E-Sport - from the scientific perspective (Chapter 2: is e-Sport Sport?)

Hello again, it seems I have the "steemit-virus" in a positive sense. 

Yesterday I promised to talk in chapter 2 ;) about the question if e-sport is sport. This is a key question for me. And I guess I solved it back in 2008. However now in 2017 the answer is of upmost importance and I try to explain why describing some "cases" if you like to call it that way.

(A): free travel for tournaments:

Unfortunately the world is not unite yet ;) and we have strict travel restrictions. For sportsmen and women, however, it is possible to get a sports-visa. So if e-sport can be seen as sport from the jurisdictional point of view e-Sport athletes can apply for a sport-visa and maybe even visit countries they would not be able to visit as a private person. 

(B): TV broadcast regulations - (advertising during events):

In most countries special regulations for broadcasting of sport exist. So that backround advertising (on the boards, on the shirts of the atlethes a.s.o.) does not count as active advertising. (the law is more complicated, but for this usecase it is the simplied result). 

So if e-sports does not! count as sport we have a big issue getting it from twitch.tv to regular TV channels. But of course there are some first approaches to broadcast it on regular tv. Like the shows on the German TV Channel Sport1 (which is acutally a sports channel).

(Another point to discuss is the enactment difference between online-tv and classic TV stations - that I will cover another time and has a lot to do with the perception-gap I was talking about yesterday)

(C): If classic media and bloggers talk about e-Sport. Is it covered in the sports or the IT-Section?

So the questions if e-Sport is sport or not is  important the moment a media broadcaster asks itself which target group should be reached.

What can be the answer to this question?

I started in 2008 with one of the most famous definitions about sport from Prof.   Klaus Tiedemann, University of Hamburg and devided it into small pieces. 

  Sport ist ein kulturelles Tätigkeitsfeld (1), in dem Menschen sich freiwillig (2) in eine wirkliche
oder auch nur vorgestellte Beziehung zu anderen Menschen (3) begeben mit der bewussten Absicht (4),
ihre Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten (5) insbesondere im Gebiet der Bewegungskunst (6) zu entwickeln
und sich mit diesen anderen Menschen nach selbst gesetzten oder übernommenen Regeln zu vergleichen (7),
ohne sie oder sich selbst schädigen zu wollen (8).

He recently updated his defintion and did an english translation by himself. So lets work with the new version and use this blog entry to update the comparision between e-sports and sport.

(Honestly I like to old definition a bit more as we have 8 parts to talk about. But I guess I have to follow the new definition here.)

 Sport is a cultural activity field (1), in which human beings voluntarily (2) establish a relationship with other people (3)  for to compare their respective abilities and accomplishments in skilled motion (4) - according to rules set by themselves or adopted, basing on the socially accepted ethical values (5)

(You will find the thoughts regarding this definition and Sport on Prof. Tiedemanns Website. So let me just explain this 5 parts for E-Sports.)

(1): E-sport is based on digital games, digital games are seen as cultural asset. 

(2): The aspect of voluntariness is a key element of the defintion of games in the field of game studies. Playing games - even in a professionell context - is free of choice and the player/e-sport athelete is not forced to do something. 

(3): the aspect of relationsships is clear. In e-sport you either compete vs. other teams, other solo-player/athletes or vs. a highscore.

(4): E-sport is based on skill (agon). The elements of alea/luck of course exists but in the same amount as it exists at every sportive activity. Players/e-sport athletes compare the skillset in a league setting. 

(5): E-sport is based on a very strict ruleset. Not only from the played games itself but moreover from the event organisers and the different e-sport leagues. Following Caillois E-sport is on the "ludus" side (playing using strict rules) and not the "paida" side (just for fun, with no broader ruleset)

To sum up: 

E-sport is based on digital games. Digital games itself are of course games (as  a medium). So e-sport is still about playing games. However e-sport  is about playing games in a semi-professional or professional context. That means the usage of the digital game finally transfers the simple aspect of being a player of a game to beeing an e-sports athlete in a e-sport setting which is 100 % transferable to the sports definition. 

But let me put this from the other side ;):

A ball is a round piece of leather. So it is a crafted item. You can play around with the ball, or use it in non-sportive settings, like starting a collection of rare-balls used e.g. at world-cup tournaments. However you can also play with the ball. In your flat, in your garden, with yourself, with friends, with teammates ... so the usage of the ball defines if it is used in a sport conext or not. 

And from a global perspective?

We have many different approaches now from many different countries. Some already see esport as sport, others say it is impossible to put esport under the jurisdiction of sport and some (like France) develop regulations for esport. Maybe this is (for the moment) the best approach. (See this link). 

I love to hear your opinion in the comments. 

Next one in the e-sports section will be a short article about the different types of e-sport athletes. But maybe I write something about gamification in between :).