Calisthenics (revisited)

Last year I wrote a post which received a few comments of pure rage from some very dedicated 'sportspeople'. It got me thinking recently that maybe this 'sport' had some merits. This was brought on by a very talented group of entertainers that appeared on Australia's Got Talent. They showed that the 'sport' could have a form of mass entertainment value. But the problem is that it isn't really fit for TV. I not only look at this activity as the only one of its kind, Cheer leading is another perfect example, how that is also spoken about as a sport is beyond my thought process.

But looking at this group on the talent show reminded me of why I wrote that piece. It isn't a sport, it is an activity. I see sport as a more mainstream physical event which grabs the attention of a wide audience and garners worldwide media appeal. Calisthenics isn't even at the Olympics, not in the sense that any event bears its name. Shooting is another Olympic event that borders on the line of complete theft of the word sport. Shooting a clay disc that for some reason is called a Pigeon even though it doesn't look like the bird so famously used in times gone by. How about calling it the disc of terror, maybe people would read that and think, 'ooh this is a sport worth tuning into'. Bang...bang and a puff of orange 'pigeon' is not a sport.

Calisthenics is a worthwhile activity for the health and fitness of young people, but calling it a sport when hairspray and lipstick are part of the judging process is just plain stupid.