Pro Bowling: Athletes or just an Elite learned skill?

[Deberg_1990]

PBA Bowling on ESPN! The coverage is excellent!


Do you consider these guys athletes?

[Sully]

I remember when the argument of "what is a sport" was interesting to me. I was super passionate about it, and had a whole scaffolded definition set up.

Then I realized something... There's really only one definition, for so many folks.

What is or is not defined as "sport" has most to do with whether or not I, or someone I know, performs the activity.

[Dartgod]

sport noun
: a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other

: sports in general

: a physical activity (such as hunting, fishing, running, swimming, etc.) that is done for enjoyment

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sport

So yeah, it's a sport. Are bowlers athletes? In general, no, but professional bowlers are athletes, IMO. Those that argue otherwise have no clue what it takes to compete at the highest level.

In most tournaments on the PBA Tour, every bowler who makes it to the TV finals has already bowled close to 40 games in the previous four or five days.

http://bowling.about.com/od/learntob...n-Be-A-Pro.htm

That doesn't even take into account the amount of time they put in for practice.