physical shape. I'd definitely call her an athlete. I think I'd define it as performing a sustained and taxing physical activity for the purposes of fun or competition, where becoming good at the activity itself is the goal.

Working in a warehouse doesn't make you an athlete. Walking every day because you're a fatass who needs the exercise doesn't make you an athlete. Since being good at pro-wrestling is based on your theatrical ability, being a pro-wrestler doesn't make you an athlete.

However running every day to get good at running or because you enjoy it makes you an athlete. Lifting weights to become good at lifting weights makes you an athlete. Even lifting weights in order to build a freakish body makes you an athlete, since you need to use specific techniques in order to get "ripped." Since pro-wrestlers are usually very muscular I'd say they're usual body builders and therefore athletes.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Grimstone » Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:31 am

Yeah, I feel like a person needs to compete with others in some sort of game/contest/sport/etc to be considered an athlete(otherwise they're just athletic).
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby DanteHoratio » Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:56 am

Grimstone wrote:Yeah, I feel like a person needs to compete with others in some sort of game/contest/sport/etc to be considered an athlete(otherwise they're just athletic).

One could argue that pro wrestlers do compete with each other in a way. There is alot of backstage politics in pro wrestlers, each wrestler trying to become the bigger star, while some wrestlers being known to bury other wrestlers.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Absentia » Tue Feb 06, 2018 3:41 pm

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/athlete?s=t wrote:1. a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.


I would consider pro wrestling an "exercise involving physical agility, stamina, or strength".
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Grimstone » Tue Feb 06, 2018 3:54 pm

Absentia wrote:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/athlete?s=t wrote:1. a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.


I would consider pro wrestling an "exercise involving physical agility, stamina, or strength".


But would you call yourself an athlete just because you exercise?
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Last edited by Grimstone on Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Absentia » Tue Feb 06, 2018 3:57 pm

First of all, I resent the implication that I exercise.

But if I did so regularly and I was "trained or gifted", then yes.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Grimstone » Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:05 pm

Absentia wrote:First of all, I resent the implication that I exercise.

But if I did so regularly and I was "trained or gifted", then yes.


I guess we will just have to agree to disagree then. I wouldn't describe myself as an athlete simply because I exercise. If, however, I trained for the purpose of formally competing against others in a particular exercise(s) then I might call myself an athlete.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Absentia » Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:26 pm

Consider three coworkers: Adam, Bob, and Charlie. They decide to go bicycling together one weekend. Adam doesn't cycle often but he's got a dusty bike in his garage and he's game. Bob likes to hit the bike trails a few times a year. Charlie is a member of a cycling club that meets at 5am twice a week to get in a 3-hour session before work.

So these guys get together and after about 30 minutes Adam is sucking wind. Bob lasts a little bit longer but it quickly becomes clear that he's holding Charlie back, so he and Adam agree to meet Charlie for drinks later after Charlie finishes his workout.

As Charlie speeds into the distance having barely broken a sweat after an hour of light cycling, Bob turns to Adam and says, "Man, that guy is a real athlete." If you're Adam, are you going to correct him?
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Lindvaettr » Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:05 pm

An athlete, to me, is someone who participates regularly in a physical sport. Not necessarily "habitually" (I'm not sure what that means in this context) or professionally. A cyclist is an athlete because cycling is a sport. A badmintonist is an athlete because badminton is a sport.

Are pro wrestlers athletes? That depends on whether or not you think of pro wrestling as a sport or not. It's unarguably an extremely physical activity that requires a great amount of athletic skill. However, at the same time, it's highly choreographed with winners and losers planned long before the match takes place. The winner in that case didn't necessarily fight better than the loser, but was simply the one selected to win that particular match. That, by itself, would indicate to me that pro wrestling isn't a sport.

On the other hand, just because the winner of a particular match is pre-planned doesn't mean that the athletic skills of the wrestlers don't matter to their own success. A large part of determining who will win a specific match is down to that athletic skill. A wrestler who consistently puts in a physically skillful, impressive, and entertaining performance will be given more accolades, more money, and more success. In that way, their athletic skills is absolutely key to their success.

So, with that in mind, are pro wrestlers athletes? My answer to that question is a very definitive "maybe".
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Tesseracts » Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:24 pm

To be considered an athlete, first you must travel to the East most corner of the gym. Stand there for exactly 3 days. When you are done, release the wild hogs onto the tennis court. Go home and put on your absolute favorite outfit. Take it off and place it in the center of the room. Shout "PRO WRESTING IS A REAL SPORT" three times then set the clothing on fire. Put out the fire with 50 pounds of Gold Standard Whey Protein Powder™. Do not put on any more clothes until a hunchback brings you a set of simple, unadorned grey gym clothes. This is the beginning of your transformation into a true athlete.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Anglerphobe » Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:29 pm

I'd say something has to be athletically competitive to count its participants as athletes, though I guess the term is just not very well defined in my head, and therefore pretty meaningless. I'm happily able to consider myself athletic, but I've never thought of myself as an athlete even when actually competing in sports.

Of course, it's not cut and dried. I don't think anyone would argue that a real wrestler is not an athlete, but there is room for debate with a Professional Wrestler because while he is undoubtedly athletic, Wrestling is not an athletic competition. It's arguably a competition, but not one of athletics. Gymnasts and dancers have the same gulf. The former is pretty much accepted as an athlete while the latter is an argument. The one I'm really on the fence about is motorsports and equestrian sports. The decisive physical input is from a motorbike or a car or a horse, but they clearly demand athleticism and competition of athletic attributes.

Tl;dr - I don't know, but I also don't think it matters very much.
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby iMURDAu » Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:53 pm

If a runner never ventures into competition does that make them unathletic?
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Re: What is needed for one to be considered a athlete?

Postby Grimstone » Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:17 am

iMURDAu wrote:If a runner never ventures into competition does that make them unathletic?


I think athletic means being fit like an athlete and not necessarily that one is an athlete.
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